What Does It Mean to Work On Your Business Instead of In It

Every business coach says it: “Stop working in the business and work on the business.” Service providers and coaches often nod along but wonder what that really means day to day.

Most burnout doesn’t come from doing client work itself. It comes from never stepping back to focus on the business’s direction and growth. Working in the business means delivering services. Working on the business means shaping its future.

Here’s what working on your business looks like in practice, with clear examples you can apply right now.

Planning business capacity with tools on a desk

Reviewing Your Capacity Instead of Guessing It

One of the biggest causes of overwhelm is running your business based on outdated assumptions about your time and energy. Working on your business means regularly checking in on your actual capacity.

Ask yourself:

• Do I have room for more clients this month?

• Which tasks drain my energy the most?

• What should I delegate next to free up time?

• Which weeks feel overloaded and why?

  
  

For example, if you find that client calls take more prep time than you expected, you might need to reduce your client load or hire support. If certain admin tasks sap your energy, consider outsourcing them.

Planning your bandwidth based on real data, not guesswork, helps you avoid burnout and keeps your business sustainable as it grows.

Designing or Refining Your Workflows

Working on your business means mapping out how your client delivery actually works and improving it. This is not theoretical, it’s practical.

Look at your workflows and:

• Identify where things slow down or get stuck

• Adjust steps that feel clunky or repetitive

• Simplify complicated processes

• Remove tasks that no longer add value

  
  

For example, if onboarding new clients takes too long, create a clear checklist or automate parts of the process. If you spend hours chasing payments, set up automated reminders.

Strong workflows save hours every week. Weak ones drain your time and energy.

Close-up of a whiteboard with client onboarding workflow

Updating Your Systems to Match Your Business Stage

Systems that worked when you had five clients won’t hold up when you have ten or twenty. Working on your business means updating your tools and organization as you grow.

This includes:

• Refreshing your project management setup, like ClickUp or Trello

• Organizing your Drive folders for easy access

• Tightening naming conventions so files and tasks are clear

• Streamlining your content creation and delivery system

• Updating automations to reduce manual work

  
  

For example, when your client list grows, you might need to create separate folders for each client or automate follow-up emails. If your content calendar feels chaotic, redesign it to fit your current workflow.

Systems evolve with your business. Treat them as living tools, not something you set once and forget.

CEO Time That Actually Feels Like CEO Time

CEO time is often misunderstood. It’s not scrolling social media or tweaking graphics. It’s focused time spent on activities that shape your business’s future.

CEO time includes:

• Planning upcoming launches or offers

• Reviewing your finances and cash flow

• Setting clear priorities for the next quarter

• Analyzing what’s working and what isn’t

• Deciding what to stop doing to free up resources

• Reviewing your team’s capacity and needs

• Forecasting your business growth for the next 90 days

  
  

For example, instead of jumping into client work first thing, block out time weekly to review your numbers and plan your next steps. Use this time to make decisions that move your business forward.

High angle view of calendar and financial reports for business planning

Upgrading Your Delivery Experience

Your offer can be brilliant AND messy behind the scenes.

Working on the business includes:

• Tightening onboarding

• Improving delivery touchpoints

• Adding client support templates

• Refining your offboarding

• Monitoring client results

• Spotting delivery bottlenecks

Your client experience is part of your operations, not separate from it.

Building a Team That Actually Supports You

You don’t hire to “save time.”You hire to scale capacity.

Working on the business means:

• Clarifying roles

• Delegating outcomes, not random tasks

• Building simple SOPs

• Creating ownership areas

• Running effective check-ins

• Giving clear feedback

Your team can only support the structure you give them.

Creating Predictable Weekly Rhythms

If every week feels different, it will always feel chaotic.

Working on the business means setting:

• a CEO day

• a content day

• dedicated delivery windows

• admin hours

• team review time

• planning time

Structure protects your energy. Rhythm protects your clarity.

What It Doesn’t Look Like

Working on the business is not:

• Endlessly planning without action

• Jumping between tools

• Rewriting your website for the 7th time

• Tweaking your brand colours

• Organising your folders to procrastinate

• Creating new offers because you’re bored

That’s busy-work disguised as productivity. Working on the business is intentional, not reactive.

Quick Self-Check: Are You Working On or In the Business?

Ask yourself:

• Do I regularly review my systems?

• Do I know my actual weekly capacity?

• Do I have a weekly CEO rhythm?

• Do I make decisions proactively or reactively?

• Do I have breathing space in my week?

• Do I improve my workflows… or just repeat them?

If you whispered “no” to a few of these, you’re not behind. You’re simply overdue for intentional CEO time, and that’s fixable.

If your business feels heavy or reactive, I’d love to help you build systems and rhythms that make working on the business feel natural, not like extra work.

Book a discovery call: www.virtuallybymo.com