Amanda Gustafson Consulting

07/16/2025

What if you could ask one of the best marketing minds in the world anything you wanted?

The marketer and all-round thoughtful human Seth Godin has trained an ai on his large body of writings.

He has made the artifact available to all:https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/cc614eaa-e53e-4fc4-9f44-0e5680e5737a

Using this tool in the past week, I've created a whole new offer focused on supporting my ideal client on the problem I solve.

It's for service business owners who want to design their business to run when they aren't there.

In a small group, each member will have the opportunity to answer the question:

"What question, if solved, would make the biggest difference in your ability to step away from your business?"

And leave with their clear next steps.

If they want support and accountability in implementing, I'm here for them with my year long program.

The group is free, but an application is required with 3 criteria:

3+ years in business

3+ team members, including part-time or contract

willing to commit to 3-4 weekly meetings

If this would serve you, here's the application link. https://forms.gle/n5LQHK1wj9G6TpFcA

07/10/2025

Every long term relationship develops a private language.

One of our catch phrases is "Worst thing EVER" for moments like getting your socks wet where the dog slobbered.

What insider language do you have in your business?

Ours makes light of small annoyances.

What does your insider language do for you?

07/02/2025

Coercion is a short term method of persuasion with long term consequences.

Paraphrasing Marshall Goldsmith - Every decision is made by the person who has the power to make it.

You don't have the power to make decisions for anyone else- not family, clients, employees, politicians, or people you meet in the street.

On the other hand, they don't have the power to make decisions for you, either.

The only way to get someone to do what you want is to convince them.

If you rule out coercion, this means entering their world to see how what you want could actually get them something they want.

06/18/2025

One summer, a friend of mine worked at an amusement park in Michigan that got a lot of Canadian visitors.

He and his friends realized that the exchange rate was such that Canadian coins were worth slightly more than US ones.

The tourists were paying with a mix of US and Canadian cash, sometimes in the same purchase.

So Bill and his friends kept the Canadian change in their tips and put the US money in the till.

And everyone wanted the usually least favorite restaurant jobs where they got tips.

And then they would go to the bank once a week and get a little bonus for their efforts.

It went really well, they were having a great summer, until management realized what was going on.

And the managers said they couldn't do it anymore.

And suddenly an exciting summer job was just a way to punch a clock until fall came.

If you were leadership in this situation- what would you do?

06/12/2025

If you knew that you only had 90 minutes of high performance in you today, how would you spend it?

Now think of your team.

Do they know where to spend their 90 minutes to get maximum impact?

What would happen if you and your team figured out- and acted on- the answer to this question?

06/04/2025

Sometimes it is as simple as one question.

A CFO friend was working with a construction client.

The client knew he could open up new business for himself if he could only take a 1 day OSHA class.

Trouble was, he felt like to keep his team at his standard he had to be on-site all the time.

My friend asked, "Is there anyone on the team you trust?"

Turns out, yes, there was someone he knew would do a good job whether or not he was standing over them.

So he put that trustworthy character in charge for the day and took his class.

Which had a snowball affect.

Not only did he have that new certification, he was slowly willing to promote that person to job site supervisor.

Now he had time open to grow the new line of business.

And he is going strong.

All from that question of "Who can you trust?"

If you have the who, but need some help with the how, please reach out.

He didn't hand over everything overnight, it was a process.

You can do it, too.

05/20/2025

One of the companies I met at a recent Expo is going to be around a very long time.

They assemble the seats for airports, all the way to Duluth, Minnesota.

If you fly, you've probably sat on their work.

Why are they going to last?

The owner has their niche and value dialed in.

He will always get the next best tool.

If it saves time, he'll buy it.

And he is a master at knowing what tool is needed for a job.

He tells his team, "If you don't bring the right tool, be prepared for slave labor."

Because they are going to have to work so much harder for so much longer.

And finally, he has landed on the ideal sized team for his business.

He's got 4 full time, plus himself and a sales guy.

When they get a big project, they bring in temporaries from an agency.

He doesn't have to worry about a big payroll, and he always knows he can get people when he needs them.

If this guy was willing to teach someone else how to list all the needed tools he could step out of the business at any time.

As it is, he's got a quietly successful business that can go forever.

Bravo.

05/19/2025

We went deep on why business owners are afraid to let go, and what you can do to free yourself.

I help business owners design businesses that can run without them.

Want to create live streams like this? Check out StreamYard: https://streamyard.com/pal/d/6061804959825920

04/14/2025

Many years ago, I naively got myself in trouble with the owners of the business.

They were present to tell the leadership team that they had two new priorities- one was an internal quality project and the other was social media.

I asked, "Which one is more important?"

And they said: "They both are really important."

I tried again (remember, naive) and said, "Sure, but let's say it's Friday afternoon and there is only time for one more task. Should we focus on following up with the internal project or writing another blog post?"

They said "We don't have time for more questions. We expect great things from you. Bye!"

After they left my fellow team members laughed at me and thanked me for trying.

That team was full of highly competent, self-motivated people and they were let down by their leaders.

Both priorities kinda got done, but neither got done brilliantly.

Only one thing can be the most important, that's what most means.

What's most important right now for your business?

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As a business owner, when you are honest with yourself, you know there are things you are doing because they are easy, not because you should be doing them. But the temptation is great...