When Your Biggest Business Problem Is Invisible | 076
The Profit Connections PodcastAugust 05, 2026x
76
18:4125.65 MB

When Your Biggest Business Problem Is Invisible | 076

The business your customers see isn't always the business that's determining your success.

In this episode, Sharon Galluzzo introduces the concept of becoming a "behind-the-scenes business builder" and explains why the systems, processes, habits, and decisions operating beneath the surface are what truly drive long-term profitability. While websites, social media, and marketing often receive the attention, it's the operational foundation that determines whether a business can grow efficiently and consistently.

She encourages business owners to think like CEOs by stepping back from the daily chaos and intentionally strengthening the systems that support both the business and the customer experience.

Using practical examples and relatable analogies, Sharon explains why successful businesses require regular maintenance, updates, and continuous improvement. Rather than waiting until problems become overwhelming, she shares how entrepreneurs can improve one behind-the-scenes process at a time, creating a stronger foundation that supports sustainable growth, better customer experiences, and greater profitability.

Key Takeaways:

  • Behind-The-Scenes Systems Drive Success: The work customers don't see is often what determines long-term profitability.
  • Surface Problems Usually Have Deeper Causes: Marketing, sales, and pricing challenges are often symptoms of operational weaknesses.
  • Strong Foundations Create Better Customer Experiences: Consistent systems improve service, communication, and trust.
  • Small Problems Become Big Problems Over Time: Ignoring operational gaps allows minor issues to grow into major obstacles.
  • Think Like A Ceo: Business owners should focus on directing and improving the business instead of constantly reacting to daily tasks.
  • Growth Magnifies Weaknesses: As visibility and customers increase, weak systems become even more noticeable.
  • Continuous Improvement Is Essential: Like software updates, businesses need regular improvements to remain healthy and competitive.

Unlock the Secrets to Building a Resilient and Profitable Business at the Profit Connectors Club - https://profitconnectors.club/

About Sharon:

Sharon Galluzzo is a Profit Growth Strategist, founder of Profit Connections, and creator of the Positioned for Profit System®. Known as the Behind-the-Scenes Business Builder, she equips entrepreneurs to strengthen the systems, strategy, and structure that drive sustainable growth. Drawing on more than two decades of entrepreneurial experience, Sharon helps business owners build the business behind the business so their talent can translate into consistent profit and long-term success.

http://sharongalluzzo.com/

https://www.facebook.com/sharonagalluzzo/

https://www.instagram.com/sharon_galluzzo/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharongalluzzo/

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Sharon Galluzzo:

Profit doesn't happen by chance; it happens by

Sharon Galluzzo:

design. Let's dig in. I don't know if you realized it, but

Sharon Galluzzo:

there is a truth out there that a lot of business owners,

Sharon Galluzzo:

founders, entrepreneurs are may not even be aware of the

Sharon Galluzzo:

business that everyone sees isn't the business that

Sharon Galluzzo:

determines your success. I'm so excited about our topic today

Sharon Galluzzo:

because we are going to be digging into the business behind

Sharon Galluzzo:

the business, the one that really makes the difference. The

Sharon Galluzzo:

one that really turns around what you're doing in your

Sharon Galluzzo:

business and determines how successful you can be in your

Sharon Galluzzo:

chosen endeavor. I've been doing a lot of work on how I'm

Sharon Galluzzo:

messaging and talking about myself, and I have come up with

Sharon Galluzzo:

a new title that I think really, really is illustrative of what I

Sharon Galluzzo:

do, and that is the behind-the-scenes business

Sharon Galluzzo:

builder. I help you with what people can't see in your

Sharon Galluzzo:

business. So the visible parts of your business are the parts

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that honestly get all the credit. Right? They're shiny.

Sharon Galluzzo:

They're they're very easily fixable. They're clear to

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identify, right? They're your website, your social media

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marketing, but your the things that actually support all of

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those visible things are the systems and the processes and

Sharon Galluzzo:

the habits and the decisions that actually turns what you do

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into a profit, or keeps you stagnant, or actually keeps you

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in the place where you're losing money. So it's really important

Sharon Galluzzo:

that we focus on that part of the business that no one else

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sees. See, every business has two versions. It has the one

Sharon Galluzzo:

that your customers experience, and then it has the one that you

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actually run and operate every single day. If you're doing

Sharon Galluzzo:

things really well, your clients maybe don't even see what's

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going on behind the scenes. If you're really good at customer

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service and you're really good at what you do, then your

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clients may not ever experience some of the struggles that come

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whenever you have an incomplete foundation, when you have gaps

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and weaknesses, when the systems running your business are

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running like a proverbial squirrel on a on a hamster

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wheel. I'm putting the squirrel on there because they run faster

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and they're bigger and they take up more room. And the hamster

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wheel doesn't actually fit them, right? That's how it feels

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sometimes when we are running our business that way. So if

Sharon Galluzzo:

we're doing a good job, then the customer experience doesn't

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really see that. However, there are times when things are

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falling apart behind the scenes that you can't keep it away.

