Streamlined Solopreneur: Solo Ops to Stop Doing Everything Yourself

I hate lunch. I’m never prepared for it, so I just end up wasting a bunch of time before picking the fast, easy thing. If I did some meal prep, this wouldn’t be a problem. But many solo business owners do the same thing with their work. They sit down, they shrug their shoulders, and wonder what to do. Everything takes more time because it's not written down. That’s why today I'm walking through how to create an SOP with a screen recorder, a microphone, and AI. If your business feels broken and you don't know where to start, take the quiz — a couple of questions, and it'll tell you which system to build first and send you the resource to get going: https://streamlined.fm/quiz Show Notes Tella Which system should you build first? Take the quiz (00:00) - Why I Hate Lunch (01:24) - You Need SOPs (02:34) - Step 1: Choose a Task (04:12) - Step 2: Record and Narrate Your Process (06:27) - Step 3: Generate the SOP Using AI (08:36) - Finding Where to Start ———— Streamlined Solopreneur helps overwhelmed solo business owners go from overwhelmed to having their time back. Each week, Joe Casabona shares one practical idea — a system, tool, or strategy to help you get your time back without selling your soul to AI...and run your business without sacrificing the rest of your life, or your health. Looking for a place to start? Take the Solo Systems Starter Quiz. 60 seconds, 8 questions, and I will tell you what system you should build first, and exactly how to build it. https://streamlined.fm/quiz Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

This week I'm doing a Pick Two for Voice Note apps (plus the one I’m not using, and a bonus transcription app) #1 is Whisper Memos, which I happily pay for because of one killer feature. #2 is Audio Pen, which gives me system-wide dictation: press a key, talk, and the text lands wherever my cursor is. That's what I use for long prompts to a large language model. Wondering which system to start with? Take the quiz — a few questions, and it'll point you to one of the four systems every solopreneur needs: https://streamlined.fm/quiz Show Notes Whisper Memos Audio Pen Wispr Flow MacWhisper Send feedback on the show (00:00) - It's a Pick Two! (01:37) - Pick 1: Whisper Memos (04:22) - Pick 2: Audio Pen (07:54) - Why I Don't Use Wispr Flow (09:31) - Using MacWhisper for Transcriptions (10:58) - Wrapping Up ———— Streamlined Solopreneur helps overwhelmed solo business owners go from overwhelmed to having their time back. Each week, Joe Casabona shares one practical idea — a system, tool, or strategy to help you get your time back without selling your soul to AI...and run your business without sacrificing the rest of your life, or your health. Looking for a place to start? Take the Solo Systems Starter Quiz. 60 seconds, 8 questions, and I will tell you what system you should build first, and exactly how to build it. https://streamlined.fm/quiz Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

This week I talk about the iPhone Duo — my first real foldable — and why I'll trade away the telephoto lens, action button, and fast charging (and swallow a $2,100 price plus the end of the annual upgrade program) for a big anti-glare screen that folds into my pocket and takes an Apple Pencil. Then an episode of Ditching Hourly with Nick Richtsmeier on doing things that don't scale and focusing on impact, which sold me on his new book, The Damn Rules. And a recommendation for You Can See Everything, the A24 documentary following Elizabeth Holmes in the weeks before she began her prison sentence, which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival. Plus this week's systems tip: a Claude skill that splits one long recording into separate episodes by detecting the claps between them, then transcribes, titles, and schedules each one on rss.com. Links: iPhone Duo Hands-On: Apple Finally Made a Foldable (MKBHD) The Damn Rules — Ditching Hourly with Jonathan Stark (Ditching Hourly) The Damn Rules by Nick Richtsmeier You Can See Everything — Official Teaser (A24) If you need help with your systems — you're doing everything yourself and want to take things off your plate, but you don't want to hire a team or lean too much on AI to do the actual craft — I can help. Book a free 25-minute coaching call at streamlined.fm/clarity. Are you an Apple nerd with something on your mind about the iPhone Duo? Let me know at streamlinedfeedback.com. You can write in or leave a voice note — I might even play it on the show. View the episode transcript (00:00) - My Thoughts on the iPhone Duo (03:34) - Recommended Reading: 'The Damn Rules' (04:28) - Something Fun: Theranos & Elizabeth Holmes Documentary (06:12) - How I Use Claude to Automate My Podcast Workflow (09:16) - Wrapping Up ———— Streamlined Solopreneur helps overwhelmed solo business owners go from overwhelmed to having their time back. Each week, Joe Casabona shares one practical idea — a system, tool, or strategy to help you get your time back without selling your soul to AI...and run your business without sacrificing the rest of your life, or your health. Looking for a place to start? Take the Solo Systems Starter Quiz. 60 seconds, 8 questions, and I will tell you what system you should build first, and exactly how to build it. https://streamlined.fm/quiz Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/ Disclosure: these show notes were generated from the transcript and written newsletter, using a very strict format for how it's all put together.

