Hey,

It’s Sunday. You have time to read this.

Good. Because I’m about to save you $30,000 and 6 months of pain.

In 2020, I made a mistake that nearly killed my business.

I hired 3 people in 2 months.

$30k in payroll over 6 months before I realized the problem:

I hired people to solve problems that didn’t need people.

THE MISTAKE

I was drowning in work.

18-hour days. Working weekends. Missing family stuff.

My solution: Hire help.

So I posted on Indeed:

Hire #1: Marketing Coordinator** ($3,500/month)

“I need someone to manage my social media, create content, and schedule posts.”

Hire #2: Operations Manager** ($4,500/month)

“I need someone to handle client onboarding, follow-ups, and keep things organized.”

Hire #3: Sales Assistant** ($2,500/month)

“I need someone to schedule calls, send follow-ups, and update the CRM.”

Total: $10,500/month in payroll.

I thought: “Finally. I can focus on high-level strategy.”

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED

Month 1: Spent 40 hours training them. Didn’t work on the business at all. Revenue dipped.

Month 2: They’re executing, but slowly. They ask questions constantly. I’m still working 18-hour days, now managing people instead of doing tasks.

Month 3: I realize the Marketing Coordinator is spending 15 hours/week on tasks that could be automated in 90 minutes. The Operations Manager is manually doing things that Make.com or Zapier could handle. The Sales Assistant is entering data that should flow automatically.

Month 4: I’m paying $10,500/month for work that costs $0 if I build systems.

Month 5: I can’t afford the payroll anymore. Revenue is flat. Expenses are up $10k/month. I’m more stressed than before.

Month 6: I let all three go. Brutal conversations. They didn’t do anything wrong—I set them up to fail.

Total cost: $63,000 in payroll + lost revenue from distraction = $90,000+ mistake.

WHAT I SHOULD HAVE DONE

Before hiring ANYONE, I should have:

1. Documented every task I was doing

2. Categorized them:

- Can be eliminated (stop doing it)

- Can be automated (build a system)

- Can be delegated (hire for this)

3. Built automations first (would’ve eliminated 60% of the workload)

4. Then hired for what’s left

If I had done that, here’s what would’ve happened:

Tasks I thought needed people:

- Social media scheduling → Automated with Buffer ($15/month)

- Client onboarding → Automated with Make.com (free) (I actually use the $29 a month plan)

- Follow-up emails → Automated sequences (free)

- CRM updates → Automated with webhooks (free)

- Meeting scheduling → Automated with Calendly (free)

- Weekly reporting → Automated dashboard (free)

Tasks that ACTUALLY needed people:

- Creative content strategy (can’t automate)

- Complex client problem-solving (can’t automate)

- High-level sales conversations (can’t automate)

I could have hired ONE strategic hire at $5k/month instead of three tactical hires at $10.5k/month.

I would have saved $5.5k/month = $33k over 6 months.

Plus, I saved 6 months of distraction and stress.

THE RULE I FOLLOW NOW

Never hire for a task until you’ve tried to:**

1. Eliminate it (Do we even need to do this?)

2. Automate it (Can software do this?)

3. Document it (Can we systematize it?)

4. Then delegate it (Hire someone to execute the system)

Most business owners do this backward.

They hire first, then try to build systems around the people.

That’s expensive and messy.

YOUR WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT

I want you to do something this weekend:

The Pre-Hire Audit

1. List every task you’re doing (use yesterday as a reference—write down everything you did)

2. Time each task (how long does it actually take?)

3. Categorize each one:

- [E] Eliminate (we don’t need to do this)

- [A] Automate (software can handle this)

- [D] Document (needs a system/SOP)

- [H] Hire (genuinely needs a human)

4. Calculate the cost:

- Add up all [H] tasks’ hours

- Multiply by the desired hourly rate

- That’s your actual hiring need

I did this exercise last month with a client who was “about to hire 2 people.”

Results:

- 60% of tasks = [E] or [A]

- 25% of tasks = [D] (just needed an SOP)

- 15% of tasks = [H]

They automated the 60%, documented the 25%, and hired ONE person at $4k/month instead of TWO at $8k/month.

Saved $4k/month = $48k/year.

That person’s salary basically paid for itself.

THE FRAMEWORK: AUTOMATE, DOCUMENT, DELEGATE

Step 1: Automate Everything Possible (This Week)

Pick 3 tasks from your [A] list. Build automations:

- Lead capture → CRM → Welcome email (45 min)

- Meeting reminders (30 min)

- Weekly reporting (60 min)

That’s 2.5 hours of work. Saves 5-10 hours per week forever.

