I ended up in the emergency room. Not because I was sick, but because I was done. Completely down and out. And here's the thing—I didn't see it coming. I thought I was just busy, just grinding, just doing what entrepreneurs do. But my body said no. That was my wake-up call.

Quick note: This wasn't yesterday—I'm fine now! But that experience completely changed how I run my business, and today I'm sharing what I learned.

Today we're talking about energy—not in some woo-woo way, but in the very real, very practical way of: you only have so much, and how you spend it determines everything. Taylor Swift said it best: "Think of your energy as if it's expensive, as if it's a luxury item and not everyone can afford it." And for the longest time, I was giving mine away like free samples at Costco.

In this episode, I break down the three-question filter that changed how I operate my business—and probably saved me from another trip to the ER. Direction. Protection. Sustainability. These three filters determine whether you're building something that lasts or burning yourself out chasing things that don't matter.

What you'll learn

• Why decision fatigue is draining your energy account faster than you realize
• The Taylor Swift principle: treating your energy like the luxury item it is
• How to spot when you're stepping over $100 bills to pick up a five
• Three questions that filter everything: direction, protection, sustainability
• Why "neutral" is still a withdrawal from your energy account
• The capacity-to-help vs. obligation-to-help distinction
• How boundary erosion happens (and how to stop it before you crash)
• Why not all energy expenditure is created equal
• The difference between being burned out from working too much vs. working on the wrong things

Key takeaways

• Your energy isn't free—it's finite, and you can't manufacture more time
• Decision fatigue is real: entrepreneurs make 100+ more decisions per day than employees
• Ask: Is this moving me closer to my goal or further away? (Your direction filter)
• Ask: Has this person/opportunity invested enough to afford my energy? (Your protection filter)
• Ask: Does this honor my boundaries or erode them? (Your sustainability filter)
• Not everyone gets access to your energy—capacity doesn't create obligation
• Boundary erosion doesn't happen all at once—it's the small "yes" when you should have said no
• The right thing can give you energy instead of taking it
• You can't build long-term if you're burning out short-term
• Every time you say yes to something that doesn't pass the filters, you're stealing from something that does matter

Try this today

1. Write your "NO list." What drains energy, adds no value, or causes friction?
2. Define your 3 YES priorities. What truly moves the needle?
3. Run one decision through all three filters: Direction, protection, sustainability. If it doesn't pass all three, it's a no.

Even one intentional NO this week will create space for something that truly matters.

Creators & Extras

• Tiffany-Ann Bottcher - Host

Resources

• Path 2 Profit Bookkeeping and Tax
• Goal Getter Media
• Service Based Business Society Podcast

If this episode resonates, subscribe and share it with a service-based founder who needs permission to protect their energy without guilt.

#entrepreneurship #energymanagement #boundaries #servicebusiness #burnout #businessstrategy #growthmindset #decisionfatigue #sustainability #tiffanyannbottcher #protectyourenergy #filterruthlessly

Click here to view the episode transcript.

You've got the vision, the big ideas, the entrepreneurial fire—but here's the truth bomb nobody talks about: Most businesses don't fail because of bad ideas. They fail because of bad operations.

Today's guest is Lisi Kempton, aka The Mindful COO, and she's here to tell you why you might be quietly sabotaging your own success. We're diving deep into the seven biggest mistakes business owners make when scaling—from running a $200,000 business without even a business bank account (yes, really) to burning out doing work you hate in a business you built for freedom.

Lisi breaks down the difference between being a visionary CEO and an integrator COO—and why trying to be both might be what's keeping you stuck. If you've ever felt like you're fighting fires instead of building an empire, or if you're making good money but working yourself into the ground, this episode is your wake-up call.

