Manufacturing leader 

tells coach…

“My business 

is killing me… 

but it pays the bills”

If this resonates with YOU, then read this letter NOW — because you’ll discover…

How to seize back 10 hours of your life, EVERY week

(by using these 3 key needle-movers in your business)

Dear Business Leader,

I'm Paul Serafino — and for over six years, I’ve worked with HUNDREDS of stressed and overwhelmed business owners in the manufacturing, shop, and maker industries…

And more than one of them has told me that running their business is driving them to the brink of despair.

These leaders are men and women who’ve been hammering themselves into the ground with 60-70 hour workweeks...

Dreading the phone calls they have to make to their families some evenings, to say they’ll be missing dinner (that’s if they carve out the time to make the call...)

And feeling like they’re FAILING in their leadership roles as orders pile up, their operations and delivery systems creak under the strain, and precious business gets lost to competitors.

If any of those anxieties sound painfully familiar to you, then I imagine it’s possible this thought has crossed your mind from time to time...

"I just want to QUIT."

I’ve heard dozens of CEOs and business owners of manufacturing and service shops companies say this to me before...

So if those words have been playing on a loop in your brain, as you lie awake at night staring at your bedroom ceiling...

Trust me, you’re definitely not alone in thinking this!

You might be feeling totally drained of energy...

And each time you wake up at 5am, and check the emails on your phone almost as soon as you’ve switched off the alarm...

It just makes your dream life — the one where you’re not having to obsess over your work every single waking minute — feel a little further out of reach.

If that’s how you’re feeling right now...

I want to extend an invitation to you in this letter today.

I’m going to show you how you can seize back control of your schedule and your energy levels — to give you what I call “energy-on-demand”...

And once you implement the easy tweaks to your routine that I’m going to suggest here on this page...

You’ll be able to recover an EXTRA 10 HOURS PER WEEK, EVERY WEEK to channel into YOUR dream.

Whether that’s more time working on hobbies and passion projects — like learning to play guitar, paint a canvas, or potter in the garden...

Whether it’s spending precious quality time with your family on trips out, and being more engaged and present than ever before...

Or whether it’s spending more time being involved in your community — in your local church, sports clubs, or wherever your heart is pulling you...

I can assure you it’s all within reach.

And the transformation can be huge -- plus happen

A LOT faster than you think!

Take Dave, for instance — the president of a small manufacturer — who spent years fighting high turnover, low staff morale and falling revenue. 

For him, managing to break even was a GOOD month — and it felt like a major achievement.

But once he implemented some of the stuff I’m going to share with you today, the change was DRAMATIC...

He managed to grow his revenue by 35% at a 7-figure profit, didn’t lay off a single employee, and he even managed to give every member of staff a $1,000 bonus.

PLUS, his parent company offered him a seat on their board — to advise other companies!

In Dave’s own words...

"I'm not the same guy I was before. Now I know what I'm doing is best for this company, and I'm loving it. My wife commented that I'm noticeably more present and she feels like she got her partner back."

And then there’s Melissa, a senior leader in her company who was working 70-hour weeks and dreaded each day at her site. 

She told me the worst part was the never-ending line of staff at the office door, waiting to dump problem after problem onto her lap. It was making her miserable.

But after taking a look at the systems she had in place, I was able to help her free up 3 hours a day – which meant she could develop her business and get a promotion. Her CEO also gave her the budget to develop a non-profit service — which for so long, had been one of her unfulfilled desires.

Here’s what she said to me afterwards...

"I finally feel like I'm in control! I'm having fun in my career and I'm more active and present with my kids. My husband told me he admires me. I feel like I'm 30 again!"

Helping guide them toward a future that’s abundant with free time and low in stress is one of the privileges I’m lucky to have in my career.

And, honestly — the results you just saw there started to happen in an incredibly short period of time. Largely just by implementing some of the key needle-movers I’m going to share with you today.

But, look — there’s going to be no pitch here from me. 

I have nothing to sell you at the end of this page -- so you can put your company credit card away.

