January was chaotic for me, with family time over the holidays, snow days, travel for Podfest, and a house full of sick people. Despite all that, my business kept running smoothly thanks to the systems and processes I’ve built over the years. Instead of stressing over a “lost” month, I decided to start 2025 in February, reframing my timeline and giving myself permission to adapt. This experience reinforced the importance of creating margin—not just in your weekly schedule but as a core part of your business—to handle unexpected disruptions while still moving forward.

Top Takeaways

• My systems and processes provided me was more margin than I thought. Despite not working for half of December and a lot of January, I was still able to continue producing my podcast, posting here, generating leads, and sending out proposals.
• The calendar year is arbitrary. The things I wanted to do that I didn't do in January can easily move into February. And I already know my systems can support those changes.
• Building margin into your business isn’t just about avoiding burnout—it’s about ensuring you have the space to adapt and thrive, even during busy or unpredictable times.

Show Notes

• Read the LinkedIn post
• Leave feedback at StreamlinedFeedback.com

“How do I know if investing in automation is worth it?” This was a question someone asked me after my talk at Podfest. And it’s a fair question. We don’t want to waste time and money on something that won’t pay off.

So in today’s episode, I tell you exactly how to know if automation and delegation are worth the investment.

Top Takeaways

• Understand Opportunity Cost: Opportunity cost is the value of what you give up when choosing one activity over another. For solopreneurs, this often means the lost income or time that could be spent on billable work.
• Automation Rule of Thumb: Automate repetitive tasks you’ve done at least three times and that require consistent inputs and outputs. But do the task manually first to ensure automation makes sense.
• Take Small Risks for Big Gains: Test delegation by hiring a VA or outsourcing small tasks. Even $50/week can help you reclaim time to avoid burnout or spend with family.

Show Notes

• Why You’re Losing Money when You Mow the Lawn

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This one might ruffle some feathers, but I’m OK with that. I think we NEED to disclose the usage of AI in creative work more. It’s less about signaling that you cheated in some way — on the contrary, I don’t think using AI is de-facto cheating. It’s about honesty, integrity, and transparency.

So my policy is simple: if you use AI to write, record, or produce something, it should be disclosed in the same way affiliate links or paid promotion has to be disclosed.

And today, I explore why I feel so strongly about that.

Top Takeaways

• Establish Clear Guidelines for AI Disclosure: I tell my readers how and when I use AI. If it contributes more than 5% of an article’s total word count, I write it at the bottom of the piece.
• AI Produces Mediocrity: As Jason Snell said**,** AI tends to average out content, making most of it mediocre at best. If you want to stand out, you can’t just rely on AI.
• Human Connection is Irreplaceable: In a world where AI threatens to erode personal connection, it’s up to us to keep our content human.

Show Notes

• My AI Manifesto: We Must Disclose the Use of AI
• My AI Disclosures Page
• Send Feedback