Thomas Helfrich

InstantlyRelevant.com

Instantly Relevant helps B2B companies grow faster by combining AI, automation, and human expertise into one end-to-end marketing system. We manage everything from social media and content creation (posts, podcasts, YouTube, newsletters) to direct outreach, personal brand growth, and AI-SEO powered, human-written thought leadership articles.

Our value is simple: we don’t just build strategies... we execute them. Clients range from billion-dollar engineering firms and $100M SaaS companies to solopreneurs making $500K–$2.5M annually. Across industries — insurance, engineering, software, marketing, and consulting — our customized approach works because it’s designed around results.

All of this comes for less than the cost of an intern.

Lead AI Marketing Strategist

Cut The Tie (Instantly Relevant, Inc. Company)

Cut The Tie | Own Your Success
Cut The Tie is a multi-channel amplification platform that turns one podcast conversation into a powerful marketing engine. We amplify your story across YouTube, social, blogs, newsletters, digital magazine features, and ads—maximizing visibility, credibility, and ROI.

Podcast Host

Computer Aid, Inc.

Led enterprise adoption of AI and Intelligent Automation across sales, delivery, and marketing functions at a $1B+ services firm.

Designed and executed innovation strategies that modernized operations and improved efficiency.

Created AI-powered solutions that enhanced customer experience and supported revenue scalability.

Served as an executive advisor for technology-enabled transformation, positioning CAI as an industry leader.

Chief Innovation Officer

ISG (Information Services Group)

Trusted advisor to Fortune 500 clients including Eli Lilly and Stanley Black & Decker.

Spearheaded AI and automation strategy programs that optimized workflows and reduced costs.

Partnered with executives to align technology investments with measurable business outcomes.

Delivered scalable process optimization frameworks that improved operational quality across enterprises.

Senior Director, Intelligent Automation Services

KPMG

Executive advisor to global enterprises on governance, AI adoption, and automation frameworks.

Guided clients in adopting new technologies securely and strategically.

Developed frameworks that balanced innovation with regulatory compliance.

Senior Manager

Elsevier

Director Business Technology

Accenture

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Solutions Architect

Win More Marketing Clients, Get Verified | Build trust faster, overcome skeptical buyers, & win more clients | Get Verified, Risk-Free | 1 Mil YouTube Subs / Top 10% Global Podcast

I deliver on the promise of Ai marketing to generate leads and build your brand. In fact, I guarantee it.

I bring together AI, automation, and human expertise to drive measurable growth for clients ranging from billion-dollar engineering firms to $100M SaaS companies to high-performing solopreneurs. Book a time with me here: Calendly.com/instantlyrelevant

My team and I provide end-to-end growth solutions:
• Social media management (LinkedIn, Meta, and more)
• Content production (posts, podcasts, YouTube, newsletters)
• Direct outreach (DMs, connections, network growth)
• Thought leadership + AI-SEO human-written articles
• 1:1 coaching to sharpen offers, systems, and sales flows
• Integrating Ai into you business to achieve measurable results

In the past five years, we’ve helped secure over $500M in contracts, doubled revenue from $40M → $80M in just two years, and scaled small businesses from $1M → $3M ARR. Every engagement is customized—and all of it comes for less than the cost of an intern.

Before launching Instantly Relevant, I spent 20 years in consulting (including KPMG) and led intelligent automation and AI strategy implementations at Eli Lilly and Stanley Black & Decker.

🎙️ In 2024, I launched the Cut The Tie podcast + YouTube channel, which grew into a top 2.5% globally ranked show with 1M+ subscribers—proof that the same growth systems we use for clients work at scale.

👉 Want to see how your lead gen stacks up? Take my 3-minute assessment: assessment.instantlyrelevant.com

Chief Executive Officer

Let's double your LinkedIn revenue with the Instantly Relevant sales and marketing system.

Polaris

✔️ Scale Your Productive Output ✔️ Achieve Yearly Goals On A Quarterly Basis ✔️ Get Time Back ✔️ VA Outsourcing ✔️ Achieve More While Working Less ✔️For Established Coaches, Consultants, Service Providers

► What Are We The Best In The World At?
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You've probably realized that hustling will only get you so far. To go from a Chief Executive Of Everything to a Strategic CEO, we can't just focus on working more hours, we must focus on increasing Output Per Time. 

Elite Performers Ltd is a company dedicated to established online entrepreneurs to strategically allocate time for maximal productive output.  

We are the only coaching company in the world that helps clients to simultaneously create an abundance of profit, autonomy and freedom through an integration of productivity and leverage modalities. 

Not only will we provide you with customized advice, tools and strategies to grow your business in the most time effective manner possible, we'll also hire, train and manage top-tier virtual assistants who will help you free up hours per week by taking busy work off your plate.

Let us do the heavy lifting, so your time can be used on moving the business forward, as well as for other areas in life that matter most. 