All I’m going to show you are the THREE biggest needle-movers I’ve discovered from spending over six years in the trenches with manufacturing leaders in my company, Accelerated Journey.

Now, if you’d like any help implementing the changes I’ll show you…

Right at the end of this letter, you’ll have the option to get in touch with me for a free call, where I’ll be happy to work through a Time Freedom Audit with you…

But that audit is a FREE offer, and there’s no obligation at all for you to take it.

Like I said, I’m not selling or pitching any “training” here.

I’ve been working in the manufacturing industry for over 20 years — long enough to know “more training” is all that ever seems to get peddled…

And when the “training” (which is just packaged-up information — with no real guidance on how to implement it) doesn’t work, what gets offered next?

More training!

It’s a tedious cycle that’s never served the industry well. And I’m here to serve the industry as ethically and honorably as I can.

The son of a workaholic, I watched my father almost die right before my eyes from a heart attack in his forties — caused by work-related stress.

I believe it’s my moral duty to help manufacturing leaders and shop owners battle their stress and overwhelm in the most authentic and PRACTICAL way I can…

And I consider writing this letter to be part of that duty…

Because if you’re reading this far, I think there’s a good chance you’re drowning in your work.

Buried under responsibility. Suffocated by relentless pressure.

The time freedom you crave more than anything else has probably never felt so far away…

And the most frustrating part of it all?

Years ago, when you started on this journey -- it was your work that was supposed to set you free!

All the bright ideas you had in mind for the company…

All the freedom you’d have, once you the business was making the kind of revenue you expected it to…

And all the impact you could make in your local community, with all the spare time and financial prosperity the job would bring you...

I’m aware there’s a chance very little of that may have happened for you.

I see this play out A LOT.

But is it any wonder it’s failed to happen, when all the cards have been stacked against you?

Especially over the last couple of years!

Yes, the covid-19 lockdowns and assistance programs put you under immense pressure at the time…

But you put your head down and ground through it, quietly confident there was a reprieve waiting for you on the other side.

It hasn’t worked out that way, for plants and shops up and down the country...

The supply chain bottleneck may finally be easing…
but demand is slowing

Overhead costs have soared thanks to the covid economy — a toxic combination of 9%+ inflation and surging energy prices (oil is STILL struggling to dip under the $100 per barrel mark…)

And the manufacturing industry is a more ferocious battlefield than ever before.

The US public debt now stands close to $30 trillion. It’s a mess.

A mess caused by government and local authorities, NOT by you — yet you have to make the sacrifices and pay the toll...

Because businesses like yours are the backbone of the economy and face the mammoth task of propping it up.

It’s business leaders like you who are having to show up each day, bearing the consequences and working yourself to exhaustion…

Because there are lots of people who depend on you.

Staff. Suppliers. Customers. Your family…

Your business is more than just a business — it’s an ecosystem, a network of relationships that needs YOU performing at peak capacity.

I admire you for taking on this responsibility. Society admires you.

But our admiration, unfortunately, won’t pay your bills or ease your frantic schedule.

If you keep pushing as hard as you are now, it could end up deteriorating your physical health…

Stretching your family relationships to breaking-point...

And bringing even MORE stress upon you — to the point where it becomes UNBEARABLE.

In fact, I’ve spoken to plant-owners who fear inflation will outlast their marriages, if things continue the way they are.

I hope your situation isn’t as desperate as this...

But I’ve written this letter to show you there’s a fast way to crush this feeling of defeat.

You see, I work with stressed, overworked leaders day in and day out.

I see similar symptoms, caused by the same issues all the time…

And the one thing I’ve noticed above all others?

All of these folks have been suffering in silence, alone — because they think no one else understands.

The pressures of modern life have forced them into a corner…

Where they’re hanging on for dear life and vowing to themselves they won’t break under the pressure.

They feel like they can’t afford to...

And their lonely, inner struggle is not only making them MISERABLE and eroding their love for their business…

It’s also holding back their business from the 6- and 7-figure growth it’s capable of.

They’re getting in their own way.

And I know…because I’ve seen this play out — and I’ve helped leaders to reverse the trend completely and set their courses straight for over the last six years, as their coach.

