The Regulated Business Growth Protocol
Stabilize Your Cash Flow & Recover Real Time In Your Week
A 6-Month Strategic Intensive for Values Driven, Community Focused, Service Business Owners Making $400K-$2M
You built this business to serve your community. You're doing good work. Your clients love you. And you still can't pay yourself consistently, take a real week off because everything runs through you.
That's a design problem. It's very fixable.
I Know What It's Like to Build Million-Dollar Businesses While Not Being Able To Pay Rent
I've been the business consultant creating $2M revenue streams for clients while I was living in my 1992 4 Runner.
I've 4x'd business revenue for others while not being able cover my own business expenses without dipping into my personal stash.
I've built operational systems for others that still run ten years later—while in my own business, I couldn't take a single day off without everything falling apart.
I watched founders go from frantic to functional, from stretched thin to finally breathing.
And I couldn't make Bay Area rent.
When I started my coaching business in 2019, the pattern didn't change. I just traded one version of it for another. Sixty-hour weeks. First responder to every crisis. Every decision routed through me. Clients got real results. I didn't pay myself consistently.
I was running a business while thinking like an employee.
The problem wasn't my skills or my work ethic. It was something I hadn't seen yet: my brain had been in survival mode for so long it genuinely couldn't tolerate stepping back. And my business had no infrastructure to catch things when I tried.
Sound familiar?
You're talented. Your work matters deeply to you. Your clients are getting results. So why is your bank account not reflecting what you're building? Why are you the last person on your own payroll? Why does taking a day off feel impossible?
That’s a clear signal. Something needs to change.
Here's what most business coaches won’t tell you:
You cannot strategy your way out of a brain that’s in survival mode.
Every coach you've worked with has given you the same advice:
"Raise your prices"
"Create systems"
"Hire better people"
"Work ON your business, not IN it"
And you've tried it all. You've read the books, taken the courses, hired the consultants.
But here's why it didn't stick:
Your brain was in survival mode, carrying too much for too long. And a brain in fight-or-flight cannot:
Think strategically (you're too busy reacting to fires)
Plan for the future (there’s no time for that)
Delegate without micromanaging (you get so anxious you can’t deal)
Say "no" to clients who drain you (even when you know you’re losing money)
Build systems that actually stick (you abandon them after two weeks)
Make decisions from vision instead of fear (you’re leading from a scarcity place)
This isn't a character flaw. This is how all brains are wired. Especially under sustained pressure.
And here's the other piece that often gets missed: even if you got your brain health sorted tomorrow, a business with no real infrastructure would still fall apart the moment you stepped back. Your fear of letting go is usually pretty justified.
This protocol addresses all of it.
Do You Recognize Yourself in This Pattern?
Your cash flow is a roller coaster. Some months you're flush, others you're panicking about being able to pay your people or covering basic operating expenses. You can't plan for growth because you never know what next month looks like and you don’t have a buffer.
You're drowning in daily operations.Every decision, every fire, every client concern routes back to you. You built something that genuinely serves people and accidentally made yourself the single point of failure.
You care deeply about the people you serve. Which makes it incredibly hard to draw boundaries, raise prices, or step back without it feeling like a betrayal of the mission. You care too much to cut corners, so you absorb the chaos.
You can't scale past yourself. You've tried to hire, but good people are hard to find. And even when you do find them, you end up micromanaging or redoing their work anyway. You are the bottleneck. There’s no systems to guide your team. You absorb the chaos and smooth it out.
You’re exceptional at delivering results for others. Meanwhile, you’re not focused on or finding ways to deliver those same results to yourself or your own business. You feel like you never have the time. Logically, you know putting yourself last isn’t smart, but you keep defaulting to it when you’re stressed.
Your "systems" are just you remembering stuff. Everything is manual. Everything is in your head. If you don’t show up, the business doesn’t make money and nothing runs without you.