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That they will see it. They will experience it in some way, even

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if it's just vibrationally. So, having your systems and and your

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your behind the scenes business operating at peak efficiency,

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operating in a way that makes you feel like the CEO that you

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want to be in your business, and that gets the things done that

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you want to get done with the least amount of effort and the

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most amount of profit. That is the that's the place we want to

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get to. However, some businesses are somewhere in between there,

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right? Some businesses are really doing okay, and their

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customers can't see it. Some businesses, things are falling

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apart in front of the scenes as well. So we want to get your

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business to the point where you're actually having the

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ability to have the things work behind the scenes, so that your

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customer experiences a solid and full and healthy business, and

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not just I'm holding it all together where people can see

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it, and as soon as I close the doors, I burst into tears. I

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have lived that experience to be so on for the clients and to be

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right there and to be the face of the business. Meanwhile,

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behind the scenes, everything feels like it's crumbling, and

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and sometimes maybe it's not as bad as that, and there are

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things falling apart and falling between the seams, between the

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cracks, when we have weak systems, when we have things in

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the background that are not working, that is when we are

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most likely to have things go wrong, things to fall between

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the cracks. We didn't return a customer's email.

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Or we were unresponsive whenever somebody needed something, or

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our vendor situation is not good because we're not communicating

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well with them because we don't have a system in place to make

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sure that we're following up with them in a timely manner.

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All of those tiny, tiny pieces can create a tsunami effect in

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the background if you don't pay attention to it. So when your

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customer-facing persona and your backstage persona are different

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when they are not in alignment, then you have struggles in your

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business. Then you have disconnect. Then you have all of

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these pieces that make the business more work for you, more

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difficult, more what is that? You know, you just you just feel

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like you're constantly spinning around the same five things, and

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you're not making any progress, and you're not getting the

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things done that you want to get done, and that is one of the

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reasons why I have seven pillars of profit in my framework when I

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work with my customers. Because every area of your business

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needs some attention in that way. When we take the time to

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fill in those gaps and do the behind-the-scenes work, then it

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actually all works together, and it will you will put forward not

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just the image of being successful, but the reality and

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alignment of being successful. Most business problems don't

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really show up in your business wearing the name that the

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problem has. Whenever something is going wrong in your business,

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you might experience it as a marketing issue, or a sales

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issue, or a pricing issue, but that's actually not the root

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problem. It is the symptom. It is showing up in your business

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because something deeper, something behind the scenes,

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isn't quite right. So it's very important that we pay attention

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to those marketing issues and sales issues and profit issues

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in terms of the entire picture. Yes, this marketing issue is

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happening. Why is it happening? Is it happening because I am

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inconsistent when I'm posting on social media? Is it happening

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because I'm not regularly updating it? Is it happening

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because I put the wrong or I I put the right date on it, but

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it's three weeks old, and customers are going. Oh well,

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that's not that it's not a plot. That does not apply anymore.

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That's not available to me because that was three weeks

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ago. So all of those things can be fixed behind the scenes, that

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is setting yourself up for success in every single area of

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your business. So we need to pay attention whenever those things

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happen, and not just fix the surface symptom, but fix the

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actual cause. Every time I think of this, I think of the Rocky

Sharon Galluzzo:

Horror Picture Show. If you if you're familiar with it, if

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you're not, that's okay. But Frankenfurter offers to help

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Brad and Janet, but he tells them he will remove the cause

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but not the symptoms, which is actually the opposite, but

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you'll still experience all of the things that you're going to

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experience. But I'll take away what's causing it. So that

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always makes me laugh. We actually want to remove the

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cause, which will in turn remove the symptoms. But sometimes when

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we just focus on that surface level, when we focus on what

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people can see out here, and forget about what's going on

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behind the scenes. That's when we can get into some real

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trouble, and that is what causes stagnation. That is what keeps

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you stuck, and that is what's going to cause your business to

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not be the business that you want. That's going to keep you

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in that wearing all 447 hats as a business owner and not

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stepping into the role of CEO, I know sometimes people are like,

Sharon Galluzzo:

"Well, I don't want to be a CEO. It's not necessarily that that

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you want to be the CEO energy, and maybe you do. So either way,

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it's fine. But if you're in the role of the CEO, the that role

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is more of the director or the producer, you know, saying what

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goes on in everything in your business instead of you're the

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one who's sharpening the pencils, right? So we want to

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elevate you, put you in a position where you're actually

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running the business. You're making decisions about the

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business and not getting lost in the everyday minutia because you

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just didn't have the behind-the-scenes stuff in

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place.