My name’s Paul Serafino, and before I became a coach and the proud owner of Accelerated Journey, I spent 12 years inside Intel, as a process engineer...

Learning the operational systems of a multi-billion dollar behemoth.

I learned how to streamline, how to reduce cost, how to improve velocity of production…and all of it at massive scale, with vast resources at my disposal.

I soon learned that these privileges wouldn’t serve me well in smaller companies, when I moved on to work at a “break-even at best” company, around 100 employees in size...

I burned myself out there trying to implement Intel processes! It just didn’t work.

But the good thing about working there was I met my mentor…

Who taught me that when you focus on cost reduction, the best result you can hope to obtain is ZERO.

But when you focus on increasing VALUE, the maximal result is unlimited and exponential.

The other thing he taught me is to narrow your focus.

If you can nail just ONE key thing, or better yet, just two or three needle-movers for a business...

That’s a hell of a lot better than the typical consultant’s approach.

You’ve probably seen or heard THAT…

“Here is 1,000 ways to improve your business…implement 500 of them and you’ll be good!”

The lessons I learned from him were invaluable to me...

They led me to train for years at a consulting firm, where I further got to see the challenges small business-owners were facing.

On one occasion, I sat down in an office with the owner of a $7 million-a-year plant, who burst into tears and told me he couldn’t bring himself to answer the phone that was ringing in the corner.

He told me he knew his wife would be on the other end of the line, to tell him that she hadn’t signed up for a life of him missing dinner and not being able to put the kids to bed, when she married him...

He said he knew she’d say this, because it was a similar conversation they were having most evenings.

It was heartbreaking.

I offered to coach him. He became my first coaching client. And within just three months of working together, his life was turned around.

Since then, I’ve been helping plant-owners just like him, with my coaching business Accelerated Journey.

Along the way, as I mentioned before — I’ve unearthed the three biggest roadblocks preventing leaders from achieving the time freedom they need and deserve in their businesses.

Overcome these 3 roadblocks with the solutions I’m going to show you right now, and I guarantee you’ll be able to claim back TEN hours every single week.

This isn’t a miraculous cure...

It’s just the law of LEVERAGE…

Ruthlessly zeroing in on a key “Needle-Mover” that seems small and simple, but has the power to make an enormous impact.

Until it’s presented to you like this — clear as day — it’s understandable you may have missed the big, burning barn behind you, when you’ve been so busy putting out all the many, smaller raging fires in front of you.

So I’m going to lay out these 3 key needle-movers for you right now…

And then you can start seizing back 10 hours every week, starting TODAY.

Let’s not waste any time and dive into them right now.

Here’s the first one...

Needle-Mover #1: Elevate Your Identity

Probably the BIGGEST problem I’ve observed with most leaders, is they can’t separate themselves from the product or service their business sells.

I’m talking about their personal identity. It’s so intertwined with the business and what it makes, it ends up being destructive.

I know this seems like head-in-the-clouds stuff, at first glance...

But stick with me.

Once you get your head around this technique — and I promise you’ll be able to in just MINUTES — it’s enormously powerful.

You see, I’ve worked with so many owners who are too bogged down in the details…

Some of them are working nights and weekends just to make extra sales!

And in getting caught up in the day-to-day execution of their tasks, they’ve lost sight of what their own PERSONAL MISSION is.

There’s nothing more important than your personal mission.

I can’t stress this enough. It’s your North Star.

In order to elevate your identity, pull yourself out of the minutiae that’s pummeling your energy levels into the ground, and become the leader you KNOW you can be…

You need to pull back and reassess your mission.

Because without a clear idea on what your mission is, you become REACTIVE.

And reactive leaders are always doomed to fail.

If we look at one of the world’s wealthiest entrepreneurs, Elon Musk, for example…

Whatever you think of his ethics or the nature of his businesses...

He’s ALWAYS proactive and on the front foot. He knows his mission inside-out.

And the world REACTS to him.

Now, of course, I know full well your plant doesn’t operate on the same scale as Tesla and Space-X, of course!

