Last week, I wrote about the biggest trap founders find themselves in: Waiting for more time.
The responses I received were overwhelming – this challenge clearly struck a chord with many of you.
Turns out, the real problem isn’t time. It’s staying trapped “in” the business.
Trapped in My Own Business
If you’re feeling trapped in your own business, I get it. I was too.
As a software engineer turned entrepreneur, I found myself bound to Elixir, my fitness business. We were open from 6 AM to 11 PM – seven days a week.
And I was there for all of it.
I had a capable team, still, every decision stopped at me. I was exhausted.
The questions kept haunting me: Why am I doing this? When will I finally get to rest? “Someday, this will grow… someday I can relax…”
2 years in, and that someday wasn’t coming. One Saturday night in December, I looked at my calendar. Another 17-hour day. Another week where I was the bottleneck. That’s when I knew: something had to change. I couldn’t afford another year like this.
Three Critical Problems
Being a systems person (once an engineer, always an engineer!), I approached this challenge methodically (and out of desperation).
Problem #1: The Energy Puzzle
Some days I was unstoppable. On other days, barely productive despite working the same hours.
The revelation: Some tasks lit me up, while others drained me completely. And I realized that irrespective of their importance, all tasks are not equal for me.
Problem #2: The Delegation Trap
Everyone said “delegate.” But the more I delegated, the more time I spent fixing things.
The breakthrough: It wasn’t about their expertise alone. It was their ability to see the bigger picture. When they understood how their role connected with others, they began to produce outcomes that I liked – thinking like an owner (me).
Problem #3: The Systems Gap
Even when things worked well, they depended entirely on my presence.
The solution: I needed more than just processes. I needed clear metrics and feedback loops that worked without me.
These three realizations became the foundation of my framework.
From Personal Success to Proven Framework
Over the next decade, I cut my hours by 60% while growing at 22% on average. And I began to share this system with my leadership team.
The results surprised me. As they learned the framework, they became more energized. More strategic. More invested.
The business didn’t just run better – it scaled faster.
Fast forward to today. When I started coaching founders, the patterns were identical: Ambitious founders. Great businesses. Capable teams. All stuck exactly where I was – Firefighting.
Now, this framework is the first step for all my private coaching clients. The results have been consistently transformative.
The Impact: How Other Founders Broke Free
Using this exact system my clients are getting amazing results:
- An IT Services founder went from 70-hour weeks to a steady 45 hours, while growing revenue by 40%.
- An agency founder freed up 15 hours per week and used that time to land 3 major partnership deals within 90 days.
With this, family time, overdue vacations, time for learning and thinking were possible now. Sleeping and exercise were back on the schedule. The better it got, the better it got.
Introducing: The Founder's Freedom Blueprint
Until now, this system was only available through my private coaching.
Today, I’m making it accessible to every ambitious founder as a course.
A complete 0 to 90-day system to break free from daily operations and step into your role as CEO.
In this course you will learn:
- Mindset shift required to move from an operator to CEO
- How to double down on what fuels you, and drop what drains you
- You will prioritize like a CEO and stop getting lost in busy work
- Build the 2nd-in-line team that frees you to scale
- Your step-by-step roadmap to working less & leading more
Everything is systematized so your entire team can easily implement the framework and grow with you.
Grab Founder’s Freedom Blueprint Now
From here > learn.surabhishenoy.com
This system frees up 10+ hours every week in just 90 days – less than the cost of one wasted meeting.
Ready to master your CEO game?
Here are 2 ways I can help
1) Elite CEO Coaching:
Strategic support to scale systematically
→ Book Your Free Clarity Call
2) 1:1 Strategy Session
One focused hour. Clear action plan. Immediate implementation.
→ Get a Power Hour With Me
