411: How I Prepared My Business for a 6-Week Vacation

411: How I Prepared My Business for a 6-Week Vacation

What if you could step away from your business for six weeks… and everything kept running? For many business owners, even taking a long weekend feels impossible. It’s not because you don't have a great team or you don’t work hard enough. It’s because your business still depends on you for too many decisions. The freedom you’re looking for isn’t found by working harder; it’s built through intentional leadership, clear systems, and a self-managing team. In this episode of the Profit by Design Podcast, Dr. Sabrina Starling shares how she prepared her business for her 6-week vacation—and the lessons every business owner can apply to create more time, more freedom, and a more sustainably profitable business. Imagine signing off for six weeks and returning to a more confident team, a business that’s still growing, and a life that finally feels aligned with why you became an entrepreneur in the first place. Join Melissa Kay and Dr. Sabrina to learn how to make this dream a reality in your business! Profit by Design is a Tap the Potential production. Show Highlights: * Dr. Sabrina’s hard rule about “no takebacks” after delegating tasks for her vacation * Practical steps of vacation preparations for Dr. Sabrina (How she prepares her team) * The key to creating a sustainable business and job stability for your team * Focus on key results for team members. * Dr. Sabrina’s mandate to her team about using AI for repetitive activities * The incredible results our clients are experiencing because of innovation and creativity * Melissa’s example of freeing up her time by offloading tasks to others * The business owner’s trap: “I am the ONLY one who can do this.” * Give your team members more confidence, ownership, and job stability! * Ready to discover what’s keeping your business dependent on you? Find out more about our Better Business, Better Life program. Learn how to slash ten hours off your work week! https://www.tapthepotential.comBook a call [https://www.tapthepotential.com] with Kaitlyn today! Resources: Take the https://www.tapthepotential.com/assessmentBetter Business, Better Life Assessment [https://www.tapthepotential.com/assessment] to identify your biggest opportunity to create more time freedom, stronger leadership, and a sustainably profitable business! Work should support your life–not consume it!

410: The Business is Growing. Is Your Life?

Could your business survive without you for six weeks? For most business owners, the answer is NO. It’s not because they aren’t capable, but because the business has been built to depend on them. If taking a week off feels impossible, it’s a sign that you’re carrying too much of the business on your shoulders. In this episode, Dr. Sabrina Starling shares how she prepared to take a six-week vacation without her business missing a beat. It’s not about working harder before you leave; it’s about building the right systems, developing a self-managing team, and leading in a way that creates true freedom. Imagine coming back from vacation refreshed, instead of returning to chaos, missed opportunities, and a mountain of problems waiting for you. That’s what happens when you intentionally build a business that supports your life. The measure of a healthy business isn’t how hard the owner works, but how well the business performs when the owner steps away. In this episode, you’ll discover why owner dependency is limiting your growth, the leadership shifts that make time away possible, how to build trust and accountability with your team, the systems every business needs before the owner can truly unplug, and why taking extended time away is one of the best tests of a healthy business. Profit by Design is a Tap the Potential production. Show Highlights: * Dr. Sabrina is on the brink of a six-week vacation! Hear her explain how she prepared. * What we are risking when we don’t prioritize vacations * “What is your biggest fear if you were away for two weeks?” * Melissa’s perspective, as a team member, on Dr. Sabrina’s vacations * The #1 reason you should take vacations is so that your team can grow and break their dependency on you. * The key to preparing for an extended vacation is to have the right systems in place. * “What 20% of my effort gets 80% of my results?” * “What 20% of what you do in your life produces 80% of your impact on those you love?” * Getting your business shrunk down to size–not taking over your life! * Ready to take your life back from your business? Need help knowing where to start? https://www.tapthepotential.com/Book a call [https://www.tapthepotential.com/] with Kaitlyn today! Resources: Take the https://www.tapthepotential.com/assessmentBetter Business, Better Life Assessment [https://www.tapthepotential.com/assessment] to identify the next steps toward creating a sustainably profitable business that gives you more time, more freedom, and more peace of mind.

409: Every Time You Rescue Your Team, You Make the Problem Worse

How many times this week have you answered a question your team could have figured out, fixed a mistake because it was faster, rewritten an email before it went out, or jumped in because you didn't want something done wrong? Most business owners don't realize they're doing it, but every time you rescue your team, you make the problem worse. When you step in and solve a problem your team could solve, you unintentionally train dependency. Ownership isn't built when leaders provide answers. Ownership is built when leaders develop thinkers. Join Kaitlyn Beaver and Dr. Sabrina Starling as they unpack this topic today and offer proven, practical strategies for being the leader your team needs. Join us! Profit by Design is a Tap the Potential production. Show Highlights: * The simple truth about business owners and the compulsion to be problem solvers * The right leadership skills will help you to NOT over-function. * The value in having clear expectations, measurable and monitored results, and accountability on your team * Lack of clarity leads the business owner to rescue the team, which creates business owner dependency. * Does your team feel safe and supported? * Are you holding your team in a place of competence or incompetence? * Dr. Sabrina’s examples of leadership skills in action from Tap the Potential clients * The cumulative “snowball” effect of a coaching culture * Ready to stop rescuing your team? Need help knowing where to start? https://www.tapthepotential.com/Book a call [https://www.tapthepotential.com/] with Kaitlyn today! Resources: If you’re listening and realizing that you’ve become the answer for everything, you’re not alone. Most business owners were taught how to work hard, but very few were taught how to coach. That’s exactly why we created Coach Approach. Inside this program, you’ll learn how to: -develop critical thinking -build ownership -create stronger leaders -stop carrying every decision yourself. We will help you identify where dependency is showing up and where ownership is breaking down. https://www.tapthepotential.com/coach-approachEnroll now in Coach Approach [https://www.tapthepotential.com/coach-approach] and start building a team that thinks, solves problems, and takes ownership without everything routing back to you. Your business should support your life–not require you to carry it every day!