But the same principle applies, at a smaller scale.

And here’s what you can do today, to define your mission, become a much more proactive leader, and elevate your identity — no matter how busy your day is, how long the line outside your office is, or how much the phone keeps ringing…

Exit the price-competition conversation.

You know, the one where someone asks, “What does your company do?” and you answer by describing the product or service you offer.

This is what I call, We Are What We Make Identity.

It traps you running your business the way everyone else does:

     - Benchmark price range
     - Hover in the middle
     - Reduce costs to make money

Even if you reach the minimum cost to run the business, you’ll still need to work like crazy to get more volume at your “competitive” price...

Convincing, negotiating, compromising, scrambling to get orders.

Elevate Your Identity frees you from all that.

It's how you make your company stand out as the obvious choice for new and existing customers, because no one else is doing it this way.

It’s the best way to answer, “What does your company do?"

It creates tremendous clarity for you, your team, and your customers.

Here's all you need to say:

Clearly stating your specific target audience will attract only your ideal prospects, and let current customers know they should come back.

Spelling out the exact problem or struggle your product or service solves separates you from everyone else who just talks about the features.

Then pointing out the immediate benefits they will experience as a result of your solution (more money, more time, less effort, etc.) shifts their attention from what it costs to what it’s WORTH.

What you sell is what you SOLVE...not what you make.

Solutions have VALUE.

The highest value commands a premium price and attracts more serious customers instead of bargain hunters.

Imagine the time you’ll save when you’re not competing for orders and negotiating price.

Needle-Mover #2: Single-Page Strategy

This Needle-Mover is immensely powerful.

It has the potential to unlock bottled-up energy you thought you’d never be able to release…

And if you read on, I’ll show you how you can get that “energy-on-demand” and pour all of it into creating the strategic vision for your business you’ve ALWAYS wanted to develop (but you’ve never had time to do).

Because I bet you’ve had a strategy in your head for YEARS…

A strategy that once executed, could add hundreds of thousands of dollars…

Or possibly even MILLIONS of dollars to business!

When’s the last time you got it out of your head and onto paper?

Your business needs you working ON it a lot more than it needs you working IN it.

And just like the Needle-Mover above, it requires you to take a step back, in order to be at the very top of your game.

I’m going to show you how you can shrink a 3-5 year strategic plan into something super-simple and quick to get down on the page…

In fact, that’s all it will be! ONE page.

And I guarantee you’ll be able to implement your 3-5 year plan in a fraction of the time...

I’ve worked with clients who’ve been able to accomplish theirs in 3-5 MONTHS!

Here’s the secret…

The strategies that actually work are the most simple and specific.

It's not about finding a way to cram in everything you can, could, or should do to improve your company over the next 3 to 5 years, like...

  - Quarterly off-sites, project management, trade shows and R&D…

  - A bigger building, more equipment, new ERP and CRM…

  - Train everyone on six sigma, lean, lots of tools and theory…

  - AND MORE TRAINING!

Trying to do ALL of that just costs money, effort, and a ton of time…not to mention it drains all your energy.

“If you build it they will come” strategies only work in the movies!

The better way - the new way - is a simple, specific plan you can execute in a matter of months to transform your business into a growing, thriving enterprise...

You need 3 things:

The GOAL must be exciting and tangible, like “add 50% to annual revenue within 6 months” or “become preferred supplier and own 25% of the market by next year.”

This focuses everyone and eliminates all of those scattered projects, training sessions, and needless expenses.

No more herding cats!

Which gives you back a lot of time and energy, every single day.

The CONDITIONS must be simple and paint a clear picture of how things will look when the goal is achieved…the future state of operations, like...

  - Production quantities and rates

  - Breakdown of sales by customer type or products

  - Products and services offered (or eliminated)

  - Partnerships or subsidiaries formed

Finally, the ACTIONS must be specific items your current team can DO using the resources you have -- their only activities outside of the day-to-day -- to create those Conditions.

Here’s how this looks on a single page:

Earlier I told you about how I worked at big, fancy Intel, right?

Our plan there only had about 6 or 7 rows.

