How to Reclaim Your Freedom and Take Time Off Guilt-Free

If stepping away from your business makes you panic, we need to talk. 

Whether you're just getting started or you've been in business for years, feeling like everything depends on you is a massive red flag. Your business should support your life—not run you into the ground.

In this episode, we’re talking about:

🔥 The real reason your business can’t function without you (and it’s not what you think)
⚡ Why both new and seasoned entrepreneurs struggle with broken systems—and how to fix them
🚀 The high-impact processes you need in place to reclaim your time and actually step away
💡 Why small changes (not a complete overhaul) can create long-term freedom

Whether you’re figuring things out as you go or scaling past six figures, this episode will show you how to stop being the bottleneck and build a business that runs without you.

1:53 -  How back-office chaos silently drains your time, energy, and growth—and why no entrepreneur is immune to it

4:26 - Working harder isn’t the answer—fixing the right systems is. Here’s why trying to fix everything at once keeps you stuck

5:46 - Three simple tweaks you can make to your on-boarding process that will instantly save you time

7:17 - Why you don’t need a full week but taking small, intentional time blocks are the key to real progress

8:31 - Your systems aren’t “set it and forget it” but regular audits are the secret to staying efficient and ahead of the chaos

11:16 - Whether you need quick wins, a focused efficiency check, or a full back office reset, here’s how to take the first step towards creating a business that truly supports you

Resources Mentioned:

📋 Grab the Biz Ops Checklist, a fillable PDF, to quickly audit your back office, spot inefficiencies, and create a smoother, more efficient operation!

⚙️ Book an SOP Efficiency Check, a personalized video audit where I review one key process, identify inefficiencies, and give you a clear, actionable plan to make it more efficient—so you can stop wasting time and start running your business with ease!

🤝 Join The MY-T Society for tools, templates, and expert support to simplify your business systems and take control of your time!

🧩 Book a Legacy In Motion Session, a personalized 2-hour strategy session, to uncover inefficiencies, set clear 90-day goals, and create an actionable plan to streamline your business and achieve sustainable growth!

Let me know your thoughts! Click here to send me a text.

Tired of feeling stuck behind the scenes?

Book a POWER In Motion Jumpstart Session! A 60-minute call where we’ll pinpoint what’s holding you back and build a 30-day action plan you can use right away.

It’s the perfect first step before joining the Founders Circle.  Book your session here.

Leave a Rating and Review: https://ratethispodcast.com/mindyourtime

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
If the thought of stepping away from your business
makes you panic because youknow everything will fall apart
without you, then we need totalk.
Your systems should give youfreedom, not keep you trapped in
chaos.
So today we're going to breakthat cycle so you can finally
take back control of your time.

(00:21):
Welcome to the Mind your Timepodcast.
I'm Shannon Baker, your coffeeloving host and business
operations strategist.
Each week, I'll share practicalinsights and bold strategies
rooted in my power and motionframework to help you streamline
your operations, reclaim yourtime and build a business that
supports your life.
Whether you're just startingout or scaling to six figures

(00:42):
and beyond, these episodes willhelp you take control and create
success on your own terms.
So grab a cup of coffee or yourfavorite beverage and let's
dive into today's topic.
I want you to imagine you'reabout to take a vacation, that
big dream trip you have beenplanning for a while.
Your bags are packed, yourplane tickets are booked, you

(01:04):
are ready to go, but there'sjust one problem you have no
idea who's going to handlethings while you're gone.
There's no system for new lease, there's no system for incoming
client requests, there's noplan for your inbox and there's
no way to make sure things won'tfall apart while you're sipping

(01:24):
margaritas on the beach.
So what happens?
Well, instead of relaxing,you're going to be glued to your
phone, answering emails betweenexcursions, handling client
emergencies from your hotel roomor poolside, and sneaking in
just one more thing beforedinner.
One more thing before dinner.

(01:49):
So by the time you get back,you feel more tired than you
were when you first went onvacation.
Does that sound familiar?
Well, here's the real questionIf your business can't run
smoothly without you for a fewdays, or even a week, how much
time are you losing every singleday when you're actually
working?
Because that's what back officechaos does.