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And then, whenever you are building your business, and say

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you're doing a really great job at marketing, and you have a lot

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of visibility, a lot of people looking at your stuff, a lot of

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eyes, a lot of customers, a lot of people coming to you. As you

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grow more visible, the things behind the scenes that are not

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okay, that haven't been put in place for your success, will not

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go away. In fact, those things will actually magnify and get

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worse. So as you're building, you don't have to wait till you

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get there. But as you're building, start working on

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what's going on in the behind the scenes of your business. Be

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in those places, fix those things. Get your behind the

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scenes foundation, clear and solid, so that as you grow, what

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you're magnifying is a solid, firm foundation. You're not

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magnifying those little cracks that are going to become chasms

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if you don't pay attention and get those things taken care of

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before you grow. And in my opinion, the very strongest

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businesses are intentionally built. They don't accidentally

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grow. And what I mean by that is, whenever you have a really

Sharon Galluzzo:

strong, successful business, someone has taken the time to go

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in and fix all the things that are going on. Whenever you buy

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or a cell phone, a smartphone, a computer, or have an app or

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anything that's electronic these days, you will get it and it

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will be operating. And then sooner or later, they'll go.

Sharon Galluzzo:

Hey, here's an update. Here's a fix. We're getting rid of some

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bugs. We're getting rid of some things that didn't work. So

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think about your business in real time, like an electronic,

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where you they're operating. They sold it to you. You bought

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it, and it's not perfect. They're still fixing things.

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They're still repairing things. They're still coming in and

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updating what you you got initially. So with your

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business, think of it that way. That when you are working on the

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seven pillars of profit in your business, when you're building

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out your foundation, it's kind of like an update. It's an

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update to your software. It's an update to your firmware. It's a.

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It's a bug fix. It comes in and it fixes the things that are

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going on, and that happens simultaneously to the running of

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your business. So it is entirely possible to build your

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foundation as you grow, and that is the way most businesses are

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built. That is the way successful businesses are built.

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However, they aren't just built by accident. They have an eye to

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what needs to be improved. What do we need for the next update?

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What things need to be tweaked and adjusted, and maybe even

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completely thrown out and refixed and presented again. So

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use that kind of mindset when you're thinking about the

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building of the behind the scenes of your business, because

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the strongest businesses are built behind the scenes, and if

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you are a really good actor, you can go on stage and put a really

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great show out to the public, but if you know that behind the

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scenes everything is falling apart, that's going to be a

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struggle. That's going to make you feel out of alignment and

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inauthentic. And it's okay to still have that professional

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presentation to the public, that that that persona out there, and

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and you do want your customers to have a great experience, so

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they want to come back again. But just know that you are going

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to take care of that stuff that's back there, and you're

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not going to pretend that it doesn't exist, and you're not

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going to say, "Oh, I'll deal with that later someday. Do a

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little bit every day, every week, every month. Be looking at

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what can I improve in my business. How can I make it

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better? Yes, this is working great. Maybe we don't touch it

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right now because there's a greater need over here. But when

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we have them all, you know, to the point where they're all

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working really good, then you can look at upgraded. How can I

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make this easier for myself? How can I make the experience better

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for my clients? So remember, behind the scenes business

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building, building up that strength and that foundation of

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the things that people can't see is actually the primary key of

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success for business.

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So this week, I want you to think about your business and

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how can you grow your business by thinking about one

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behind-the-scenes item that needs strengthening. Just one

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thing that you can do better behind the scenes, that you can

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systematize, that you can upgrade, that you can put a bug

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fix in for. Just pick one thing this week and work on that one

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thing in the business, because what happens behind the scenes

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of your business determines what happens in front of it. When we

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have we have our foundation in place, we have our backstage in

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order. Then, what we are producing is in alignment. The

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customers feel it. The marketing is better. Everyone is on the

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same page, and you're growing your business in a more

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authentic, lovely, joy-filled way. So, this week, take a look.

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Just one thing: don't overtax yourself. One thing that you can

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improve in your business this week behind the scenes. Thank

Sharon Galluzzo:

you for joining us today. If you would like to take advantage of

Sharon Galluzzo:

my profit growth audit, I will. I make that available to you. It

Sharon Galluzzo:

is available in the ProfitConnectors Club community.

Sharon Galluzzo:

It's ProfitConnectors.club. That's the web address,

Sharon Galluzzo:

ProfitConnectors Club. You can go in there. You can get access

Sharon Galluzzo:

to the Profit Growth Audit. It's free. It'll take you through the

Sharon Galluzzo:

seven pillars, and you can see where your weaknesses are. Where

Sharon Galluzzo:

are you doing really good? Where are those behind the thing,

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behind the scenes things that you need to focus on? In

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addition to my free gift, you'll find links to all of the podcast

Sharon Galluzzo:

episodes, also all of the guests who have been on, you'll get

Sharon Galluzzo:

their contact information, and they also have some of them

Sharon Galluzzo:

given gifts as well. So there will be links to their gifts in

Sharon Galluzzo:

the Profit Connectors Club community. I invite you to go in

Sharon Galluzzo:

there and check out all of those resources. And this week, think

Sharon Galluzzo:

about one behind the scenes thing that you can work on in

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your business this week. Remember, build with clarity,

Sharon Galluzzo:

lead with purpose. Thank you for listening. I'll see you next

Sharon Galluzzo:

time.