If your business is doing 6 or 7 figures a year, or even 8 figures…you only need 3 or 4 rows.

Believe me when I say, you most likely have the people and resources you need to execute a new, better strategy to grow.

You just need to start with SIMPLE and SPECIFIC.

Now I've given you a lot to think about

But the truth is, these tweaks to your current system are extremely quick and easy to implement — and they’ll move the needle for your business NOTICEABLY.

Like Dave — you may recall his story at the start of this letter...

"I'm not the same guy I was before. Now I know what I'm doing is best for this company, and I'm loving it. My wife commented that I'm noticeably more present and she feels like she got her partner back."

That’s what he was able to accomplish…in addition to adding 35% to his top-line in a year.

But think about the impact YOU could make with all the extra time YOU’LL get!

With these techniques, I’ve seen owners who were carrying tons of debt (or going to their parent company, hat in hand) make an extra $3 million revenue in a single year...

And have put figures in CASH to put into the bank.

All by making the kinds of changes I’m showing you right here.

And ask me, while smiling, “Now what do I do with my day?”

Now, I know part of the trouble here is just getting started.

After all, when you’re spinning a million plates at once, and you’re working 70+ hour weeks, struggling to find out where the next hour of free time is going to come from…

It can be difficult to see how you’ll start implementing all of this stuff.

I don’t blame you at all for being skeptical! I get it. It’s hard to break the cycle.

I’m happy to help you break it.

If you want help implementing this stuff at warp speed, rather than figure out how to get going with it yourself, all you need to do is schedule a call with me so I can go through a FREE Time Freedom Audit with you.

On this call, we’ll also see if we’re a good fit to work together on a more dedicated basis — but there'll be no pressure or obligation at all for you to do that.

Your Time Freedom Audit is completely FREE…

And when you click the button below and schedule your call, you’ll receive an email from me with your FREE Time Freedom Audit Worksheet…

This is a valuable resource usually only reserved for my paying clients, but I’m making that available to you today.

Just click the link below, schedule your audit with me and you’ll get it.

In the meantime, we’ll move on to the third and final Key Needle-Mover. I’ve probably saved the best for last!

Needle-Mover #3: S.M.A.R.T. Delegation

Hands-down, this is the single most powerful thing I know for getting 10 hours of your week back.

If you want to eliminate waste from your schedule and leave nothing but needle-moving VALUE behind, you’ve got to give this a try.

The key is doing it RIGHT.

You see, when it comes to digging out diamonds of time, there’s a bunch of stuff consultants like to come in and try to sell to you…

And they all have their merits. They’re not BAD ideas.

Leadership seminars and certifications…

Time management tools...

Productivity tools…

Culture and personality assessments…

Project management software...

To-do list trackers and apps…

They’re all tools that measure and track stuff. They’re useful, in isolation.

And I agree that measuring and tracking stuff is important...

After all…what gets measured, gets managed.

But honestly, these things don’t help you IMPLEMENT.

And what I’m about to show you does precisely that...

Use the needle-mover I’m about to show you to your advantage — it’ll give you tremendous leverage in the day-to-day running of your plant or shop, and unearth hours of time you never knew you had…

I call it S.M.A.R.T. Delegation.

Delegation gets a bad rap.

Leaders avoid it because they feel like they’re doing something unpleasant TO people, or being selfish.

When done right, delegation is actually something you do FOR people.

They’re counting on you to make the business thrive, and to give them a purpose worth doing.

“S.M.A.R.T. Delegation” frees up your time to do both while taking care of your own life too.

The first step is to evaluate the activities you’re doing now using the following specific criteria:

The second step is to eliminate anything that does not meet any of those criteria, that NO ONE should be doing.

These are usually “legacy” processes, meetings, reports, or even products that once served a purpose but no longer do.

You can just stop doing those things. If anyone calls, complains, or demands an explanation, they’re probably just in shock because you’ve never done that before.

(Pro Tip: they will get over it faster than you.)

The third step is to delegate any activities that are necessary to run the day-to-day but that do NOT meet the S.M.A.R.T. criteria.

