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Can I be honest with you? When you started your business, you probably pictured more freedom. More time with your family. More flexibility to live life on your terms. You thought this path would lead to less stress, not more of it.
But somewhere along the way, that freedom started to slip away. You feel pressure to be constantly online. You’re working long hours but still feel behind. And instead of feeling empowered, you’re wondering if you’re cut out for this.
I’ve been there. From the outside, my business looked successful. Booked, busy, profitable. But behind the scenes, I was planning life two years in advance, squeezing in time for myself, and carrying the weight of a business that could only grow if I showed up every single day. It wasn’t sustainable. And it didn’t feel successful.
So I made a choice. I was going to build a business that didn’t run on my presence alone. I wanted more than financial freedom. I wanted time, creativity, peace, and presence. And I knew that would only happen if I stopped trying to do more and started building better.
That’s when I started designing systems. Not just tools or tech, but intentional, repeatable structures that allowed my business to work, even when I wasn’t. These systems are the reason I’ve been able to grow, rest, and show up in my life the way I always wanted to.
In this episode of The Goal Digger Podcast, I’m sharing the three core systems that truly set me free and how you can start building them in your own business.
One of those systems? Pinterest. It’s been a quiet powerhouse in my business for years, and I’m proud to share that this episode is brought to you in partnership with Pinterest through their Educators program. That means I get to share the strategies that have genuinely transformed my business and help you do the same.
What Is a Business System?
Before we dive into the specific systems, let me clarify what I mean when I say system. I’m not talking about some complicated tech stack or a bunch of automations that make your business feel robotic. I’m talking about an intentional structure, a repeatable process that you set up once, with care, and then it works for you over and over again.
A system is the infrastructure. It’s the framework. It’s the thing that answers the question: How does this part of my business run without me having to reinvent it every single time? Think of it like plumbing in a house. You don’t think about it every day. You don’t rebuild it every time you turn on the faucet. But it’s there, working in the background, making everything flow.
That’s what a business system is. It’s the behind-the-scenes structure that lets the front end of your business, the creative stuff, the strategic stuff, the stuff only you can do, actually happen. And here’s what’s wild: the business I built in those years before I became a mom is still the one running today. For the last seven years, it’s been consistent, predictable, low stress, and high balance. That’s not luck. That’s systems.
System 1: A Nurture System That Builds Real Relationships
Back when I had 10,000 Instagram followers, I thought that meant something. I felt proud of that number. I thought it meant I had an audience. But when my first business coach asked how many people were on my email list, I had to admit I didn’t have one. That moment changed everything.
I realized I didn’t own my audience. If the algorithm changed, or Instagram disappeared, I had no way to reach the people I’d spent years connecting with. I was renting space on someone else’s platform, and I had no control. That’s when I understood: I needed a nurture system.
What is a nurture system?
A nurture system is how you build real, sustainable relationships with your audience, the kind that don’t disappear when an algorithm changes or a platform shifts. It’s a repeatable way to serve people, build trust over time, and create connection even when you’re not actively showing up. It’s the infrastructure that lets you turn strangers into subscribers, subscribers into buyers, and buyers into raving fans, without you having to manually do it every single time.
Especially now, when it feels like you need to be the loudest just to get attention, not even convert, just get seen, a nurture system is different. You don’t need to go viral to build a business. You don’t need to be everywhere. You need a system that builds real relationships at scale. One that works while you sleep, while you rest, while you’re living your life.
My nurture system: Email marketing
For me, that nurture system became email marketing. I wrote welcome sequences, sales sequences, and ongoing nurture emails that would introduce people to my world, share my story, and help them decide whether they wanted to go deeper. Those emails have served over 80,000 students. They’ve launched my courses, sold out my products, and allowed me to stay present in my life without disappearing from my business.
Email is the foundation of everything I do. It’s where the real conversations happen. It’s how I’ve been able to nurture people, sell with integrity, and stay connected without being glued to my phone. I set up email sequences once, and they’ve been working for me for years.
But your nurture system doesn’t have to look like mine. It could be a private podcast feed, a newsletter on Substack, a membership community, or even a beautifully designed client journey in your CRM. The key is that it builds trust consistently, and it doesn’t depend on your daily presence.
Start your nurture system today
In the episode, I walk through how to create a simple 3-part welcome sequence that you can set up once and let work for you every single time someone new joins your world. If you want the full walkthrough with exact templates and sequences, my Email Marketing Masterclass shares the strategy I’ve used for years to build and grow my business through email.
System 2: A Content Creation System That Builds Your Visibility Engine
I still get emails from people who say they found me through a blog post I wrote in 2017. Or they listened to episode 42 and it changed everything. That content is still working. Still building trust. Still driving leads. And I haven’t touched it in years. That’s the power of a content creation system.
What is a content creation system?
A content creation system is how you build the core assets of your business. This is where you’re creating the actual house, the actual value, the actual substance that people will find and benefit from. It’s content that has depth. That solves real problems. That has a long shelf life. And it’s designed to be the central hub of your business, the place where you teach, share, and serve in a way that compounds over time.
