In this week’s letter:
What Florida’s empty highways taught me about scaling a business
A copy-paste AI prompt to help you audit your business systems
Link to book a free 30-minute 1:1 consult to get clear on your next move
We Missed the Empty Nest Adventure Phase
For a few weeks this summer, Rick and I are in Florida. He tore his right calf muscle a few weeks ago. Badly. Since our Canadian apartment has too many stairs for his crutches, we took advantage of my parents’ Florida bungalow.
It feels so weird to be in Florida as mid-forties empty nesters. It’s like we skipped the “rediscover yourselves” chapter and landed abruptly in the “pickleball injury and card tournaments before 3 p.m.” phase.
To prove how backward our lives are, we are doing what no sane Canadian would: trade a glorious northern summer for Florida’s hotter-than-H-E-double-hockeysticks heat.
And we’re here by ourselves. We know no one. My parents aren’t even here. They’re enjoying the very Canadian summer we gave up. (Don’t worry, it’s not all bad; they left behind a pool and a hot tub.) It all feels so bizarre-o.
But Florida Does One Thing Right
Since Rick’s injured leg is his driving foot, we’ve swapped jobs: I’m the chauffeur now and he’s the passenger princess. Now I’m driving him everywhere—Driving Mr. Bootshoe, if you will. As I’ve navigated the area this last week, I’ve seen Florida from a different angle and noticed something very unusual about its roads.
There are lots of ways Florida is backwards, but I won’t touch politics or culture here, I promise. Still, there is one thing entrepreneurs could learn from Florida: they build infrastructure before demand.
My parents’ neighbourhood is brand new and in the middle of nowhere. No coffee shops. No Target for 30 minutes. No real services—unless you count the alligators in the multitude of ponds offering to “have you for dinner.”
And yet, there’s a six-lane highway running past the development. With hardly any traffic! The road goes nowhere for hours. Six lanes, sandwiched between vast swampland.
It’s baffling, right? Like Florida’s planning commission is either highly optimistic or highly overconfident. Driving along this massive empty roadway started to get to me. At first, I rolled my eyes. What a waste of asphalt. How many habitats did Florida destroy to lay this road down?
But after my fifth trip chauffeuring Rick to the grocery store so he could race the motorized cart and somewhere between Googling “how many rounds of ice are too many?” and pondering the absurdity of my life, it hit me:
That’s exactly what I’m doing.
I’m Building a Law Firm for the Traffic I Don’t Have (Yet)
I’ve had only a handful of paying clients so far. No viral referrals. No frantic inbox. No daily stampede of people demanding my legal services.
But I’ve already hired a bookkeeper. An accountant. I’ve set up a robust banking system and just signed on to a CRM built for complex law firm files and workflows. I joined a mastermind of entrepreneurs who are mostly ahead of me in the business phase.
I’m laying down a massive operational infrastructure, not for the business I have, but for the one I want.
Just like Florida, I’m building a road that feels absurdly wide for the moment my business is in.
Most Creative Businesses Don’t Break, They Bottleneck
I’ve watched too many founders treat systems like a rainy-day project. The brand designer still using a @gmail account until a corporate client refuses to sign. The small-batch studio waiting until tax season to find their receipts. The coach reinventing her onboarding process with each new intake until it quietly sabotages every referral.
It’s easy to think, “I’ll fix it when I’m bigger.” But by the time we’re bigger, we’re too exhausted (and booked) to fix it.
What if we flipped that?
What if we built for traffic before it arrives?
Build Backwards, On Purpose
That’s what Florida is showing me: sometimes the smartest thing you can do is pave the road before there’s anyone driving on it.
Your turn: do a quick audit. If three ideal clients landed in your inbox today, could you onboard them seamlessly? Would your invoicing hold up? Is your IP protected, your contracts airtight, your systems scalable?
If not, this is your sign.
Build the thing now—so future-you isn’t stuck in a systems bottleneck, careening down the highway at 120 km/h in sandals and a sun hat.
This Is What Dreaming Out Loud Looks Like
So yes, Florida is backwards. And maybe I am, too.
But backwards can be smart.
The road to Having It All isn’t something you lay down as you go. It’s something you start building from the destination backward. You pour the pavement wide. You paint the lines even if no one’s driving yet. You erect the signposts that no one is looking for.
Smart business owners start six lanes wide. Not because traffic demands it, but because they know what’s coming.
🤖 Robot To The Rescue
✨ Business Systems Self-Audit Prompt for Trailblazing Women Entrepreneurs Building with Intention
Copy & paste this prompt into ChatGPT and take the quiz:
“I want you to guide me through a self-audit of my business using the following 20 foundational systems that every business should have in place within its first year.
Ask me one yes/no question per system (in plain, human language), pausing after each to record my answer.
Keep the tone encouraging, warm, and a little playful—like a wise business bestie who’s got my back.
Once I’ve answered all 20 questions, tally up the results and tell me which one system I most urgently need to strengthen, based on what will make the biggest difference for my business growth and peace of mind.
End by gently encouraging me to speak with a business strategist or business lawyer I trust to help me take action on that system.Here’s the list of systems to audit:
Legal Foundation
Financial Management
Business Plan
Marketing Strategy
Sales Process
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Operations Management
Human Resources
Technology and Data Management
Risk Management
Supply Chain Management
Quality Control
Innovation and Continuous Improvement
Strategic Partnerships
Succession Planning
Social Responsibility
Performance Metrics
Time Management
Delegation and Outsourcing
Work-Life Balance”
👋 How to Work With Me
I help trailblazing founders protect, structure, and scale their businesses—without burning out or selling their soul.
If you’re building something big and want legal + strategic support that feels like partnership (not paperwork), book a free 30-minute consult right here. Let’s dream it out loud, then build it smart.