► Apply our systems and processes to multiply your output 
► Get time back through the power of strategic delegation 
► Achieve yearly targets on a quarterly basis while experiencing the time freedom you deserve

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Text: ✆+852 6709 3430
Email: ✉ michael@michaelyeung.net
Free Training: https://www.theeliteperformer.com/time-compression-1
Book a Chat: https://calendly.com/yeungmichael/roadmapcall-30

Founder

Dean Graziosi

Moderator and community manager of Knowledge Broker Blueprint Mastermind

Community Manager

Traffic and Funnels

Comprehensive Business Building Program For Experts

Platinum Coaching & Mentoring Workshop
High Ticket Offer Building
Paid Traffic Campaigns (how to run Facebook ads to get high value clients)
Automated Systems (teach your business to run itself)
Advanced Sales Strategies (how to get people to pay up to $15k for your expertise)

ELITE Partnership Member

Formula Y Ltd

CVS Group Plc

Veterinary Surgeon

Over the past 4 years I’ve helped over 200 clients build profitable businesses while experiencing the time freedom they deserve. 

We do that by delegating day-to-day operations to Virtual Assistants, and streamlining processes for sustainable scaling. 

My mission is to help 1 million entrepreneurs experience total freedom – to only do the work you like with people you like, and in the process create a life where you can do what you want, with who you want, for as long as you want to. 

We build processes and train VAs to handle...

→ Content distribution and social media management
→ Executive and administrative tasks
→ Outreach, prospecting and follow ups
→ CRM management
→ Customer support and client fulfilment
→ Data tracking and reporting

Resulting in clients experiencing ...

→ An average of 12 hours per week freed up within first 30 days
→ Significant reductions in stress, overwhelm and reactivity
→ More time for deep work and profit-producing activities
→ More opportunities to create priceless moments with people they love 

If you want to learn more about how this is done, you can grab my Zero-Lag VA Playbook:
→ GO HERE: www.theeliteperformer.com/playbook

If you want to enroll in our virtual challenge for founders to multiply productive output:
→ GO HERE: www.theeliteperformer.com/flow_zone_challenge

If you want to work privately with me and my VA team to scale profitably, schedule a roadmap call:
→ GO HERE: www.theeliteperformer.com/results-book

_________________________________________________________________________

Facebook community: The Intelligent Delegator
Facebook: @michael.yeunghk
Instagram: @realmichaelyeung
X: @MichaelhkYeung
Whatsapp: +852 63395670

Michael Yeung

Most entrepreneurs are stuck below 7 figures not because of the lack of resources or work ethic. 

But because of the lack of leverage. 

When you’re stuck as the bottleneck putting out fires all day, your vision shrinks and all you can think about is how to grow another 10-20% without burning out. 

And that’s exactly what keeps most from 10X-ing. 

This was exactly where I was at in 2020, 

Lead flow stopped, prospects ghosted, clients left, revenue nosedived, and I nearly lost my entire bueinsss… 

Because I took a week off for Christmas. 

The moment I stop working, the business would start breaking. 

That's when I realized the "more equals more" mentality was killing my business. 

Working harder wasn't the answer. I needed leverage.

Here are the 3 problems to fix to create a business that runs itself:

Problem #1: All Your Business Knowledge Is Locked in Your Head

If you're the only one who knows how things work, you're building a prison, not a business.

The fix: → Map your acquisition process (how strangers become clients) → Document your fulfillment process (how clients get results) → Install feedback loops (measure what matters, improve what moves)

When processes are on paper, your team can execute without asking you for direction every 30 minutes.

Problem #2: You're Hiring Reactively and Managing Constantly

Most entrepreneurs hire when they're drowning, then spend all their time micromanaging.

The fix: → Use the 3-tier org chart: Doers, Managers, Decision Makers → Start with doers who handle manual work → Train them to self-manage with accountability systems

They report outcomes. You optimize performance. No more babysitting.

Problem #3: Your Business Is Bloated and Overcomplicated

If growth is fueled by rising ad spend, expensive contractors and overcomplicated tech stacks, 

It doesn’t matter how much revenue you make, profit will just disappear. 

The fix: → Eliminate what doesn't directly contribute to revenue or freedom → Simplify your systems before you scale them → Set a high floor and say no to distractions

Complexity fails. Simplicity scales.

As your business grows, your life should get better, not worse.

If you can free up 20 hours per week, what would you do with the time?

♻️ Repost to help another founder break free. ➕ Follow Michael Yeung for systems that create freedom.

Helping Consultants & Agency Owners Systematize Operations and Scale Without Stress | Profitable Systems, AI-Powered VAs, Smooth Operations.

3 Problems Keeping You Stuck (And How to Fix Them)

Allowing myself to deserve rest was the best thing that happened to my business.

You don't earn rest only after grinding 100 hours or hitting a new revenue record.

Rest isn't a reward. It's a performance enhancer.

Let me be direct:

If you believe you have to "deserve" time off, you've likely brought your employee mindset into entrepreneurship.

