Are You Running Your Business… Or Is It Running You?

Welcome back to The Huddle!

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In today's edition of The Huddle...

? The real reason your business feels overwhelming (hint: it’s not your team)

? The 5-step CEO shift: How to scale without losing your mind

? A simple way to stop being the bottleneck in your own business

Here’s the hard truth most online CEOs don’t want to hear:

If your business falls apart the second you step away, you don’t own a business — you own a very stressful, very expensive job.

I’ve seen it too many times. You scale fast, you hire a team, but instead of feeling freedom, you feel frustrated.

??Your DMs are full of questions from your team.

??Your Slack notifications never stop.

??Your team?waits until the last minute for approvals.

??Your marketing “strategy” is whatever feels right that week.

??Your revenue is growing, but so are your expenses -?and you’re honesty not even sure if your team is earning their keep.

Sound familiar?

The good news??The problem isn’t your business. The problem is your systems.

Without structure, you will forever be stuck in reactive mode?— putting out fires instead of building an empire.

But here’s the thing: real CEOs don’t operate like this.

?They set the vision. They own the strategy. They make high-level decisions.

??They do NOT micromanage social media captions or chase their team for KPIs.

So, if you’re done feeling like the bottleneck in your own business, read on for?your next move...

The 5-Step CEO Shift: How to Scale Without Losing Your Mind

1?Stop Managing Like an Employee & Start Leading Like a CEO

Right now, you’re the first point of contact for everything. Your team can’t move without your approval. That’s NOT scalable.

Fix it: Empower your team to make decisions WITHOUT you. Implement clear SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) so tasks get done the same way every time -?without needing you to micromanage.

Ask yourself: If I stepped away for two weeks, what would completely fall apart? Fix that first.

2?Implement a Single Source of Truth for Your Team Most businesses operate in a hot mess of WhatsApp chats, scattered emails, and “Didn’t I send that to you?” moments. That’s why things fall through the cracks.

Fix it: Ditch the chaos and centralize everything. Use a project management tool like Asana, Slack, or Notion where every task, due date, and update lives in one place.

Key Rule: If it’s not in the PM Tool, it doesn’t exist.

3?Track What Actually Moves the Needle Your team is “busy,” but are they productive? Are you throwing money at marketing that isn’t converting? You can’t fix what you don’t measure.

Fix it: Set 3-5 non-negotiable KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) per team member and hold them accountable...every WEEK.

For your social media team: Not just “new followers,” but “DMs converted into sales.” For your sales team: Not just “outreach messages,” but “calls booked and closed.” For yourself: Not just “time spent working,” but “strategic decisions made.”

Numbers don’t lie. Track them or get stuck in the guessing game.

4?Audit Your Team: Are They an Investment or an Expense? Most CEOs build a team and assume they’ll automatically make the business more efficient. But without clear roles, your team might be costing you more than they’re contributing.

Fix it: Do an ROI audit on your hires:

• Who is consistently delivering results?
• Who is making your life easier vs. creating more work for you?
• Who needs training — or who maybe isn't working out?

You don’t need more people. You need the right people.

5?Build a Business That Runs Without You The best businesses don’t depend on the CEO. They’re systemized, scalable, and structured for long-term success.

Fix it: If you’re serious about stepping into a true CEO role, your next steps should be: Systemize your workflows (so your team follows repeatable processes) Outsource bottleneck tasks (so you can focus on scaling, not day-to-day management) Track performance with ruthless clarity (so every dollar/pound spent on your team has ROI)

You should be spending 80% of your time on high-level growth strategies, not admin tasks.

Ready to Scale Without the Stress?

This is exactly what I help business owners do —?turn their team into a high-performance machine, streamline operations, and create a business that thrives without them being in the weeds 24/7.

If you’re done operating in chaos and ready to step into your CEO era, let’s chat?

Book a free strategy call here

Prefer to chat via DMs? Drop me your questions and challenges and I'll share my advice on how to scale stress-free.

Let’s build a business that works for you,?not the other way around.

Sophie xo

P.S. Did you claim your Done-For-You Team Pulse Survey last week? If not, DM me the word 'PULSE' and I'll send you the link??