Step 2: Document What’s Left (Next Week)

For your [D] tasks, record a Loom:

- “Here’s how I do [task]”

- 5-10 minutes per task

- Now you have training materials for when you DO hire

Step 3: Hire Strategically (When Ready)

Only hire when:

- You’ve automated everything possible

- You’ve documented all systems

- You know exactly what hours you’re buying

- You can measure their output clearly

Your first hire should be someone who:

- Executes documented systems (not creates them)

- Frees you for revenue-generating work

- Pays for themselves in 90 days

HERE’S WHAT I’M OFFERING

Option 1: Do It Yourself (Free)

Use the Pre-Hire Audit above. Spend this weekend categorizing your tasks. Build 2-3 automations. Document your processes.

Cost: 4-6 hours this weekend

Savings: $20k-50k over the next year

Option 2: Let Me Help You

I have 3 strategy call spots available next week: $500, 60 minutes.

We’ll:

- Do the Pre-Hire Audit together (I’ll help you categorize)

- Identify your top 5 automation opportunities

- Build a 90-day implementation roadmap

- Determine if/when you actually need to hire

You’ll walk away knowing:

- Exactly what to automate (and how)

- What to document (and how)

- When to hire (and for what)

- How much you’ll save

Reply with “AUDIT” to claim a spot.

Option 3: Done-For-You Automation Package

I will build 5 custom automations for your business in 2 weeks, for only $1,997.

Includes:

- Pre-hire audit session, where you will have a game plan before we start

- 5 automations built and tested

- Documentation and training videos

- 30 days of support

This typically saves clients 15-25 hours per week.

At $100/hour, that’s $78k-$130k in value per year.

ROI: 39-65x in year one.

Reply with “DFY” if you want details.

THE REAL COST OF HIRING TOO EARLY

When you hire before you automate, you pay twice:

1. Payroll ($3k-5k/month per person)

2. Opportunity cost (time training instead of building systems)

If you automate first, then hire, you pay once:

1. Payroll for strategic work (they execute systems, you scale revenue)

The person I hired after automating everything?

She’s still with me 2 years later.

Revenue per employee: $240k.

The three people I hired before automating?

Gone in 6 months.

Revenue per employee: $0. (I was too distracted to close deals)

YOUR ACTION ITEMS

Over the next 2 Days:

1. Do the Pre-Hire Audit (2-3 hours)

- List every task

- Time for each one

- Categorize: [E] [A] [D] [H]

2. Build ONE automation (1-2 hours)

- Pick your biggest time-waster

- Follow the guides from Tuesday/Thursday newsletters

- Get it running by Sunday night

3. Document ONE process (30 minutes)

- Record a Loom of how you do something

- “Here’s how I [task]”

- Now you have training material

Total time: 4-6 hours

Total savings: 10-20 hours per week going forward

That’s a 2-4x ROI in week one.

NEXT WEEK

Tuesday: I’m breaking down the exact client onboarding automation that saves 3 hours per new client.

Thursday: The weekly reporting system that took us from “spending 2 hours pulling data” to “checking a dashboard for 5 minutes.”

Saturday: How to systematize your sales process so you can actually delegate it without tanking your close rate.

Three more automations. Three more hours back per week.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Here’s what I want to know:

Are you thinking about hiring someone right now?

If yes, reply and tell me:

- What role

- What tasks they’d handle

- Why do you think you need them

I’ll tell you:

- What you can automate instead

- What you should document first

- If/when you should actually hire

I’m serious. Reply. I’ll help.

ONE MORE THING

If you implement even half of what I’ve shared this week:

- Tuesday’s marketing time audit

- Thursday’s no-show prevention

- Today’s pre-hire audit + automations

You’ll get 15-20 hours back per week.

That’s a part-time employee’s worth of work.

For free.

The question is: Will you do it?

Most people won’t. They’ll read this, nod along, and keep doing everything manually.

Don’t be like most people.

Block 6 hours this weekend. Do the audit. Build the automations. Document the processes.

Thank me on Monday when you have 20 hours back in your week.

—DSG

P.S. Strategy calls are first-come, first-served. I’m capping at 3 next week because I’m also running my business. If you want one, reply with “AUDIT” now. They’ll be gone by Sunday night.

P.P.S. The Done-For-You package is limited to 2 clients per month (that’s all I can handle while maintaining quality). If you want it, reply with “DFY” and I’ll send details. December slots fill fast because people want to start the new year with systems in place.

P.P.P.S. Seriously, though—do the Pre-Hire Audit this weekend even if you don’t buy anything from me. It’ll save you tens of thousands of dollars. I wish someone had forced me to do this in 2020.