Your team doesn't follow through the way they need to. Deadlines get missed. You have to chase people down. Nobody seems to care as much as you do about getting things done right. Accountability isn’t happening. Employees are fighting. The culture at your company isn’t where you want it.
You work harder than anyone on your team. 60+ hour weeks while everyone else clocks out at 5pm. It’s been that way longer than you want to admit.
You can't take time off. Your business would literally fall apart without you there. Even "vacation" means checking emails all day and putting out fires from vacation. Stepping back, even briefly, feels irresponsible when so much depends on you being there.
Your brain won't let you delegate, and your business has no systems to catch things when you try. Both of those need to change, or you stay stuck.
This is the curse of the values driven service business owner: You forget to put your own oxygen mask on first. You gave to your employees, your clients, and your community and forgot your needs aren’t optional.
What If Your Brain and Your Business Could Both Improve?
Most coaches give you one or the other:
Business consultants who tell you to build systems and delegate while completely ignoring the fact that you're drowning in burnout that makes follow through almost impossible.
Therapists or coaches who help you feel less stressed but have no idea how to structure a service business for scale, identify clients draining your resources, increase profit in your offers, help you build the accountability systems that stick, or stabilize cash flow.
I do all of it. Brain health and business strategy. They work well together.
Here's what I bring:
ICF PCC-certified coach with 8 years specializing in burnout, brain health, leadership, and ADHD
Certified Pumpkin Plan Strategist trained in Mike Michalowicz's proven methodology for service businesses
16 years as a business consultant helping service businesses grow 3-10x across industries
1600+ clients (over 500 neurodivergent clients) with a 5.0 average satisfaction rating
20+ years of personal brain health, meditation, and mindfulness practice. Not as a hobby but as the foundation that makes everything else function
Lived experience: 16 years of producing results for everyone but myself, and finally figuring out what it actually takes to change that
We work on calls together: diagnosing what's broken, building the strategic foundation, mapping your vision, and working through the resistance you hit. Outside of calls, you're doing the implementation work. That's how real change happens. We refine direction and troubleshoot together as you go.
The Regulated Business Growth Protocol: 6-Month Transformation
In 6 months, you'll go from revenue roller coaster to predictable, sustainable profit by:
✓ Optimizing your client base using the proven Pumpkin Plan methodology so you build your business around your most profitable offers and best fit clients.
✓ Recovering time in your week by eliminating what’s not generating profits
✓ Building accountability structures so your team follows through without you chasing them down
✓ Creating documented systems so your business can run without everything living in your head
✓ Stabilizing your cash flow so you can finally pay yourself consistently, and set aside profit before you pay expenses
✓ Taking real time off without everything collapsing the second you step away
✓ Getting your brain in shape to tolerate and enjoy the business you’re trying to build
Months 1-2: Foundation & Diagnosis
We figure out exactly what's broken—and why.
No guessing. No generic advice. We start by taking a real snapshot of your business: your finances, your clients, your team, your time, and how close you are to burnout.
Here’s what we do together:
The Benchmark Assessment. A full diagnostic of where your business stands today, so we have something real to measure your progress against.
Client + Cash Flow Mapping. Using Pumpkin Plan methodology to see who's actually making you money and who's quietly draining it.
Your Immutable Laws . The non-negotiables that guide every hiring, client, and business decision from here on. Getting these clear eliminates a surprising number of decisions that are currently draining you.
Your Vision Story. Where you actually want this business to take you (hint: it's probably not "work more hours").
Your 90-Day Action Plan. Concrete next steps tied directly to your vision, not a generic to-do list.
Your Down Regulation Road Map to Boost Brain Health. A personalized plan for managing stress and mental load so you can do the strategic thinking your business needs from you.
What you walk away with:
A clear picture of what's broken and what's actually working
A real understanding of why your cash flow is unpredictable and where your time (and money) are going
A decision-making filter you'll use for the rest of the program and beyond
A real roadmap built for your business — no more spinning, no more guessing
An easy to implement plan to be more resilient in the face of stress, more calm in the chaos, and better at making decisions
Months 3-4: Dial in Your Unique Offer
We figure out who your best clients actually are, and build your business around them.
