Profits & Pints Recap — May 2026
- Strategic Business Coaching
- Jun 4
- 3 min read
Your Business Isn't Inefficient. Your Workflows Are.
You Can't Fix What You Can't See.
Watch the Full Workshop Replay
If you missed this month's Profits & Pints, we recorded the full session for you.
Catch the replay to learn how to uncover hidden inefficiencies in your business, identify bottlenecks, and create workflows that support growth before throwing more people, software, or AI at the problem.
Download the Worksheet:
The Big Idea: Visibility Comes Before Improvement
One of the biggest misconceptions business owners make is assuming that when things feel busy, stressful, or inefficient, the solution is to hire another person.
Sometimes that's true.
But often it isn't.
As Samantha shared during the session, many growing businesses jump straight to hiring, adding software, or experimenting with AI before they truly understand how work is flowing through the organization.
The reality?
You can't fix what you can't see.
Before you can improve a process, automate a workflow, or delegate responsibility, you need visibility into how work actually moves from start to finish.
A Real-World Example
Samantha opened the session by sharing a challenge she's currently working through herself.
As Strategic Business Coaching has grown, new services, systems, and processes have been added over time. Recently, she brought on an intern from the university to help document procedures, create standard operating procedures, and build workflows inside HubSpot.
The goal wasn't simply to automate everything.
The goal was to understand what was actually happening first.
Because even in a small business, processes evolve. What worked a year ago may no longer work today.
Most Problems Aren't People Problems
One of the key takeaways from the workshop:
Most workflow issues aren't caused by employees.
They're usually caused by:
Tasks being passed back and forth
Too many systems that don't communicate
Waiting on approvals
Unclear ownership
Duplicate work
Bottlenecks
When these issues pile up, businesses often feel inefficient.
But the problem isn't usually effort.
It's the design of the workflow itself.
What Is a Workflow, Really?
A workflow is simply how work moves.
Simple in theory.
But when you actually map out a workflow, things become much more interesting.
The challenge is that most businesses keep processes in Word documents, notebooks, or people's heads.
What they lack is a visual representation of how work moves across people, departments, and systems.
Why Swimlane Mapping Changes Everything
One of the tools Samantha introduced was Swimlane Mapping.
What to Look for in Your Workflows
Once a workflow is mapped, there are several common issues to look for:
Too Many Handoffs
Every handoff creates risk.
Information gets lost.
Communication breaks down.
Work slows down.
The more times a task moves between people, the more opportunity there is for friction.
System Switching
Many businesses add software as they grow.
A CRM here.
A scheduling tool there.
A project management platform somewhere else.
Eventually, employees spend more time moving information between systems than actually doing the work.
Waiting Points
Approvals can create hidden bottlenecks.
If everything needs to flow through one person before moving forward, work naturally slows down.
Often, the bottleneck is the owner.
Repetitive Work
If information is being entered multiple times in different places, there is usually an opportunity to simplify.
Bottlenecks
The goal isn't to find who's at fault.
The goal is to identify where work consistently gets stuck.
Before AI, Comes Clarity
One of the most important points Samantha made was about AI.
Right now, many businesses are looking at AI as the answer to efficiency.
But AI isn't a magic fix.
If your workflow is broken, AI won't solve the problem.
It will simply help you do the wrong thing faster.
Before introducing automation, AI, or additional software, you need to understand:
What the process is
Who owns it
Where the bottlenecks are
Which steps actually create value
Only then can technology become a strategic advantage.
The Goal Isn't More Work. It's Better Flow.
Workflow improvement isn't about documenting processes once and being done.
It's an ongoing practice.
As businesses grow, people change.
Technology changes.
Customer expectations change.
The goal is to regularly step back and ask:
How does work move?
Where are we getting stuck?
What can be simplified?
Because efficiency isn't created by working harder.
It's created by removing friction.
Save the Date
Profits & Pints
📅 June 23, 2026
🕓 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM
📍 6th Street Bar & Grill, Eugene
Join us for another practical conversation designed to help business owners work smarter, lead better, and create more sustainable growth.
The Topic:
WHERE YOUR MARGIN IS HIDING
How to Break Down Your Numbers to Find Profit Leaks
RSVP for the next Profits & Pints event or join our email list to receive future invites.
Until next time, cheers to smart moves and great conversation.
— Samantha & the SBC Team 🍻
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