When a talented fast executor gets the systems brain they’ve been missing
HIGHLIGHTS
Challenge
- Operating without financial visibility - no accounting system, balance sheet, or understanding of profit margins
- Feeling lost during a business pivot with no clear strategic direction
- Running the business like a freelancer despite having a team - too involved in day-to-day operations with no systems or processes
The Partnership
- Lani and John* worked together, Lani taking a very deep dive into the financials of the potential acquisition, uncovering a much clearer picture of the company's true economic value, liquidity and financial health, and pulling all aspects of the deal together.
Results
- Freed up 1-2 hours per day for personal life after years of working long hours
- Gained clarity on break-even point, profit margins, and service delivery costs - enabling confident price increases
- Established complete financial visibility with automated Xero accounting system
- Set up automated invoicing system, improving cash flow consistency
Company Summary
Tarana Kasana runs a LinkedIn marketing agency that helps clients build their presence and generate leads on the platform. Operating with a team of full-time staff and contractors, she was generating considerable revenue but lacked the systems and financial clarity needed to scale sustainably.
The Challenge
Tarana was at a critical juncture in her business. Her LinkedIn marketing agency was bringing in considerable revenue, but she was struggling through a business pivot without any clear direction. "I was just feeling pretty lost in the middle of it," she recalls.
The problems ran deeper than strategic uncertainty. As someone with ADHD, Tarana excelled at execution but struggled with systems thinking. "I'm someone who's very fast in terms of how I do things and how I execute. But I'm not someone who can take a step back and really look at if it makes sense long-term", she explains. "I suck at systems, I suck at organising things. And I suck at processes!"
Despite having a team working in the business, Tarana was still deeply involved in every aspect of day-to-day operations. Workflows existed only in her head, making processes ad hoc at best. Perhaps most critically, the business operated with zero financial visibility. "We had nothing", Tarana says about their accounting systems. She had no idea about profit margins, what it cost to deliver services, or even how much she needed to draw from the business to sustain her lifestyle.
Without this foundational information, strategic decision-making was impossible. The business felt more like freelancing than a scalable operation.
The Partnership
Tarana and Lani had known each other for about a year before working together. During that time, Tarana had seen firsthand how Lani helped other business owners navigate complex challenges. When Tarana hit her crisis point during the pivot, she reached out for help.
After an initial strategy call where Tarana shared her challenges, they began working together. What made the partnership truly impactful was Lani's hands-on, systems-focused approach combined with genuine personal care. "One of the main things she helped me do was put together SOPs for everyone on the team", Tarana explains.
But Lani's involvement went far beyond documentation. When Tarana was planning to hire an operations person externally, Lani suggested a different approach. Rather than recruiting externally, why not promote someone internally who was already doing excellent work? They had full context about the business, clients, and processes, making them a stronger choice who could hit the ground running.
This decision eliminated the time and stress of external recruitment, avoided the typical productivity dip that comes with onboarding someone new, and immediately freed up Tarana's capacity, because the promoted team member already understood the business inside and out.
The financial transformation was particularly significant. Lani helped establish a complete accounting system in Xero, including automated invoicing with payment portals and recurring invoices. "That gave me so much visibility into my finances, which I previously didn’t even know anything about", Tarana says. This included understanding personal drawings from the business, profit margins, and service delivery costs.
Lani's systems-thinking brain complemented Tarana's execution-focused approach perfectly. "She's a systems thinker, she has a systems brain. I don't, that's the biggest benefit for me, working with her. " Looking at her Notion-based content delivery system, Lani identified one or two missing steps that would streamline everything - simple changes that made a significant difference.
The partnership also included mapping out service offerings that had previously lived only in Tarana's head, helping her understand her break-even point for the first time, and creating a strategic plan for scaling revenue.
What set Lani apart was how deeply she cared. During a challenging time in Tarana's personal life, Lani checked in constantly. When helping Tarana hire a bookkeeper and accountant, Lani joined all the calls with providers, figured out which was the right fit, and even negotiated on prices. When Tarana later panicked about potentially missing a tax deadline and facing a substantial fine, Lani logged into Xero from her phone during a Friday night dinner out to check the numbers and reassure her.
The Results
Tarana’s six-month engagement with Lani fundamentally transformed how her business operated and how she understood her own company.
Financial clarity came first.
"This was the first time my business even had a balance sheet", Tarana says. The automated Xero system with recurring invoices and payment portals took "so much burden off my shoulders" and created consistency in cash flow. For the first time, Tarana understood her profit margins and service delivery costs, which enabled her to raise prices confidently.
"Getting visibility into those things allowed me to figure out, ‘what's something I'm doing right? What's something I'm doing wrong? What's something I could do better?’"
The operational improvements freed up significant time. The internal promotion Lani suggested saved Tarana 1-2 hours every day. "I was working very long hours. I used to not really prioritise my personal life at all", she explains. The time savings went primarily to her personal schedule, showing her "what was possible with good delegation, and good people on the team, and clear processes and SOPs that help them do their job well".
The process improvements streamlined client delivery. The Notion system optimisations made it easier to track everything and ensure work flowed smoothly for all clients, who also found the process easier to navigate.
Perhaps most importantly, Tarana gained the ability to make informed strategic decisions. Understanding her break-even point, having mapped-out service offerings instead of custom packages for every client, and possessing clear financial data meant she could finally plan for scaling revenue with confidence rather than just executing blindly.
The partnership also taught Tarana a crucial lesson about sustainable business building. "You don't have to always operate from a place of hustle in order to feel you're succeeding".
Looking Forward
Even though their formal engagement has ended, the relationship continues. Tarana and Lani speak frequently, and Lani still provides advice on business decisions and strategy. Lani’s influence on Tarana goes beyond just business and financial metrics. "If I were to tell you about how she's changed my life, she is someone I genuinely look up to, " Tarana reflects. "She's like a big sister to me. So if I were to think about who I would like to be in the next two to four years, that's what Lani is to me. " For business owners who are strong executors but struggle with systems thinking, Tarana's transformation shows what's possible. "Having someone in your corner who can actually take all of this data that you have inside your brain, all these ideas and visions, and just turn them into a solid roadmap, a solid plan. " The result? A business that finally matches the vision - with the systems to support it.
