“We’ll fix it in Q1.”
I hear it every October from business owners, and I’ve said it myself.
And it’s almost never a lie. Q1 really does look roomier from here. Then January shows up with a board meeting, a grant report, a conference, and the recovery from all three. Next October, the same fix is sitting on the same list.
A quarter is a hope. A week is a plan.
Find the week
Take the one thing that cost your business the most this year. Just the top one.
Now open next year’s calendar and find the week it gets fixed. Not the quarter. The week. Write the dates down.
If you can’t find one, because every week already holds a conference, a board meeting, a launch, a grant report, or the recovery from one of those, that’s useful information. It means the problem is capacity. Better prioritizing won’t create hours that aren’t there, and next October will look the same.
What waiting costs
Say that top fix eats 5 hours a week. At a $37/hr blended rate, that’s $9,620 a year, or about $2,405 for every quarter it slides.
If it’s been on the list for three years, that’s $28,860.
Three ways to make room
- Move the date. A surprising number of “fixed” deadlines are fixed by habit. Ask to move it.
- Move the person. Hand off the prep, not the event. The prep is where the hours live, and it’s the part that’s actually teachable.
- Cut the scope. There’s almost always a version that takes one week instead of three. In a crowded week, that’s the right version.
The honest version
If your top line is something you could genuinely knock out alone on one focused Saturday, block the Saturday. Do that. You don’t need us for it. Reply and tell me it’s done. I’ll celebrate with you.
The GSD Weekend is for the other kind. The one that’s been “Q1” for two years. The one that needs somebody building alongside you, in your own accounts, until it actually runs.
Two days. One working system by Sunday night. Not a plan for later.
November 19 & 22, fully virtual. 25 seats. Registration opens October 26, and the waitlist gets in 48 hours early and sees the confirmed price first.
Before you close this
The GSD Summit is for the other kind of fix. The one that’s been on the list for a while because it needs someone building alongside you, in your own accounts, until it actually runs.
Two days. One working system by the end of the weekend. You leave with the fix running, not a plan for it.
November 7-8, fully virtual. Registration opens October 26, and the waitlist gets in 48 hours early.
P.S. Planning next year’s fixes is easier when you know which ones matter at your size. In Scaling Your Business: Essential Systems, Technology, and Training for Growth, I break down the systems that have to be in place before growth stops feeling like chaos. It’s under 4 minutes. Watch it before you pick your week.
— Georgie-Ann, your Ops Bestie
GSD Solutions works with Owners and Operators to audit, automate, and update the systems they outgrew. If you want a second set of eyes on yours, that’s what the 90-minute evaluation is for. Book yours today at gsdsolutionsinc.com/letstalk
