Why you’re stuck working in your business, and how to get out of it.

You didn’t start your business to be buried in admin.
Yet somehow, you’re the one chasing invoices, confirming bookings, and replying to every single enquiry.

The truth is that most business owners don’t get stuck because they’re lazy, they get stuck because they’ve built themselves into the centre of everything.
Every email, every approval, every little decision needs you.

If you took a week off, would things still move?
If that question makes you feel slightly nauseous, you’re not alone.

I see it all the time. Smart, capable business owners running everything through their own inbox and wondering why growth feels impossible.

Here’s what’s really going on:

1. You’re mistaking busy for productive

Answering emails at 10 pm doesn’t make you a hero, it just means your systems are letting you down.
Productivity isn’t about doing more; it’s about doing less of the wrong stuff.

2. Your systems live in your head

If your workflows only exist in your brain (or scattered in your inbox), your team can’t help you.
Good systems are repeatable, visible, and don’t depend on your memory.

3. You haven’t automated the obvious

Let’s fix that right now.
Here’s one simple automation you can set up today using Zapier, and you don’t need to be techy to do it.

The goal:

When someone books a meeting through Calendly, automatically:

a.) Send them a confirmation email with prep info, and

b.) Add their details straight into your CRM.

How to do it step-by-step (using Zapier’s free plan):

The free version of Zapier only allows 2-step Zaps — that means one trigger + one action.
So to do both actions above, you’ll just create two separate Zaps.

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Zap 1

Send the follow-up email
Log in to Zapier and click Create Zap.
Choose Calendly as your trigger app.

Trigger event = “Invitee Created.”

Connect your Calendly account.
For your action app, choose Gmail (or Outlook).

Action = “Send Email.”

Write your message:

“Hey {{Invitee Name}}, thanks for booking a call! Here’s what to expect…”

You can even pull in the event name or date dynamically.
Test it by booking yourself in Calendly.
Turn it on.

Zap 2

Add to your CRM
Create another Zap.
Choose Calendly again as your trigger.
For your action, choose your CRM (e.g. HubSpot, Pipedrive, or Airtable).

Action = “Create Contact.”

Map your fields (Name, Email, Notes, etc.).
Test and turn it on.

That’s it.
You have just removed an entire admin loop from your day, and even on the free plan, it’ll quietly handle every new booking without you touching a thing.

It’s not about automating everything. It’s about automating the things that don’t need your brainpower.

4. You’re addicted to control

You care, and that’s good. But perfectionism often hides fear: fear that no one else (or nothing else) will do it as well as you. The secret? Let someone, or something, prove they can. Once you start trusting your systems, you’ll never go back.

Getting unstuck isn’t about massive change.
It’s about building tiny bits of leverage, one at a time.

Start with one task you can hand off, automate, or document this week.
Do that for a month and I promise, you’ll start working on your business, not in it.

AC
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