Broken systems are the silent killers of digital service businesses. In this issue of Mechanix Memo, The Marketing Mechanic breaks down how to diagnose friction, fix your flow, and finally stop being the “human API” in your own company.

Most business owners don't realize their systems

2

are broken until something smokes

a client slips through the cracks,

3

an invoice never sends or worse.

4

You finally get the big opportunity and

your backend buckles under the pressure.

5

Sound familiar?

6

That's not failure.

7

What we call it is friction, and friction

is what this whole series is about fixing.

8

Here's what you'll walk

away knowing today.

9

Tarletta Williams: How to spot

when your system is costing

10

you money instead of saving it.

11

And my five point checklist to

get it running smoothly again.

12

. Tarletta Williams: Most digital service

businesses think they have a tech problem.

13

I just need a better CRM.

14

I need to learn automation.

15

I need ai.

16

Nah.

17

Nine times outta 10.

18

The problem isn't the tool, it's

that your systems don't talk to each

19

other or worse, they rely too much

on you to be the brain behind them.

20

You've become the human.

21

API copy pasting, following up,

remembering who's where, and what's next.

22

That's not a system that is survival.

23

A system should buy back

your energy, not borrow it.

24

So let's pop the hood.

25

Your business engine has four main parts.

26

Attract, nurture, convert, deliver.

27

When one of those pieces breaks,

you start overcompensating.

28

You post more, you chase more,

you patch more, you do more.

29

You see a lot less because all

that effort, it hides the leak

30

instead of actually fixing it.

31

A broken system doesn't

usually make noise at first.

32

It might show up as.

33

Missed follow ups.

34

Almost done projects, long sales cycles.

35

Clients who goes after signing.

36

That's not bad luck, unfortunately.

37

It is bad alignment a while back.

38

I was working with a client who

was brilliant at what she did.

39

Strategy, content, everything.

40

I mean, five stars all the way

around, but every new client,

41

was like a brand new fire drill.

42

There was no intake form.

43

She had no onboarding sequence,

and more importantly to me, she

44

had absolutely zero automation.

45

The word manual came up way

more times than I would like

46

during that conversation.

47

She was personally emailing every

client their welcome packet, and

48

when she finally admitted she was

exhausted, we mapped her flow.

49

Turns out she was spending 12 hours

a week redoing the same tasks.

50

Things like sending welcome emails,

making sure the contract got paid, sending

51

out that contract and granting access

to her online course and community.

52

Tarletta Williams: That was stuff her

CRM could have handled blindfolded so

53

once we automated her onboarding and

connected her scheduler to her email, she

54

saved those 12 hours every single week.

55

Her delivery didn't just improve.

56

We could actually see that she was

starting to enjoy her business again.

57

And to me, that is what

is the most important.

58

Living in alignment is so much

better than working out of it.

59

So here's how to start your own tune up

without overhauling everything at once.

60

One, follow the friction.

61

Where do things get stuck or slow?

62

That's where to look first.

63

If you don't know where to look, or

you're having trouble figuring out

64

where to start, consider your marketing,

sales, your admin, or your retention.

65

Next, you wanna map your flow.

66

Grab pen and paper, Miro, Clickup,

whatever your favorite whiteboard

67

is, and write out every step from

first contact to the actual payment.

68

If your brain hurts, it's too complicated.

69

Three, automate the obvious things.

70

So scheduling reminders.

71

Most systems will encourage you

to do this anyway, so let the

72

tech handle what is repetitive.

73

Do not try to do it yourself.

74

Four.

75

Simplify your stack

76

One tool that talks to everything

beats five that barely say high.

77

And then five, measure

one metric that matters.

78

Do not chase vanity numbers.

79

Track the system that makes

or saves you the most money.

80

because more than likely

you don't need more tools.

81

You just need fewer leaks.

82

when your systems are clean,

your energy changes, you stop

83

reacting and you start leading.

84

more than that, your clients move

through your business like it's designed

85

to, because it finally is designed.

86

I mean, and that quiet hum.

87

That's peace.

88

If this hits home, here's your next move.

89

I want you to share this episode with

one business owner who's ready to stop

90

running on fumes and finally transition

into something that runs clean.

91

Let's build engines that convert and

businesses that don't break under growth.

92

Until next time, I'm Tarletta,

your Marketing Mechanic.