Here's the dichotomy:

🚩 The Hustler
→ Believes rest is earned through exhaustion
→ Wears 80-hour weeks like a badge of honor
→ Stops only when forced by burnout or breakdown
→ Thinks: "I'll relax when I finally make it"

✅ The Operator
→ Schedules stillness as strategically as sales calls
→ Understands peak performance requires recovery
→ Protects energy like the most valuable asset it is
→ Knows: "Rest creates clarity. Clarity creates results."

I spent three years as The Hustler.

Grinding 12-hour days. Said yes to everything. Stayed stuck at $10K-$20K/month.

I told myself: "I don't deserve to rest until I hit the next level."

Here's what I didn't understand:

The hustle mentality that got me off the ground became the exact ceiling keeping me stuck.

I was operating on fumes. Running on cortisol. Fueled by scarcity and anxiety.

Then my mindset coach asked one question:

"Is what you're doing giving you energy or taking it away?"

The answer was brutal: Taking. Every single day.

So I did something that felt counterintuitive:

I gave myself permission to have empty mornings. To sit with stillness. To let the mud settle instead of constantly stirring it.

Something extraordinary happened.

Insights arrived. Solutions emerged. Opportunities I'd been chasing came to me.

Within 30 days of shifting from force to flow, I crossed $30K for the first time.

A few months later? Over $50K while taking 3 weeks completely off.

Now, to be clear—these results aren't typical right away. It took me time to integrate this mindset shift. But it's possible when you address the foundation first.

Here's the principle:

You can't outwork a scarcity operating system.

Rest isn't the enemy of results. Exhaustion is.

Peak performance comes from alignment, not force.

So let me ask you:

Are you building a business that requires constant grinding to survive?

Or are you building a business that runs on systems, leverage, and intentional energy?

There's no comfortable middle ground here.

You're either operating like an employee who trades time for money—or a CEO who creates leverage and freedom.

Enjoy this? ♻️ Repost it to your network and follow Michael Yeung for more.

Most clients I work with have been “burnt” by staffing agencies and freelancers. 

Last week, I spoke with an agency owner (now client) and examined why her hires keep ending up in disasters. 

It wasn't the VAs.
It wasn't her judgment.
It wasn't the tools she was using.

It was the foundation she was trying to build her business operations on. 
Here's the pattern I see constantly amongst agency owners who are good at what they do:

Hits $30-50k/month → Realize they're the bottleneck → Tries to hire help → Help fails → Blames the new hire.

But the real issue isn’t with her not being able to find a “unicorn”.

She had no clarity on how to tell apart a good versus bad candidate.

No framework for what to delegate.

No SOPs for how work gets done.

She was essentially asking strangers to read her mind while she ran between client calls and urgent tasks.

Here's what most founders don't realize:

You're not bad at hiring. You're hiring on broken systems.

And no amount of talent can fix a foundation that doesn't exist.

Think about it:

Would a world-class chef agree to work in a kitchen with no stove, no recipes, and no ingredients?

Of course not. 

But that's exactly what founders do when they hire before systematizing.

The solution isn't finding better people.

It's building better systems first. Then bringing in people to run them.
That's the only sequence that works.

If you want the templates to the 4 systems I use so that daily operations can be handled for me, 

Comment “4” and I’ll send you a copy.

Most entrepreneurs think their problem is finding A players. 

But here's the truth:

Unless you’re a reputable brand that A-players are attracted to…

your time is much better spent creating effective systems, so that the business can scale profitably even with B-players running it.

I've worked with over 300 service businesses. And the pattern is always the same.

They hire reactively when they're maxed out,

throw SOPs at their team, 

Hope those SOPs get followed,

and spend hours checking if things are done on time and correctly.

Then they burn out and blame the hire for "not working out."

But here's what actually happened:

Good people don’t fix broken systems. Broken systems break good people.

Think about it.

If all your business knowledge is locked in your head, how can anyone execute without constantly asking you for direction?

If you're micromanaging every task, how can your team develop autonomy?

If you have no feedback loops to measure performance, how do can your 

team optimize according to what is considered job well done?

The answer isn't searching for A-players. 

It’s building better systems and culture that turns B-players into A-players

Here's how we solve this with the Freedom Flywheel:

1. Process Before People

Before you hire, map out your processes. Document how strangers become clients. Systematize how clients get results.

When processes are on paper, your team can execute without you.

2. Train for Self-Management

Stop hovering over your team's shoulders every 30 minutes.

Train your team to hold themselves accountable. They report actions, outcomes, and areas of improvement.

You optimize performance based on their reports. You lead, not manage.

3. Simplify Before You Scale

Most businesses are bloated with overcomplicated tech stacks and unnecessary expenses.

Eliminate what doesn't contribute to revenue or freedom. 

Let go of sunk cost bias and stay simple.

Your business should fund your freedom, not steal it.

What's one process in your business that you want to streamline and make scalable?

