Last month, my mother passed away unexpectedly.
Important life events happen to all of us, some happy, some devastating – and these events have an impact professionally as well as personally.
I’ve shared how grateful I am to those in my and my mom’s lives who supported us during this time. (Jim Whitesell – continued best person I ever could hope to go through life with.)
I’d also want to share what helped me professionally in the hopes it helps prepare others who I know are going through or may go through challenging and emotional times themselves.
I’m very fortunate my business kept running relatively smoothly and it came down to a few things.
The first was the people in my corner. My Online Business Manager, Kevin Thayer of Thayer2Design, for example, stepped up without missing a beat. He knew the business and its priorities, and he handled what needed handling. Years of building that relationship and that trust made all the difference.
Then there were my incredible clients. When meetings needed to be rescheduled and timelines shifted, they were immediately accommodating. They checked in. They sent kind words. They reminded me that the human side of this work matters as much as the professional side. I’m lucky I can be selective in who I work with and, boy, am I surrounded by the best.
The third is a little different – It’s having a sufficient foundation in place for the business to absorb the disruption. Established systems and processes, as well as marketing content scheduled weeks in advance. All of these helped hold the infrastructure of my practice.
I hesitated before writing about this. But it’s the most true-to-life example I have of why the behind-the-scenes infrastructure of your business is so important. Life will show up on its own schedule.
Most solo businesses are more fragile than they look
You know your work. You’re good at it. Clients come back, referrals happen, and by most measures the business is doing fine.
But if you look deeper, there’s a layer underneath the client work that may feel clunky, reactive, or like you’re rebuilding something from scratch every single week. That’s an operational problem. And it’s one of the most overlooked issues in solo and small professional businesses.
Operations exist across three distinct areas in a solo or small professional business:
1. People support:
The people working with you inside and outside the business. Are they genuinely supporting you or adding to your workload?
2. Systems and processes:
Checklists, workflows, and repeatable steps. The more systematized your business is, the less it depends on you to hold it together.
3. Tools and technology:
Your tech stack, equipment, and physical environment. The goal is a setup that actually serves how you work, fully configured and utilized consistently.
Small improvements make the difference
A full overhaul isn’t needed to start feeling a difference. A single checklist for a repeatable process. One tool configured to actually do what you need. One support relationship that’s working properly. That kind of targeted improvement can free up hours in your actual week.
How is your business built behind the scenes?
A strong front end, great clients, and solid revenue all are important. But if the back end is fragile, you’re one unexpected disruption away from letting people down or even burning out. Your best thinking goes toward logistics instead of the work only you can do.
I know that firsthand and it’s the reason I’m paying even closer attention to how businesses are built behind the scenes.
If this resonates, it’s worth taking a closer look at how your own business is set up to operate when you’re not able to be at full capacity.
On April 22nd, I’ll be walking through this in more detail in the April Strategic Advisor Series, a free 60-minute session where we’ll focus on the Operations pillar of your business, specifically the people support, systems and processes, and tools that determine whether your business runs smoothly day to day. If you’d like to join, you can reserve your spot here.