408: Why Your Team Isn’t Taking Ownership (Even If They’re “Good”)

You’ve hired smart people, so why does it still feel like every question comes back to you? Mistakes keep happening, and your team waits for direction before moving forward. You’re not imagining it, because this scenario is far too common among business owners who build teams but still end up carrying the emotional and operational weight of the business themselves. You hired, trained, delegated, and tried to empower your team. However, it’s exhausting that everything still depends on you, especially for high-performing business owners who genuinely care about doing things well. The truth is, this isn’t usually a hiring problem; it’s a structural ownership problem. Your team may not be underperforming; they may simply be responding to the environment around them. Ownership is built intentionally, and only then can your business become scalable and finally give you some breathing room. In this episode, Dr. Sabrina Starling and Kaitlyn Beaver break down why good employees still struggle to take initiative, the hidden leadership and system gaps creating owner dependency, why delegation alone isn’t fixing the issue, and how to build a team that leads without routing everything back to you. We help business owners build sustainably profitable businesses that support life rather than consume it. Join us! Profit by Design is a Tap the Potential production. Show Highlights: * Shifting the dynamic and solving problems at the root instead of putting band-aids on the issues * Our Coach Approach program helps you learn to build a coaching culture and a team that takes ownership. * Building a mindset around curiosity * The goal is for a business owner to say, “I trust my team, and I can delegate to them.” * Team members who “come alongside” vs. team members who are “across the desk” * In your team members’ emotional bank accounts, are you making more “deposits” or “withdrawals”? (Aim for a 9:1 or at least a 7:1 ratio of deposits to withdrawals.) * Ask yourself, “How many problems have I solved in the last two days?” (If it’s more than one, YOU need to be in Coach Approach.) * Need help knowing where to start? https://www.tapthepotential.comBook a call [https://www.tapthepotential.com] with Kaitlyn today! Resources: Ready to stop carrying everything alone? Join our upcoming Free https://www.tapthepotential.com/jumpstartJumpstart workshop [https://www.tapthepotential.com/jumpstart]!

407: Is Your Business Killing Your Relationship?

We have a special episode for you today! A few weeks ago, Dr. Sabrina was invited to a webinar in the Pumpkin Planners Rock Facebook Group to consider this important question: “Is your business killing your relationship?” We’ve found that this topic resonates deeply with small business owners everywhere, because we all fear that our commitment to our work is taking over our lives, killing our marriages, and damaging our relationships with loved ones. We are bringing you this webinar to increase understanding about entrepreneurial burnout and to prevent your business from becoming the uninvited third party in your relationships. If you want to show up fully present in your most important relationships, this episode is for YOU. It could change your life! Donna Leyens is the president and co-founder of Pumpkin Plan Your Biz. She is on a mission to save small businesses from extinction by providing tools, strategies, training, and support to business professionals who want to make a big impact as small business growth strategists. This mighty team of strategists uses The Pumpkin Plan Action Guide, a business growth program Donna developed based on the methods in the book, https://www.amazon.com/Pumpkin-Plan-Strategy-Remarkable-Business/dp/1591844886The Pumpkin Plan [https://www.amazon.com/Pumpkin-Plan-Strategy-Remarkable-Business/dp/1591844886], written by her co-founder, Mike Michalowicz. Pumpkin Plan Strategists help small businesses not just stay afloat but also scale and grow in both profitability and size, while giving the owner time for life and relationships. Profit by Design is a Tap the Potential production. Show Highlights: * The mission of the Pumpkin Plan program * The early warning signs that your business is damaging your relationship * The trap: Being physically present and mentally “checked out” with our families * How to know when your business is taking up way too much of your mental space * You’re not a bad person if you’re a burned-out entrepreneur! (Our Better Business, Better Life Assessment is the only tool that measures burnout in entrepreneurs and the health of their businesses.) * Burnout: A combination of all the small things and stressors we absorb (Listen to the cold, hard facts that our research has shown.) * Dr. Sabrina’s story (Listen to learn why this mission is a personal one.) * Entrepreneurs are disconnected at home. Why? * We need to value our time differently. (Are you working on $10,000 an hour activities? Download your https://www.tapthepotential.com/10kchart [https://www.tapthepotential.com/10k] now!) * Are your team members working from their strengths? * What are the $10,000 an hour activities in your relationships? Nothing else matters! * Action steps to start today: Recognize that limits drive innovation and creativity, completely turn off your phone in the evenings and on weekends (Do you need a “Work supports life” sticker?), and ask your loved ones what would be going on if your relationship were at a “10.” Resources: Take the Better Business, Better Life Assessment [https://www.tapthepotential.com/assessment] to identify what may be keeping you stuck and killing your relationships!