♻️ Repost if this shifted your perspective. ➕ Follow Michael Yeung for scalable systems.

Tool shopping won't fix your operational chaos.

Every week, I see the same pattern:

Founder is overwhelmed. Business is disorganized. Nothing gets done on time.

Their solution? "Maybe if I switch to ClickUp/Asana/Notion, everything will be organized."

Three months later, the new tool is just as messy as the old one.

Team is confused. Founder is still micromanaging everything.

Here's what's actually happening:

Buying project management software when you don't have clear processes is like buying a gym membership to fix your diet.

You're solving a problem with the wrong solution.

The real issue isn't the tool. It's the absence of a scalable operating system.
After systematizing operations for hundreds of clients, here's what actually creates operational leverage:

The 3-Layer Documentation System:

Layer 1: Process Maps (Satellite View)

Map out the major steps your business takes to turn strangers into clients, then clients into advocates.

Don't document HOW yet — just document WHAT happens at each stage.
Example:

- Acquisition: Paid ads → VSL → Appointment page → Sales call
- Fulfillment: Enrollment → Onboarding → Implementation → Retention

This gives everyone the high-level overview of how your business operates.

Layer 2: Workflows (Street View)

For each major process, document the specific sequential steps.

Example client onboarding process:

- Collect brand assets
- Create webinar script
- Build registration page
- Set up email automation
- Configure webinar platform
- Test funnel
- Launch retargeting ads

Average founders document isolated tasks.
Scalable founders document connected workflows.

Tasks are dots. Workflows are lines connecting the dots.

Layer 3: SOPs (Ground View)

For each workflow step, create instructions impossible to misunderstand.

Include:

- Video walkthroughs
- Templates
- Checklists
- Detailed instructions

When someone understands the vision, sees the pathway, and has clear instructions—delegation becomes natural, not painful.

The result?

Your team makes better decisions independently because they understand context, not just tasks.

You stop being the answer to every question.

Your business stops depending on your memory and starts depending on your systems.

The uncomfortable truth:

If you can't document a process, you can't delegate it.

If you can't delegate it, you're not building a business, you're building a job for yourself.


Enjoy this? ♻️ Repost it to your network and follow Michael Yeung for more.

When I hired my very first marketing assistant, I freed up 20 hours per week and hit a new revenue record… all within the same month. 

Here’s how you can do the same: 

Step 1: Create a job ad that only attracts top-tier marketing assistants, with clear role responsibilities, requirements and KPIs. (Here’s an example job description) https://lnkd.in/gYCj7vFc

Step 2: Create a spreadsheet and list out all the tasks that you want to your marketing assistant to handle for you

Step 3: Clarify the execution cadence of each task – daily, weekly, monthly or trigger based.

Step 4: Qualify and hire your marketing assistant.

Step 5: Record yourself doing each task using a tool like LOOM, or hop on Zoom calls and have your marketing assistant watch you do them in real time.

Step 6: Instead of writing SOPs yourself, have your marketing assistant turn each recording into a written SOP. 

Step 7: Assess your marketing assistant’s understanding by reviewing the accuracy of those SOPs. 

Step 8: Provide any corrections or coaching if needed, and proceed to delegate those tasks to your marketing assistant

Step 9: Hyperlink those SOPs onto your task list and have your marketing assistant report to you their daily actions and progress. (Here’s an example of the workflow checklist) https://lnkd.in/gBu_5Zrz

A few hours invested into this process will easily save you 10-20+ hours per week, plus make you more money.

I freed up 20 hours per week and hit a new revenue record

The death loop that cause me to keep self-sabotaging for 3 full years. 

It's hard for me to admit this as a logical and systems driven person. 

But strategies, information and effort only factors for 20% of success once you past 30-40k / month in business. 

When I quit my vet job and went full time, it didn't take long before I got to consistent 20-30k months. 

But for 3 years I failed to break through 30-40k months. I tried working harder, investing into more programs, spending more on ads, hiring more people... only to end up banging my head on that glass ceiling. 

Occasionally I would break past 40k, only to default back to that usual 20-30k range the month after. 

❌ Little did I realize I was stuck not because of the lack of strategies, tools or discipline. 

It was because of me operating from A PLACE OF LACK. 

To my subconscious mind, below 20k per month = survival. 

Above 20k per month = I got everything I need to survive. 

When you've been fighting to get out of survival mode for the majority of your life, 

your default approach to growth would just look like this: 

Find yourself in survival mode --> Focus on what you don't have --> Trigger stress & anxiety --> Use that as fuel to work hard --> Work hard until you're out of survival mode --> Lose motivation and momentum -> Repeat. 

This is the death loop that keeps so many entrepreneurs stuck below their potential. 

Running a somewhat okay business, living a lukewarm life, staying out of survival but not thriving. 

Hustling harder won't break you out of the loop. 

Raising living expenses as a way to motivate yourself to earn more will just make getting out of the loop even harder.

🔑 As for the key? 

