I know we live in a world of “move fast and break things,” but I built my businesses by doing the exact opposite. I take a little longer, I slow down, and I do things the right way the first time—because doing it wrong and fixing it later costs a hell of a lot more.
Let me be clear: I’m not talking about perfection. I’m talking about intention.
We all want things done quickly, especially when you’re running a business and juggling a million priorities. But in my experience, speed without structure leads to chaos. Growth without systems? That’s just a ticking time bomb. So, instead of racing ahead and fixing things as I go, I take a step back. I map it out. I build the system, document the process, and create the template while I’m doing the thing.
That’s the real secret: I document in real time. If I’m onboarding a new client, I jot down the steps as I go. If I’m training a team member, I record a Loom video or build a quick checklist in our SOP tool. If we’re implementing a new tech platform, I create a playbook as we figure it out. It’s not glamorous, but it’s the reason I can scale without losing my mind.
Because the truth is, documentation isn’t just about being organized. It’s about being scalable.
When everything lives in your head, you become the bottleneck. When you build templates, you build freedom. You build repeatability. You build a business that doesn’t fall apart if you take a vacation or hand something off.
And let’s be real—this applies to every area of business. Whether it’s sales, operations, client delivery, or hiring, documentation is what separates the businesses that survive from the ones that scale.
Let’s talk about templates for a second. I don’t reinvent the wheel every time I write a proposal, onboard a client, or run a meeting. We have templates for emails, project plans, service agreements, financial reports, and more. These aren’t rigid scripts—they’re frameworks. They give us consistency but also the flexibility to customize.
SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) are even more powerful. They’re not just for big corporations. Even if you’re a solo entrepreneur, creating SOPs forces you to think through your process. It helps you see where you’re wasting time, where you can delegate, and where things can be automated.
I didn’t create these overnight. I built them one by one as I went. But because I took a little longer to build them the right way, I now have a business that runs like a machine.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed in business. There’s always more to do than time to do it. But when you have systems in place, you reduce the decision fatigue. You don’t have to think about how to do something—you just follow the process. And when something breaks? You can see exactly where it went wrong because the process is mapped out.
Taking a little longer to do things right the first time saves time in the long run.
Hiring someone new? You’re not starting from scratch. You have onboarding docs, training materials, and clear expectations.
Launching a new offer? You can tweak an existing template instead of building everything from the ground up.
Bringing in tech? You’ve got systems that show how it connects to the rest of your workflow.
Look, I get it. Slowing down feels counterintuitive when you’re in growth mode. But if you want to build a business that doesn’t require you to be in every meeting, answer every question, or fix every fire—you have to think beyond the hustle. You have to build with the end in mind.
Take a little longer. Document the thing. Create the template. Build the system.
That’s how I scaled. That’s how I sold. That’s how I still sleep at night.
Do it right the first time. You won’t regret it.