**What You'll Learn**

- The CEO vs COO framework: Visionary vs Integrator (and why you can't be both)
- Why most businesses operate without budgets—and the cost of that gap
- The seven biggest operational mistakes that sabotage scaling
- How to identify which role YOU should actually be playing
- When to hire operational support (hint: it's when things break, not before)
- Why departmental thinking is essential for growth beyond six figures
- The real reason business owners burn out—and how operations fixes it
- How to get perspective when you're too deep in your business

**Key Insights**

- Most people want to be CEO, but few understand the COO role is equally critical
- Operations takes a great idea and makes it scalable—it's the execution engine
- Business owners wear all the hats early on, which creates internal conflict
- The "fighting fires" feeling is a signal your operations need attention
- Awareness is the first step—you can't fix what you don't see
- External perspective is invaluable when you're stuck in the weeds
- Having a budget isn't optional—it's foundational to scaling safely

Click here to watch a video of this episode.

Creators & Extras

• Tiffany-Ann Bottcher - Host
• Lisi Kempton - Guest

Lisi Kempton is The Mindful COO, a business operations expert who helps service-based entrepreneurs scale without burnout. Drawing on the EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) framework and years of hands-on experience, she specializes in helping visionary CEOs implement the systems, structures, and team dynamics needed to execute their big ideas. Her approach blends strategic operations with mindfulness, ensuring sustainable growth that doesn't sacrifice the founder's sanity.

**Connect with Lisi**

Website: https://soultreeops.com
Email: lisi@lisikempton.com
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/lisikempton
YouTube: Mindful Business Expansion

**Links & Resources**

Lisi's Website: https://soultreeops.com
Traction by Gino Wickman: https://www.eosworldwide.com/traction
Path 2 Profit Bookkeeping and Tax: https://path2profitbookkeeping.io
Goal Getter Media: https://goalgettermedia.io
Service Based Business Society Podcast: https://podcast.servicebasedbusinesssociety.com

If this episode resonates, subscribe and share it with a service-based founder who needs to stop wearing all the hats and start building the right team.

#operations #servicebusiness #entrepreneurship #CEO #COO #businessgrowth #scaling #systems #leadership #EOS #traction #integrator #visionary #burnout #businessstrategy #tiffanyannbottcher #lisikempton #mindfulCOO

This past week was brutal. Sick kids, sick team members, dentist disasters, and Halloween chaos—all while facing one of the biggest investment decisions I've ever made. And after running the numbers, analyzing the opportunity, and being completely honest about our capacity? I said no.

But not "never." Not yet.

In this raw, real episode, I pull back the curtain on why I turned down a game-changing opportunity to significantly grow top-line revenue—even though it looked perfect on paper. From the penny-in-the-cup science experiment to the reality of doubling fulfillment capacity in 3-5 months, I break down what it really means to say "not yet" when you're already running at full capacity.

This isn't about being risk-averse or playing small. It's about being strategic enough to know when your cup is full, and when adding more will make everything spill over.

What you'll learn

• Why saying "not yet" to a great opportunity can be your smartest strategic move
• The penny-in-the-cup analogy: how seasonal handfuls break surface tension
• How to evaluate opportunities based on actual capacity, not just financial projections
• Why humans are the hardest thing to scale in service-based businesses
• The alternative approach: smaller investments in capacity that set you up for phase two
• How to make decisions from clarity, not desperation or FOMO
• Why ROI means nothing without the capacity to deliver

The Reality Check Service-based businesses have a huge human component. You can buy software licenses today, rent space tomorrow, and order equipment next week. But people? Training takes time. Culture takes time. Even skilled hires need to learn your systems, your standards, your way of doing things. Rush that process, and you end up with holes in your game—the kind clients notice.

Try this today

1. Take an honest capacity inventory. Not theoretical capacity—actual capacity when life happens (sick days, school pickups, pumpkin patches).
2. Look at your team. Are they already stretched? Showing burnout signs? How much do they really have in the tank?
3. Audit your systems. Are they documented? Scalable? Or mostly in your head?
4. Ask the timeline question. How fast could you realistically scale while maintaining quality AND sanity?
5. Make your decision from honesty. Not from hustle culture, not from FOMO, but from where you actually are.

Creators & Guests

• Tiffany-Ann Bottcher - Host

#entrepreneurship #servicebusiness #businessgrowth #capacity #scalingsmart #roi #investment #businessstrategy #growthmindset #tiffanyannbottcher #notyet #buildingtowardready