Practicing deservedness. 

Until you fully believe that you are enough, worthy and deserving of abundance, 

you'll continue to be driven by the need to fight against lack, unworthiness and scarcity. 

Be generous,

be okay with empty calendars,

stop chasing, 

start attracting,

think and behave as someone who is already abundant. 

It's practices like these that will allow your revenue to truly reflect the skills & experience you've already worked so hard to build as an entrepreneur. 

More growth to you 👊

Winners don’t rely on hustle. They build systems that hustle for them.

If you want to get my Freedom Flywheel Model breaking down how to build a business that runs without you, comment “Model” and I’ll send it over.

Build systems that hustle for you

Comment “TRACK” and I’ll send you my CEO Dashboard dashboard to track key metrics all in one place. 

So you can know exactly what to stop doing, what to start doing, and what to do more of to scale with clarity.

Track These 5 Metrics to Scale

The 11 beliefs that kept me stuck at $20K/month for three years.

It didn’t matter how hard I worked or what strategies I was following. 

Nothing changed until I replaced these beliefs. 

1. "I'll rest when I hit [revenue goal]"

→ Rest isn't earned. It's what gets you to your goals.
→ Peak performance demands recovery.
→ You can't outwork a scarcity operating system.

2. "If I stop, everything falls apart"

→ If your business can't run without you, you don't own a business.
→ You own a demanding job with extra complexity.

3. "I’ll succeed by being the hardest worker in the room"

→ Hard work got you here. Systems get you further.
→ Hustle has a ceiling. Leverage doesn't.

4. "More hours = more results"

→ This is employee thinking.
→ CEOs optimize for output per time. Not time worked.
→ Time is finite. Leverage is infinite.

5. "I’ll miss out if I say NO."

→ Every wrong yes delays the right opportunity.
→ Strategic elimination creates space for scale.
→ Saying no to good creates room for great.

6. "I have to prove everyone wrong"

→ Building from anger creates burnout businesses.
→ Building from vision creates freedom.
→ Revenge isn't a sustainable fuel source.

7. "Good help is impossible to find"

→ If everyone you hire fails, you have a broken system.
→ Fix the system first before hiring people into it.
→ Talent doesn't fix broken processes.

8. "I need to be available 24/7"

→ Availability isn't leadership.
→ Clear systems and trust are.
→ Your team needs clarity, not constant access.

9. "My business is different—this won't work for me"

→ Every business runs on the same fundamentals.
→ Acquisition, fulfilment, operations, finances. No exceptions.
→ Don’t try to reinvent the wheel, just take the wheel and make it better. 

10. "I don't have time to build systems"

→ You don't have time NOT to.
→ You can either trade time for money or build systems to leverage time.
→ Every hour spent on $10 tasks is costing you time that could otherwise be spent on $10,000 activities.

11. "I'll feel successful when I hit [milestone]"

→ Fulfillment isn't at the finish line.
→ It's in the operating state you create now.
→ The journey is the destination.

I replaced these beliefs one by one over 36 months.

The result? Revenue tripled while work hours dropped by 40%.

Now, to be clear—results like these don't happen overnight. For most founders, this is a 6-12 month journey of mindset shifts and systematic implementation. But it's absolutely possible when you address the beliefs underneath the tactics.

Your beliefs create your reality more than your strategies do.

Which belief speaks to you the most? Drop the number below.

11 beliefs that kept me stuck

Comment “AIVA” and I’ll send you my exact playbook to delegate content production, operations and reactive tasks to AI-powered VAs. 

Instead of choosing between VA and AI, let’s train VAs to use AI for 10X the leverage.

Train VAs to use AI for 10X the leverage.

I used to wake up every morning drenched in anxiety. 

My mind will be filled with all the messages I have to respond to and obligations I got to stay on top of. 

As well as thoughts around what might’ve broke or what problems I might get hit with. 

It was bearable at the start, but things quickly became unsustainable as we grew. 

The business that I built for peace and freedom, quickly turned into a constant source of reactivity and anxiety. 

I can either solve that by being more disciplined and more “available” to anyone at anytime. 
Or put systems and boundaries in place. 

Looking back with us now having clients and VAs across 9 different timezones, I’m just glad that I went with option 2. 

With daily operations documented onto processes and SOPs, 

and VAs executing them with the help of AI, 

I can keep my boundaries protected. Both mentally and logistically. 

Oftentimes we over-rely on our ability to work faster and do more.

While underestimating how much more we can achieve by having ample energy & headspace. 

There’s magic in being able to focus on deep work, 

to be able to let your mind wander without having to rush, 

and be freed up to do what only you can do. 

Create leverage, protect peace, enjoy freedom. 

The growth will happen as a byproduct. 🌴

In December 2024, my business broke its quarterly revenue record by 40% while I took 3 weeks off for Christmas to explore the Galapagos Islands.

Here’s the rather painful journey that led up to the win…

Five years ago, I tried to take a week off for Christmas and almost lost my entire business. 

