Forward, Neutral, Reverse: How I Actually Run My Business

Something clicked for me this week.

After four years of building Launch Kit, I have stopped trying to run at full speed every single day. It does not work. Not long term. And this week gave me a perfect example of why.

If you are a small business owner or a founder who feels the pressure to grind every waking hour, this one is for you. Here is how I actually run my weeks, and why learning to read my own energy has kept me consistent when most people burn out.

The Three Speeds Every Founder Should Know

Here is the framework I keep coming back to. At any given moment, I am operating in one of three speeds.

1. Forward. Full tank. I am ready to dive into a project, get into a flow state, and burn it. This is when the real building happens.
2. Neutral. Feeling a little ambitious but not sure where to point the energy. This is when I watch inspirational content, other founders, other creators. It helps me gear up.
3. Reverse. Running on empty. This is when I need to step back, recharge, and protect tomorrow.

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Your brain is a muscle. We do not have infinite energy. If I tried to train upper body or run all day, of course I would be fatigued. Working out your brain all day is no different.

The skill is not pushing harder. The skill is self awareness. Knowing which speed you are in, and being honest about it.

"When people do not learn this, I think this is what leads to the stories of burnout. The 18 hour founder hustle work life is not sustainable."

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What Reverse Actually Looked Like This Week

Monday night I recorded a clip with my gas tank completely on E. You could probably tell. I had been locked in at the office all day. Productive day. Knocked out a bunch of my to do list, sent a pile of messages. But by 5:30 my brain was cooked.

So I made a choice. No computer that night.

Instead, Ellen cooked us up a steak, some asparagus, potatoes, and we had a glass of red wine. We did a few of Steven Bartlett's conversation cards. Read some fiction, not non fiction. Got a good night of sleep.

Then something interesting happened.

The next morning I woke up fresh. And the projects that felt heavy the day before suddenly seemed 10 times more simple. There was a clear path to an answer. Nothing about the work changed. Only my energy did.

That is the whole point. Going backward on purpose is what let me go forward again.

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Deep Work Blocks Are Not Optional

Here is one system that has kept the train on the tracks.

If you look at my calendar with nothing else going on, you will see deep work blocks from 8:00 to 11:00 in the morning, Tuesday through Friday. I put them there on purpose.

Why? Because if they are not there, things will fill the space. The calendar always finds a way to book itself. Events are great, but a week with zero deep work time is a week where the important stuff never gets done.

A few things I have learned about protecting maker time:

• Error on the side of too much deep work time. You can always override a block if a meeting genuinely makes sense.
• Nobody else can override a block that is already on your calendar. That is the point.
• Whether you run on manager time or maker time, be proactive and build the deep time in yourself.

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I would rather guard three hours I do not need than lose the one morning that mattered.

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The Rest of the Week: Shoots, Coffee, and Real Clients

Energy management is the theme, but this was also a full week of real agency work here in West Michigan.

• Immersive Homes. First content shoot with a new marketing client down in the Saugatuck Douglas area. We did some script revisions on the fly and walked away with six videos, enough to carry them a month and a half.
• Kellermier plumbing, heating, and cooling. A full production day up in Rockford. Their second shoot with us, and the difference was night and day. Once a client sees their first videos, they loosen up and start having fun on camera.
• Outside Inc. Walked over to the Home and Garden Show to grab a few photos of their booth build at DeVos Place. Cory does not mess around.

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I also did our Monday sales check in. We are chasing $750,000 in sales this year, up from $667,000 last year. Stripe has us around $133,000 year to date. To track that better, I have been testing Databox against Agency Analytics, because I want a dashboard that shows our progress toward the goal in one clean visual.

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The Long Game Is the Only Game

Here is what I keep coming back to.

We live in a moment where everyone is trying to build something quick. The next drop shipping store, the next AI product, the next fast dopamine hit. That is not the game I am playing.

I want the long term, sustainable business. The kind you can build into something bigger than yourself. And you cannot do that overnight. You definitely cannot do it running on E for months on end.

So take care of yourself. Read your own tank. Learn when to go forward, when to sit neutral, and when to reverse.

That is how you show up as the best version of yourself tomorrow.

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Want to Go Deeper?

If you want the systems behind all of this, meet with me 1 on 1, join our weekly Q&A calls, and get access to our ClickUp templates, Go High Level snapshots, real SOPs, and Claude prompts, come join the Launch Kit Mastermind. You get a 7 day free trial, so you can join this week's call for free.

Join here: https://get.launchkitdesign.com/home