The Cost of Building Your Own
Three weeks into building Refracted Aspect Collective, I’d already mapped out a 90-day game plan. Not because a workbook said to. Not because some framework required it. But because this business—this shot at doing it right, on my terms, has to work.
It has to. Because the alternative? Going back to work for someone else? That thought makes me want to figuratively die. Probably not the type of internet remnant I want out in the world if things go sideways, but that’s kind of the point.
Dramatic, I know. But I’ve been there. I’ve given years to companies that didn’t care. Led with clarity while they stumbled through chaos. Built strategies that never saw daylight. Showed them what could be done, only to watch them settle for mediocrity. I get it: larger businesses juggle competing priorities across sales, delivery, growth and of course, the financial aspects. But over time, doing great work that never surfaces wears you down.
This time, the stakes are mine.
Precision at the Core
The last month has been a grind, but it has been focused, deliberate, and unrelenting. There’s no such thing as busywork at this early stage of a business; it’s the kind of work that lays the foundations for what’s to come.
Every sentence on our website was scrutinized. Every bit of tone debated. Every message and value tested for weight and meaning. It took longer than I expected. Even remembering how to write in Canadian English, given that’s where I live now, added complexity. At times, frustration and panic set in because I’m used to moving fast, and I felt like I was wasting time. Spending hours fine-tuning a few paragraphs felt like standing still, even though I knew it wasn’t.
This work is our foundation. The strategic clarity we ask of our clients has to start with us. So I did the work:
- Defined who we serve and why.
- Drew hard lines around what we stand for and what we won’t tolerate.
- Nailed the difference between being embedded versus outsourced.
- Planned—not to look busy, but to build something real.
I’m proud of where we landed. It’s honest, reflects who we are, and what we’re committing to live up to.
Building While Moving
Most mornings, I’m up early. That’s when it’s quiet and I can do focused, deep work.
But there’s still a mess. The infrastructure isn’t finalized, nurture flows aren’t written, some systems are still fragmented but that’s okay. You can’t build a CRM, finalize pricing, design and refine a website, set up project and delivery infrastructure, craft multiple nurture sequences, design lead magnets, map out client journeys, configure automations, run cold outreach, and build a publishing engine—while also maintaining strategic oversight—without some chaos creeping in. The important part is knowing where that chaos lives and keeping it contained.
Even navigating Avada (our WordPress theme) has been frustrating. I used to know it inside and out. However, it’s been so long since I last worked on a website for anyone and stepping back into it felt foreign. That’s fine. It’s just another knot to untangle.
Skin in the Game
I want to build a business that helps others reclaim their lives. That’s it. Whether it’s the founders/owners, the leadership team or the entire company, it doesn’t matter. It just matters that we’re helping bring clarity and control out of the chaos and put the systems in place to push it permanently into the background.
Will it work? I don’t know. That’s the risk. I’ve always been a bit of an outlier—someone who sees things differently. I’m aware that sometimes that’s a strength and sometimes it creates a gap, but when you’re building something this personal, fear creeps in:
What if it doesn’t land? What if no one sees the value? What if I’m just shouting into the void?
But I don’t need a hundred clients. I need one. One engagement to prove we’re not crazy. One business that sees what we see. One team that is willing to trust us to help fix what they’ve been too close to for too long. That first client won’t just validate the work, it’ll anchor the entire business.
Turning Vision Into Systems
Historically, I’ve been spectacular at strategy (if I do say so myself), and frustrated by execution. I knew how to move the needle, but the system just wasn’t built, or wasn’t ready, to let that happen. At least one company seemed to want the illusion of progress. That isn’t to say that they were bad places to work; quite the contrary. However, if you hire someone to come in and drive things forward, only to put roadblocks in place that prevent meaningful progress, even accidentally, then you’re not ready for what I bring to the table.
It’s different this time. The follow-through, wins, losses, it’s all on me–exactly how I like it. So what’s next?
We continue building the machine—quietly, deliberately, and with intention. There’s content to create, systems to tighten, messaging to refine, and offers to shape. We’re investing in the kind of infrastructure that lets us show up consistently, lead confidently, and scale sustainably. It’s a heavy lift, but that’s what it takes to lay a foundation that lasts, because none of it matters if we can’t execute.
Milestones That Matter
Here’s what success looks like for us in the next 90 days:
- One meaningful client engagement that validates our model and impact.
- A modest but growing audience of early followers who resonate with our message.
- A clear and compelling lead magnet launched and in use – watch this space for our upcoming Business Health Checks with a focus on revenue, marketing, operations and finance.
- Consistent communication that reflects our tone, values, and clarity of thought.
- Steady delivery over unnecessary perfection—progress over polish.
This business isn’t a test; it’s the whole plan, and I have to make the next 90 days count.
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