You’re probably wondering, “But won’t this take a lot of stuff off MY plate?"

YES.

That’s the point!

This is your opportunity to allow someone else to do the activities you’ve been holding onto that are NOT your responsibility, just because that’s the way it’s always been done.

Or because you feel bad telling someone else to do it.

Someone else might want to do it because it’s their job, and because they want to find new ways.

They might even be better at the task than you.

S.M.A.R.T. Delegation gives other people the permission and freedom to contribute at a much higher level.

It makes them stronger.

And you only need to do it once to get back 10+ hours per week, forever.

Start implementing these changes today

I can say now, without absolute confidence, that if you walk away from this letter and implement the advice I’ve just given you — your life will change dramatically.

You WILL wrestle back control in your life.

I know, because I’ve seen a number of my clients implement these changes and seen the results they’ve managed to accomplish, first-hand.

Like print shop owner and maker Ashley Smith, who says:

“I found Paul when I was at my wit's end. I had built a successful business, the business of my dreams, and I hated it. My business was running me. I didn't have time for my children, my husband, my friends... I wanted out. From where I stood, life really sucked.  

In just ONE conversation with Paul, things began to shift. With thoughtful questions, he helped me to reconnect to my ‘why.’ He helped me to paint a picture of what my life could look like, which reinvigorated my drive to continue. After just 1 week I was working nearly half the hours I used to.”

And Ben Sommers…

“I worked with Paul to initiate a Somerville-wide fabricators workshop to discover and address needs in the "maker" and small business communities. Paul was great to work with in terms of tailoring an event to the unique characteristics of Somerville businesses, and to facilitate an open and productive discussion. We couldn't get people to leave!"

And Mimi Scofield…

“Paul was able to open my eyes to the value I had, the vast experience I had and how I could translate that into creating the next chapter of my company. He was masterful in helping me restructure my business so that it would remain profitable. The most valuable lesson was to not sell myself too short and that I bring a lot of value to my clients. I just did a very successful event and I made more money than any other event I’ve done. And today my business is doing very well!"

These are just a few of the folks I’ve helped…

And I’d love to help you, too. Maybe you’re thinking you’d appreciate the help implementing these needle-movers…

If you are, a FREE Time Freedom Audit is waiting for you, so we can make that a reality.

Remember — as I said at the start of this letter — you can put your company credit card away.

(And if you’re not the owner of your company and you thought you’d need to speak to your boss about this… that won’t be necessary.)

During the call, working together on an ongoing basis is something we can explore — but there’s no obligation to do that.

Your Time Freedom Audit is FREE — and you can help yourself to it by clicking the button below.

I don’t know how many of these I can offer.

I work with a number of owners and senior business leaders on regular contracts, so I’ll only be making a limited number of these time slots available in my calendar.

I eat my own cooking — and I know full well I can’t work 60–70 hours a week, helping everyone!

The “free call times”, therefore, are strictly limited.

So make sure you grab yours now.

Of course, you can walk away from this and use the information I’ve just given you in this letter…

These Needle-Movers are the real deal. If strictly implemented, they WILL give you your time back, no question.

But if you’re chewing your nails until they bleed on even the best days…

And even with the information provided, you’re wondering how in the hell you’re going to be able to digest it all and put it into practice…

This is where I’m a pro, and I leverage all 20 years of my experience in manufacturing and small business to make sure you have an actionable plan YOU can follow, tailored to you.

So don’t hesitate any longer…

It’s my mission to help leaders like you.

Let’s get you started on accomplishing YOUR mission.

Schedule your free Time Freedom Audit with me now!

P.S. Don’t forget, when you schedule your call I’ll send you your Time Freedom Worksheet. This is a resource clients of mine usually pay for, because it’s a core part of one of my programs, but it’s yours to keep.

When you click the button to schedule the call, you’ll be taken to my Calendly scheduling page, where you’ll see a full agenda of what we’ll cover on the 75-minute call.

Your Time Freedom Audit awaits. I can’t wait to meet you and get started with you on this.

Book a Time Freedom Audit with me.