Lead flow stopped. Clients left. Revenue nosedived.

I was running a business that would fall apart the moment I stopped working.

That's when I realized:

If I wanted freedom, I had to build it into the operating system of my business.

Here's the 3P framework I used:

Pillar 1: Process

Most entrepreneurs store all their business knowledge in their head.

That's why they can't take time off without everything falling apart.

The solution: 

→ Map your acquisition process (how strangers become clients) 
→ Document your fulfillment process (how clients get results) 
→ Install optimization loops (measure what matters, improve what moves)

When processes are repeatable and scalable, your team executes without you.

Pillar 2: People

Most entrepreneurs hire reactively and waste time micromanaging.

The solution: 

→ Use the 3-tier org chart: Doers, Managers, Decision Makers 
→ Start by hiring doers for manual work 
→ Train them to self-manage with accountability systems

You optimize performance based on their reports. You lead, not manage.

Pillar 3: Profitability

Most businesses are bloated with rising ad spend, expensive contractors, and overcomplicated tech stacks.

The solution: 

→ Have your EA or Chief of Staff send you monthly financial reports
→ Monitor metrics like gross margin, net margin and revenue per head
→ Scale what is simple and lean, not complex & bloated.

As your business grows, your life should get better, not worse.

There’s no need to choose between making money and creating moments with the people who matter most.

The Freedom Flywheel solves this by creating a business where the harder your systems work, the less you have to.

If you want the full training breaking down how to install the Freedom Flywheel to scale with leverage, 

comment “FF” and I’ll send it to you.

If your life isn’t getting better despite your business getting bigger, 

change your definition of success. 

I used to tie my self-worth to whether I’m hitting a new revenue record every month, 

only to end up putting myself in a month-to-month grind. 

Where I’m fuelling growth with anxiety and need for validation. 

Things only got better after I changed my NorthStar Metric for success to this: 

“Can I sleep through the night?”

It didn’t make sense then but it makes so much sense now. 

I’ve met so many entrepreneurs who are successful on the outside but are a total mess on the inside, 

growing fast, but also constantly stressed about…

defaulted payments,
pending invoices, 
unhappy clients
rising ad cost,
disloyal team,
disappearing margins,

and how one curveball will undo 6 months worth of progress.

My business might not be growing as fast as the internet say I “should”, 
but I’m glad that we have…

0% disputes year-to-date,
8 months operating reserves,
clients who are amazing to work with,
a team that’s loyal & aligned,
a business model that is simple, predictable and organically compounds over time

This gives me peace of mind. 

To sleep through the night, 

to create, take risks and pursue growth. 

Not from a place of fear & anxiety but from a place of vision.

Quick growth is overrated. 

Would highly recommend optimising for peace & longevity instead. ⭐️

I added $300,000 in profit while freeing up 20 hours per week.

Not by working harder. Not by spending more on ads. Not by hiring a massive team.

But by building a simple operating system that compounds leverage like crazy.

Most entrepreneurs are stuck in the "Bro Scaling Trap" — where growing means working 80-hour weeks, watching profit margins disappear, and hating the business you built for freedom.

Here are the 3 pillars of the Freedom Flywheel:

1. Process: Map Your Business Out of Your Head

Stop bouncing between marketing tactics with no clear direction.

Document your acquisition process — how strangers become clients. 

Systematize your fulfillment — how clients get results consistently. 

Install optimization loops — measure what matters, improve what moves the needle.

When your processes are repeatable and scalable, your team knows exactly what to do without you micromanaging every step.

2. People: Build the Right Team in the Right Order

Most entrepreneurs hire reactively when they're maxed out, then waste time and money.

Use the 3-tier org chart: 

Tier 1 = Decision Makers
Tier 2 = Managers
Tier 3 = Doers.

Start by hiring doers to handle manual and repetitive work. Train them to self-manage using accountability systems. They report actions, outcomes, and improvement areas without you hovering.

This frees you to be a leader, not a babysitter.

3. Profitability: Simplify to Scale

Stop optimizing things that shouldn't exist.

Cut the bloated expenses. Eliminate the overcomplicated tech stacks. Say no to everything that doesn't directly align with revenue or freedom.

Set a high floor. Focus only on what truly matters.

Having helped hundreds of clients implemented the Freedom Flywheel to create leverage, results simply happen like clockwork. 

Including one landlord consultant who went from 80-hour weeks to taking a full week off every quarter, 

an agency owner who doubled revenue while cutting work hours in half, 
and a service provider who 5x-ed revenue without adding a single work hour. 

Freedom isn't about working less and making less.

It's about having systems work harder so you don't have to.

What's one area of your business that's stuck in your head instead of on paper?

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3 Pillars of the Freedom Flywheel

In 2020, I almost lost my entire business because I took a week off for Christmas.

Lead flow stopped. Over a dozen prospects ghosted me. Multiple clients left. Revenue nosedived.

