Why does this feel harder than it should?

I spent the first few days of the year reorganizing my phone, setting up some business automations and cleaning up my content system.

Not because anything was broken. But because what worked 8 months ago (when I quit my 9-5 and went all in!) doesn't work anymore. Over the last few days I've thought so many times, "this is exactly what my clients are dealing with.. Except they're doing it while also running their business, serving their clients, managing their team... and trying to figure out if they're just bad at this or if it can be fixed".

Spoiler alert: they're not bad at it. And you aren't either. It can be fixed!

What's actually happening when your business feels overwhelming

I was talking with someone a couple weeks ago and she asked me, "why does running my business feel harder than it should?".

And here's what I told her:

Your business grew. and your business systems didn't keep up.

The behind-the-scenes setup that worked when you had 5 clients doesn't work when you have 15. The workflow that made sense during $30K years feels clunky during the $100K years. The project management tool you kinda-sorta put together when you first started aren't working the same in year three.

It's not that you're doing anything wrong. You've just outgrown your current systems.

And now you're carrying way too much in your head because your behind-the-scenes operations can't hold it.

Common signs your business systems have outgrown your growth

I worked with a client whose project management system had become completely overwhelming. She had a million tasks and lists scattered everywhere - nothing was organized, nothing was in folders, tons of it was "past due" but still sitting there taking up space... finding anything felt impossible!

We cleaned it up. Created a clear folder structure. Organized her tasks by project. Now she can find what she needs without scrolling through endless lists.

Another client was juggling her entire client workflow across multiple disconnected systems. She'd create proposals in one tool, send contracts through another system, handl emails somewhere else entirely - and she didn't have any branded forms to send to her clients to get the information she needed.

Everything was scattered. Nothing talked to each other. Every new client felt like putting together a new puzzle.

They're not alone. This is the pattern I see constantly when business systems haven't kept up with business growth.

Why feeling overwhelmed isn't a personal failure

When your business is small, you can hold everything in your head. Your memory IS your task management system. You KNOW where client information is. You REMEMBER what to do next.

But... as your business operations grow, that stops working. Not because you got worse at organizing, but your volume outgrew your capacity.

Your brain isn't a filing system - it's not designed to store every task, every client detail, every step of every business process.

When you're using it that way, of course you're exhausted (& don't have the brain power to be as creative as you once were). That's not personal failure. It's a business operation systems problem. Your behind-the-scenes operations haven't caught up to where your business is now.

How to fix overwhelmed business operations

When I sit down with a creative business owner whose behind-the-scenes feels chaotic, I'm looking at three things in their business system.

1. Where is your business information living?
2. Is your client information all in one central place or scattered all over the place? Can you find what you need when you need it, or are you searching through five different places every time you need something? This is where most small business owners lose HOURS every week - searching for information that should be instantly accessible in a proper client management system.
3. What business processes are you doing manually?
4. Are you recreating the same client deliverables over and over? Copying client information between different project management tools? Remembering workflow steps that could be documented once in your business operations system and used every time? Manual processes are often the biggest drain on creative business owners.
5. What's taking more time in your business than it should?
6. Where are you spending energy on behind-the-scenes tasks that used to be quick? What business ops feel heavier now than they did six months ago?

Those three questions guide me on what we will fix first in your business systems.

And usually, the answer isn't "burn this shit to the ground and start over". But rather, centralize what's scattered, document what's repeated, and automate what's manual in your behind-the-scenes.

How I reorganized my own business systems this week