(02:10):
It slowly steals your time,your energy and blocks your
ability to grow, and today we'regoing to talk about fixing that
.
So let's start by talking aboutwhy this is happening.
And I want you to keep in mindno one's immune to this cycle.
I'm not immune to it either,and I used to think that the

(02:32):
answer was just better timemanagement, sticking to my time
blocks, sticking to batched work, sticking to my boundaries.
But none of that was theproblem, and it didn't take me
long to realize what the realproblem was.
The true issue was that I waswasting time on things that

(02:52):
could have been documented andautomated.
So every time that I had tosearch for an email, answer the
same question or manuallyschedule a meeting, I was losing
time.
And I see this all the timewith entrepreneurs who are stuck
and feel like they're spinningtheir wheels.

(03:13):
So whether you're just startingout in your entrepreneurial
journey or you've hit sixfigures or are close in looking
to grow, it doesn't matter.
Here's the deal.
If you're new in business,you're figuring things out as
you go.
You're taking on clients,you're delivering your services
and you're handling everythingyourself, and that is fine until

(03:36):
one day it's not.
Eventually, all the back andforth emails to get appointments
scheduled, no documentedprocesses and the scattered lead
tracking system and I say thatin air quotes starts costing you
time and money.
And if you're already bringingin revenue, your business has
probably outgrown your systemsbecause you haven't looked at

(03:59):
them in years, and that's if youactually even have any systems.
What worked when you had ahandful of client systems or not
, is not going to continue towork as you start to grow.
And your duct tape operations?
Well, now they're roadblocksthat slow you down and, even

(04:19):
more than likely, you're thebottleneck in your business.
So black coffee talk time.
The real issue is not thatyou're not working hard enough.
You're actually working harderthan you should be because your
systems don't support you oryour goals.

(04:40):
So now that we've identified thereal problem, let's talk about
fixing it.
The biggest mistake that I seeis trying to fix everything at
once, and if you've done this, Iknow you feel what I'm saying.
That is a guaranteed way to getoverwhelmed quickly and you
quit before you even makeprogress, and that's probably

(05:01):
why you've tried this and failedseveral times.
Or maybe you start thinkingabout putting in the work and
you realized how much work itwas gonna be, so you decided you
were better off just keeping onwinging it.
Well, let's try somethingdifferent.
I want you to pick one highimpact process, that's, one

(05:23):
process that, if put in place orimproved it, would instantly
make your life easier.
Now, for most of my clients,that's either client onboarding
and offboarding, because youneed a smooth client experience,
not chaos, or it's schedulingand time management, because
plain email tag is not astrategy, my friend.

(05:45):
So let's say you decide tostart with your onboarding
process Instead of trying toautomate the entire workflow in
one day, because that's crazy.
I want you to try these stepsbecause it's going to instantly
change your life.
I want you to create a welcomeemail template so you're not
rewriting the same thing overand over again for each new

(06:05):
client, and I want you to set upan intake form that will
collect the necessaryinformation you need up front
instead of having to chasepeople down later.
And that intake form needs tobe set up in your online
scheduler so people can bookcalls with you without having to
play email tag back and forth.
These simple changes havehelped my clients free up hours

(06:30):
every week, like.
One client cut their onboardingtime in half just by starting
to use an automated scheduler,and this is exactly why I built
the Mighty Society membership,because inside you get access to
resources like the WelcomeKitten onboarding process
workbook, so you're not havingto start this from scratch.

(06:53):
There are also messagetemplates in there.
Because I don't want you to haveto reinvent the wheel, I try to
make it easy for you.
You can even make a lot ofprogress in just 30 minutes a
week.
So what I want you to do ifthis sounds like what you need
right now, go todshannonbakercom forward, slash

(07:13):
membership and you can getimmediate access.
Now you may also be thinkingthis sounds great, shannon, but
when am I supposed to do all ofthis when I'm already
overwhelmed?
Well, I'm not going to do allof this.
The answer is not by blockingoff an entire week.
Instead, I want you to work insmall, intentional chunks of

(07:34):
time.
So here are a few ideas.
Before a client call, I wantyou to take 15 minutes and look
at your intake form and makeupdates if they're needed.
During your weekly admin timeblock, I want you to improve one
part of your onboarding processor another process that needs
your attention and, once a week,I want you to block out 30

(07:56):
minutes and add an automation toa process that's slowing you
down.
Now, if you're nodding alongand thinking this is exactly
what's slowing me down, thenstop putting this off.
You can start by grabbing theBizOps checklist off.
You can start by grabbing theBizOps checklist.

