Stepping Away From My Business
On stepping away from your business, building systems that run without you, and what I'm learning about AI in small business operations.
If you have been wondering where I went, here is the short version. I was standing very still in cloudy water off the coast of Kona, watching a sea turtle decide whether to trust me.
But let me back up, because a lot has happened.
My youngest, my last baby, graduated summa cum laude. In three years. We got to watch her walk across a stage and take her honors degree, and I am not sure I have ever been prouder. Then the whole family packed up and flew to Hawaii for eleven days, Kauai and the Big Island. One evening we survived a 6.0 earthquake, sitting right there on the couch, where I said "I think that is an earthquake" and then "get under the coffee table." We drove out to the volcano hoping it would erupt while we were there and missed it by three days. There was a secluded beach in Kona that felt like our own little secret. I snorkeled for the first time in ages. And almost every single day, I saw a turtle, which for a girl who loves turtles and frogs is about as good as it gets.
Then we came home and the next chapter started fast. I helped my daughter set up her new apartment in San Diego and get ready for the interview that landed her first full time, big girl job. She starts this week. While she has been traveling for work, I have been camped out at her place, walking new neighborhoods, learning a new area, and watching the most beautiful sunsets over the beach and the bay almost every evening. One afternoon last week I laid down in the sand and took a nap. Everyone here is so friendly and so easy, and we are seriously thinking about a move.
So that is where I have been. Present. Away from my desk. And the funny thing is, the business kept running the whole time.
Now back to that turtle.
The water was cloudy that day and the waves were rolling in. My son started waving at me from the shore. I said "what, what?" and he called out, "there's a turtle." So I stopped. I went still. And this turtle lifted its head and looked right at me. I did not lunge for it or chase it for a photo. I just stood there and gave it room. And it kept swimming closer. So close that I started taking slow steps back to give it space. So cool. So, so cool.
What that turtle taught me about chasing clients
It got me to thinking about how much of business runs the same way.
I, too, spend plenty of days chasing. Chasing the next client, the next yes, the next thing on the list, moving fast and hoping all that motion makes it happen. But the turtle did not come to me because I lunged. It came because I built a little space and stayed steady inside it.
Eleven days away showed me the same thing in my own business. The reason I could be fully present for my daughter, for the sand, for the sunsets, is that the operations underneath my business were steady enough to run without me hovering over them. The systems did their job. The work got done. I did not have to chase it. That is what good operations buy you. Room to breathe. Room to be somewhere else and trust that the ground stays steady under you.
Good operations buy you room to breathe
Here is what I would gently offer, the same thing I have been telling myself. Look at the parts of your business you feel like you have to chase every single day. The follow ups, the scheduling, the little tasks that eat your mornings. Those are usually the parts begging for a system. When you build the space, the work can come to you instead of you running it down.
What's next: AI for everyday business operations
And that leads me to what is next for me. I have been taking a class on AI, learning how to help businesses use it inside their daily operations. Because if good systems give you room to breathe, smart ones might just give you the whole beach. I will have a lot more to share on that soon.
For now, I want to hear from you. What is the one thing in your business you are tired of chasing? Hit reply and tell me. I would love to think it through with you.
Shell, Yes! Here's to your success,
Michelle