If you feel like you’re on a hamster wheel of content, always creating, always posting, always chasing the next thing, it’s because you’re not building assets. You’re just creating content that disappears. And here’s the hard truth: you can’t scale that. You can’t rest in that. You can’t build a sustainable business when you’re constantly starting from scratch.
My content creation system: Podcasting and blogging
For me, that content creation system is podcasting paired with blogging. Those two together became my visibility engine. Every podcast episode I record gets paired with a blog post. That’s where the depth is. That’s where the teaching lives. That’s the asset I’m building.
This podcast has over 115 million downloads. And a huge part of that is because the content is evergreen, it’s substantive, it’s searchable. People are finding episodes I recorded five years ago and saying, this is exactly what I needed to hear today. That’s not luck. That’s a system. That’s the house I built.
Your content creation system could be YouTube videos, an in-depth newsletter, comprehensive guides, online courses, or even a book. The key is: this is your core. This is where you teach. This is the substance, the house you’re building that everything else will point to.
Create your first asset
In the episode, I share how to create one piece of core content that showcases your expertise and solves a real problem your audience has, then how to connect it to your nurture system so it keeps working for you. Want to build your own visibility engine through podcasting? My Podcasting 101 Masterclass walks you through how I built and grew my show from scratch to over 100 million downloads.
System 3: A Content Distribution System That Puts Up Road Signs
When I became a mom, I didn’t want to be on my phone 24/7. I went from sharing just about everything on Instagram to wanting to slow down. To be present. To protect my family’s privacy and my own mental space. In recent years, I think I’ve shown up face-to-camera on Instagram Stories maybe five times in the last two years. I just don’t do it anymore.
But here’s the thing: my business has remained super consistent. The traffic to my site, to my offers, to my email list, it hasn’t dropped. And that’s because I built a content distribution system.
What is a content distribution system?
A content distribution system is how you get your content found. You’ve built the house, now you need road signs. You need a way for people who are actively looking for what you teach to actually find you. This isn’t about creating new content. It’s about making sure the content you’ve already created gets discovered by the right people at the right time.
It’s the infrastructure that brings people to your house based on what they’re searching for. And it works in the background, 24/7, without you having to post, engage, or show up live.
If you’re exhausted from feeling like you have to be everywhere all the time just to get noticed, this is the system that will change that. You don’t need to go viral. You don’t need to chase trends. You don’t need to post three times a day. You just need road signs pointing to your house.
My content distribution system: Pinterest
For me, that content distribution system is Pinterest. And it’s been the quiet engine running in the background of my business for years. I still get leads from blog posts I wrote in 2017 because of Pinterest. People are finding me, reading my content, joining my email list, and buying my courses, all because I pinned something years ago.
Pinterest changed what I was creating and why. I started thinking about what people were actually searching for. What problems they were trying to solve. And I made sure my content, my house, had clear road signs pointing to it. That content is still working for me today. It gave me permission to step back from the constant churn of social media and build something that actually lasts.
Your content distribution system could be Google SEO through blogging, YouTube SEO with keyword-rich titles and descriptions, podcast SEO through really good show notes and transcripts, or even Amazon if you’re selling books or products. The key is: you’re putting up road signs so people find your house when they’re looking, not just when you’re posting.
Add your first road sign
In the episode, I share how to take one piece of content you’ve already created and optimize it for discovery so it starts bringing people to your house. Need help building a distribution strategy? My free Pinterest Masterclass dives into how I use search-based platforms to create evergreen traffic that works for years.
Why Systems Actually Set You Free
When I first heard the word systems, it felt cold. Rigid. Like something that would box in my creativity. But now I see systems differently. They’re not restrictions. They’re freedom.
As someone with ADHD, I need structure to stay grounded. Systems give me a foundation, so I’m not reinventing the wheel every time I create. They reduce decision fatigue. They protect my time and energy so I can show up fully, without burning out. When the foundation is in place and all of the underlying questions are answered, I’m not second-guessing the process. I can focus my energy and my efforts on the creativity itself.
It’s hard to be creative, or harness your creativity, without the backend in place. Systems aren’t the enemy of creativity. They’re the container that makes creativity possible.
The three systems I built, a nurture system, a content creation system, and a content distribution system, changed everything. They’ve made my business sustainable, scalable, and aligned with the life I want to live.
Your Next Step
In this episode, I walk through exactly how to start building each of these systems in your business, even if you’re starting from scratch. You don’t need to do everything all at once. You don’t need to have it all figured out today. Start with one step this week, and let that small system start making a big difference.
If you want more support building these systems in your business, I’ve created three masterclasses that walk you through exactly how I’ve built each one:
You don’t need a bigger to-do list. You need better systems. Your time, your energy, your peace, you can protect all of it. But only if you build for it. Because your business should support your life, not steal from it.
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