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Welcome to Better Systems & Operations, THE newsletter for micro-businesses who are ready to run their business without it running them into the ground. When I have something worth sharing, you'll get practical tips on systems for tiny teams, operations that actually make sense, and keeping your business in its place. Because your real life is the center of the universe, not your business.
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You've done the coffee chats. You've shared your info. You check in every quarter.
And still — crickets.
Building a referral network takes real effort. The follow-ups, the co-promotions, the affiliate launches. And it often leaves you wondering if any of it is even working.
Here's the thing: the problem usually isn't your partnerships. It's the strategies.
That's exactly what my friend Janna Carlson is tackling in her upcoming workshop:
✨ Your 2026 Referral Partner Playbook: Strategies that Work NOW
Monday, June 22 | 12:30-1:30 PM EDT
In one hour, Janna will walk you through which referral approaches are falling flat right now, what actually works in 2026, and how to align your offers with the right partners.
You'll leave with:
✔️ An understanding of which referral strategies are unlikely to work (and why)
✔️ Powerful, relevant strategies that DO work right now
✔️ A map to help you match your offers and referral partnerships effectively
As more of us step back from social media, relational marketing is one of the most valuable tools we have, but it has to be used the right way.
This workshop is a pre-cursor to Janna's Referral Partner Summer Camp, and if you decide to join camp after, your $30 ticket fee becomes a credit toward registration.
When you sign up, mention my name so Janna knows I sent you!
What happens when you throw out the GTM playbook
That investor was wrong. Gamma is now worth $2B, with 50M users and more than half their growth driven by word of mouth.
They're one of 6 AI-native startups in HubSpot for Startups' free Bold Bets Playbook. Replit grew revenue 50x after half the team pushed back on the strategy. Ramp generated 100M+ views from a single stunt. Clay's co-founder wouldn't hang up a sales call until the prospect DMed him in Slack.
Each one took a GTM risk most founders would never greenlight. Each one paid off.