All because I wanted to take a break and spend time with family.

That was the wake up call I needed to start building a business that doesn’t soley rely on me working 24/7.

I had started my business to help people, make money, and travel the world. 

Instead, I was working past 9pm, missing family dinners, skipping workouts, and drowning in anxiety.

I was running a business that would fall apart the moment I stopped working.

So I hired multiple business coaches to teach me how to scale.

Their advice?

"Start more conversations." "Spend more on ads." "Let sales solve your problems." "Hire more people if you run out of time."

I followed every word.

And fell straight into the "Bro Scaling Trap."

While my business got bigger, I became more miserable.

I was working 80-hour weeks, bouncing between slack messages, sales conversations and client fulfillment…

While the majority of that hard earned revenue went to rising ad spend, expensive contractors, and overcomplicated tech stacks.

On the surface, the numbers looked good. But in reality, the business was bloated, unsustainable, and overcomplicated.

It was a living nightmare.

Here's what I learned the hard way:

If the "more equals more" mentality created the problem, you can't solve it with the same thinking.

The answer isn't to work more hours, spend more on ads, or hire more people.

You need simple systems to create leverage. So you can achieve more by doing less.

After painfully burning down my business and rebuilting it with scalable foundations, 

In December 2024, the business broke its quarterly record by 40%, while I took 3 weeks off to explore the Galapagos Islands and propose to my now-fiancé.

All thanks to daily operations running flawlessly without me. With people and process working together in harmony. 

Rather than building more discipline, 

I built a Freedom Flywheel — an operating system to reclaim time from low-value tasks and reinvest it into high-leverage activities.

Rather than trading time for money, I get more time back as the business scales up.
There’s an opportunity cost to doing everything yourself.

Every hour you spend doing $10 tasks is costing you time that could be spent on $10,000 activities.

What would your business look like if systems hustled for you instead of you hustling for the business?

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I stayed stuck at $10K-$20K/month for three years. 

This framework is what led me to break free and surpass 30k months, followed by 50k months, all within 90 days, 

I was stuck not because of the lack of work ethic or strategies. 

But because of my energy. 

More specifically, energy that attracts scarcity like a magnet.
 
Here are 7 signs you're operating in scarcity:

1. You wake up with a tight chest

↳ Mornings start with anxiety, not intention
 ↳ First thought: "What could go wrong today?"
 ↳ You're in fight-or-flight before your feet hit the floor

2. You can't take time off without guilt

↳ Vacations feel like betrayals
 ↳ Rest requires "earning it first"
 ↳ Inner dialogue: "I'll relax when I hit X goal"

3. Every decision comes from fear of losing

↳ You say yes to clients you don't want
 ↳ You price based on desperation, not value
 ↳ "What if this is my last opportunity?" drives strategy

4. You compare yourself constantly

↳ Scroll Instagram → immediate inadequacy
 ↳ Someone else's win feels like your loss
 ↳ You're always behind, never ahead

5. Your default state is reactive

↳ Firefighting > strategic thinking
 ↳ Calendar full, priorities empty
 ↳ Busy doesn't equal productive (but you can't stop)

6. You measure progress in hours worked

↳ "I worked 80 hours this week" feels like a flex
 ↳ Productivity = exhaustion
 ↳ Time off = falling behind

7. Solutions feel forced, not flowing

↳ Every problem requires brute force
 ↳ Nothing comes easily
 ↳ You're swimming upstream daily

I operated here for 36 months straight.

The moment I shifted from dark energy to light energy? More than doubled my business while working less.

Now, to be clear—results like this aren't immediate for everyone. It took me months to fully integrate this shift. 

But it IS possible when you address the energy underneath the tactics.
When you find yourself banging your head against a glass ceiling, realize that it’s got less to do with strategy, and all to do with frequency, 

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7 signs you're operating in scarcity

I narrowly escaped business death three times before this pattern became obvious. 

First time → Got sick. Client fulfillment collapsed within 48 hours
Second time → Took Christmas off. Sales pipeline went completely cold
Third time → Tried hiring. Profit margins disappeared while I got buried in Slack DMs.

I kept thinking: "Maybe I hired the wrong people."

Wrong diagnosis.

I was asking capable people to work with broken systems.

Here's what most founders miss about delegation:

Instruction without context creates dependency.

I handed my team SOPs without vision.

Told them what to do but never shared why. 

As a result, they executed steps but had zero idea how their work connected to revenue, client satisfaction, or business growth.

So they did what any reasonable person would do—they came back to me for answers.

Constantly.

I didn't remove myself as the bottleneck. I just added more people depending on me.

The shift happened when I studied how nature builds systems.

A tree doesn't just have a trunk and leaves. It has connected layers:

→ Trunk splits into limbs
→ Limbs split into branches
→ Branches split into twigs
→ Same pattern. Different scales. One system.