When I was 17, my high school organized a two-week trip to Italy and Ireland for $900. My dad offered to pay for it. I said, "Why do I need to go when I can just look at pictures online?" Seventeen-year-old Joe, you were so, so stupid. I’ve since learned that photos aren’t the experience. Just like ideas aren’t the fully fleshed-out thought. On top of a passionate credo about why we need to write for ourselves, I tell you exactly how you can start writing more without letting AI do it for you. Wondering if you rely on AI too much? Take the Conscientious AI Usage quiz — it'll tell you if you're at risk of AI brain rot and what to do to prevent it: https://quiz.lovehate.ai Show Notes Conscientious AI Usage Quiz In Defense of AI Writing - Every (00:00) - Photos vs. Experience (04:06) - Don't Be a Tourist in Your Own Life (05:30) - How to Make Time for Your Own Writing ———— Streamlined Solopreneur helps overwhelmed solo business owners go from overwhelmed to having their time back. Each week, Joe Casabona shares one practical idea — a system, tool, or strategy to help you get your time back without selling your soul to AI...and run your business without sacrificing the rest of your life, or your health. Looking for a place to start? Take the Solo Systems Starter Quiz. 60 seconds, 8 questions, and I will tell you what system you should build first, and exactly how to build it. https://streamlined.fm/quiz Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

This week I talk about a Steve Thompson video that's had me rethinking my whole approach — the idea that teaching tactics on YouTube actually costs you clients, because when you hand people the solution they assume they can do it themselves. After a rough summer where teaching hasn't yielded new business, I've decided to make September an experimental month: teach less, shift beliefs more, and stop being afraid to sell. Then a story about three climbers rescued off Mount Shasta after relying on AI to plan their climb, and a recommendation for DJ Earworm mashups on YouTube. Plus this week's systems tip: a video outliner I built with Claude Code that gives me the beats but never the words. Links: Don't Teach on YouTube - Do THIS Instead to make your first $100K Three Mount Shasta climbers rescued after relying on AI to plan climb (KRCR) The Mushroom AI Meme and the Question (OpenGovernance) DJ Earworm: Party on the Floor (Summer 2011) My Video Outliner (Screenshot) These episodes are about taking more time off, especially on the weekends. And the best way you can do that is by having a good system in place to stop you from doing everything yourself. If you're not sure where to start, I'm offering free 25-minute coaching calls to listeners. You can book yours over at https://streamlined.fm/clarity. Do you have something on your mind? Let me know at https://streamlinedfeedback.com. You can write in, or leave a voice note. I might even play it on the show. View the episode transcript 0:00 Should You Stop Teaching to Get Clients? 5:37 Recommended Reading: When AI Nearly Killed Three Climbers 10:41 Something Fun: DJ Earworm Mashups 13:24 The Video Outliner That Keeps Me Honest ———— Streamlined Solopreneur helps overwhelmed solo business owners go from overwhelmed to having their time back. Each week, Joe Casabona shares one practical idea — a system, tool, or strategy to help you get your time back without selling your soul to AI...and run your business without sacrificing the rest of your life, or your health. Looking for a place to start? Take the Solo Systems Starter Quiz. 60 seconds, 8 questions, and I will tell you what system you should build first, and exactly how to build it. https://streamlined.fm/quiz Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/ Disclosure: these show notes were generated from the transcript and written newsletter, using a very strict format for how it's all put together.