(08:17):
It's a quick, fillable PDF thathelps you audit your back
office operations in less thantwo minutes.
Click the link in the shownotes and grab a copy of it
today.
Now maybe you already have anonboarding process and you use
an online schedule and you kindof track new leads, but these
processes haven't been updatedin a while.
Then, my friend, you need toget my eyes on those processes

(08:38):
so that I can review it, tellyou what's working, identify
what's not and then tell youwhat needs to be fixed right
away.
That's what an SOP efficiencycheck is for you get a
personalized video audit where Ilook closely at one key process
and give you an actionable planto make it more efficient.
You have three options you canpick from.

(09:00):
There's client onboarding andoffboarding, so you can create a
seamless client experience.
There's scheduling and timemanagement so that you can take
control of your calendar.
And then there's leadgeneration and sales tracking,
so that you stop losing controlof your calendar.
And then there's leadgeneration and sales tracking so
that you stop losing leads andthey stop falling through the
cracks.
So if you like to book one, goto theshannonbakercom forward

(09:23):
slash S-O-P check.
Now, I know all this may soundgreat, but you might be saying,
well, I don't have time to auditthis on.
You might be saying, well, Idon't have time to audit this on
my own and, quite frankly, Idon't want to.
So if you'd rather have someonewalk you through this process,
identify what needs to be fixedand then give you an action plan

(09:45):
that tells you exactly how tofix it.
Then you need to book a legacyemotion session, and this isn't
a quick strategy call.
It's a two-hour recordedsession where we literally pull
back the curtain on your backoffice, identify your biggest
bottlenecks, you set a 90-daygoal and then I create a custom

(10:07):
action plan that, once executed,will result in a more efficient
back office that supports yourgoal and saves you time.
The best part is I do the heavylifting for you when it comes
to execution, so you're not leftto figure this out on your own.
Now, if you want to clear aroadmap and hands on support so

(10:27):
that your business finally runslike a well-oiled machine like
it should be and finally runslike a well-oiled machine like
it should be then go totheshannonbakercom forward slash
assessment and book your legacyin motion session today.
Now let's recap what we talkedabout so that you can start
taking action right now.
One I want you to pick one highimpact system.

(10:49):
Focus on one area that's gonnafree up the most time and
improve your client experience.
Then I want you to make small,intentional changes.
Block out 15 to 30 minutes aweek.
That's really all it takes,then I want you to use the right
resources and you don't have tofigure this out on your own,

(11:12):
okay, well, basically, it's timefor you to take back control.
So here are the options.
If you want quick wins and plugand play resources, join us
inside the Mighty Society today.
If you need my eyes on oneprocess to make it more
efficient, book an SLPefficiency chat Now.
If you are ready for a totalback office reset, let's map it

(11:36):
out in a legacy in motionsession.
Because here's the thingNothing changes if nothing
changes.
You can keep spinning incircles hoping that things are
going to somehow improve, or youcan take the first step and
build a business that actuallysupports you.
What's it going to be?
You've got this.

(11:57):
Thanks for hanging out with methis week.
If you've made it this far, it'sclear you're ready to shake
things up and take control ofyour business, and I'm here for
it.
But remember, just listening tothis episode won't get you
better results.
I challenge you to break themold and take action today.
Your next move let's connectHead to the show notes and book

(12:18):
a call with me to learn how theMighty Society membership can
help you streamline your backoffice and reclaim your time.
If you're not ready for thatstep yet, no worries, connect
with me on Instagram, at theunderscore Shannon Baker, and
tell me what resonated most fromtoday's episode and if you're
loving the podcast.
Leaving a review is a quick wayto show your support and help

(12:40):
more entrepreneurs like youbreak free from the chaos.
Listening is great, but actioncreates transformation.
Go, make it happen and untilnext time, keep calm and
streamline.