I started documenting my business the same way, providing a GPS for my team to navigate challenges without me:

Layer 1: Process maps showing major steps (satellite view)
Layer 2: Workflows showing sequential steps (street view)
Layer 3: SOPs with detailed instructions (ground view)

Suddenly my team could zoom out to see vision and zoom in to see execution.

They understood how everything connected.

They stopped asking questions because they had the context to make decisions themselves.

Within 30 days, I replaced myself in daily operations without anything breaking.

The business that used to require my constant presence now rewards my strategic absence.

If you're still the answer to every question in your business, you don't have a people problem. 

You have a delegation system problem. 

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I went from stuck to scale by learning how to do less.

Counterintuitive? Absolutely.

But here are the 9 practices that shifted everything:

1. The Morning Stillness Protocol

↳ Block off one weekday morning with zero agenda
 ↳ No emails. No calls. No "productive" tasks.
 ↳ Just space for clarity to emerge naturally

2. The 90-Second Reset

↳ When anxiety hits, stop everything
 ↳ Breathe deeply for 90 seconds
 ↳ This clears cortisol and restores clear thinking

3. Daily Energy Audits

↳ Evening journal: What happened? How do I feel? Why?
 ↳ Transfer mental noise to paper
 ↳ Pay off emotional debt before it compounds

4. The Abundance Redirect

↳ Catch yourself focusing on lack
 ↳ Ask: "Am I focusing on what's missing or what's possible?"
 ↳ Consciously shift attention to what's working

5. The Decision Framework Shift

↳ Old question: "What if this fails?"
 ↳ New question: "What would my future self do?"
 ↳ Operate from vision, not fear

6. Permission to Be Unproductive

↳ Schedule "empty space" as intentionally as client calls
 ↳ Treat stillness as strategy
 ↳ Solutions emerge when you stop forcing them

7. The Energy-First Filter

↳ Before any decision: "Does this give or take energy?"
 ↳ If it drains you, it's the wrong move
 ↳ Alignment > achievement

8. Hypnotherapy & Nervous System Work

↳ Address the emotional debt you've been carrying
 ↳ Reprogram subconscious patterns
 ↳ You can't outwork unhealed trauma

9. Trust Over Force

↳ Stop forcing solutions immediately
↳ Let clarity arrive in its own time
↳ The mud settles when you stop stirring it

I implemented these after hitting rock bottom after 3 years of being stuck.

Once I did, my business took off and doubled itself within a quarter. While I took my very first 3-week sabbatical. 

I’m not saying what worked for me will work for you. But when strategy isn’t working, try focusing on frequency and energy. 

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Shift from Stuck to Scale

Your overwhelm won’t disappear just because you took the leap and made a hire. 

Most founders hit capacity and immediately think: "I need more people."

But that’s how you end up trading away profit margins, only to end up working more than ever before.

I learned this the expensive way.

Hired business coaches who said "let sales solve your problems" and "hire more people when you run out of time."

So I did. Multiple contractors. Rising expenses. Overcomplicated tech stacks.
The business got bigger. I became more miserable.

At one point, 90% of revenue went to expenses instead of my pocket.

That's when I realized the truth most business coaches won't tell you:

The right system must exist before you hire the right people.

To put this simply

Hiring reactively = Adding people to chaos
Hiring strategically = Adding people to systems

Reactive hiring creates dependency.
Strategic hiring creates leverage.

Think of it like infrastructure:

You wouldn't add more cars to a city with broken roads and no traffic lights.

You'd fix the infrastructure first. Then add vehicles that can move efficiently.

Your business works the same way.

The framework I now use:

1. Map the Process First

❌ Hire someone and figure it out later
 ✓ Document acquisition, fulfillment, and optimization before hiring
→ They execute a system, not guess their way through

2. Hire for Execution, Not Creation

❌ "Figure out how to do this for me"
 ✓ "Here's the system—make it run flawlessly"
→ Doers free up founder time immediately

3. Build Self-Management Into the Role

❌ Supervising every task they complete
 ✓ Train them to report actions, outcomes, and improvements
→ You lead strategy instead of managing tasks

4. Use the 3-Tier Org Chart

❌ Hiring randomly when overwhelmed
 ✓ Hire Doers → Managers → Decision Makers. 
→ Hire in the right order as you scale

When you build systems before hiring, three things happen:

New hires onboard faster because the process already exists

You avoid wasting time and money on people who can't deliver

Your team becomes a force multiplier instead of another thing to manage

One of my clients churned through multiple VAs because they had no processes.

We systematized their operations first. Then brought in a trained VA to execute.

The result? Operations that run without constant founder input.

Another client was about to hire a $5,000/month EA to "fix" overwhelm.

Instead, we streamlined processes and replaced the EA with a self-managing VA at a fraction of the cost. That client also went from 80-hour weeks to 20.

You can't delegate what you haven't systematized.

What process in your business needs to be documented before your next hire? 

Let me know in the comments and I’ll share the SOP or resource that’ll help you do just that.

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Michael Yeung

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