Not every client paying the same rate is equally profitable. We dig into the numbers, have real conversations with your best clients, and use what we learn to sharpen exactly what makes you the only logical choice in your market.
Top Client Assessment — scoring every client on profitability, communication, and values alignment so the numbers make the hard decisions
Client Transition Plan — a concrete strategy for moving out the clients quietly draining your time and cash flow
Wish List Interviews — live conversations with your 5-10 best clients revealing exactly what they want most and what keeps them loyal
Area of Innovation — the one thing your business will be genuinely best at in the eyes of your ideal clients
Unique Offering Statement — a clear, compelling answer to "what makes you different" that your best clients actually care about
What you walk away with after months 3-4:
Your Client Grading Matrix, based on real data, not gut-feel
Your Ideal Client Avatar and a defined niche
Wish List Interview insights analyzed together, with patterns identified
Your Unique Offering Statement, so you stop competing on price and clients know why they need to work with you, specifically
Months 5-6: Optimize & Sustain
We cut what isn't working, lock in what is, and set you up to keep winning without us 😉.
You've got the right clients, a clear offering, and systems that work. Now we make it all sustainable — streamline operations, fix your profitability, and make sure you're finally paying yourself consistently.
Operations Audit — every core function gets examined and assigned: document it, delegate it, automate it, or cut it
True Profitability Analysis — allocate real overhead to every offering so you know exactly what's making money and what's quietly draining it
Client + Offering Pruning — remove what doesn't fit your vision anymore, with transition scripts to make it clean
Role Alignment — stop asking good people to do jobs they're not suited for, get your employees working in their zones of genius
Opportunity Filter — a simple 5-question test so you stop chasing shiny objects and start saying yes to the right things, for good
Cash Flow System — get crystal clear on what the business can afford, put profit aside first, and lock in a consistent paycheck so you stop being last in line
What you walk away with:
Your complete Business Operating Manual so your business runs without everything living in your head
True profitability data for every offering
A team matched to the right roles
Your Founder Paycheck Protocol
Your 12-Month Growth Blueprint so you can keep growing after our work ends
Why This Works When Other Things Haven’t
1. It's Built Specifically for Service Businesses
You can't just "automate everything" when your value is the service you provide. There are still things we can automate and systematize that will make your life easier. I understand the challenges of service-based businesses: unpredictable revenue, intangible value, team accountability, scaling bottlenecks.
2. Brain health and business strategy, together
Your brain's capacity is the foundation everything else gets built on. We work on both at the same time, which is why the strategy tends to actually stick rather than fading out after a few weeks.
3. It's a Protocol, Not Just Coaching
Coaching is conversational. A protocol is a step-by-step system with predictable outcomes. We follow the roadmap and get you results.
4. Built for Busy, Entrepreneurial Brains
No 47-step plans. No complex theory. Clear, executable actions that respect how high-drive, often ADHD brains actually work.
5. You're Not the Guinea Pig
This methodology combines my 16 years of business consulting + 8 years as an ICF PCC coach + Pumpkin Plan certification + 20 years of nervous system & brain health practice. You're getting proven formulas, not an experiment, applied specifically to service businesses built around purpose.
6. You do the work. We figure out the hard stuff together.
On calls, we diagnose, plan, and work through what's stuck. Between calls, you're implementing. When you hit a wall, we troubleshoot. That's the structure. Real change requires real effort on your part, and this program is built around that reality.
Your Investment
Beta Founder Rate: $9,000 (Future Rate: $15,000+)
You're getting the complete 6-month protocol at a founding rate because you're helping me build the case studies that prove this model works for values driven service businesses. The systems and methodology are proven. We document your application of them together, and you act as a case study for me in the future.
Payment Options:
Pay-in-full: $9,000
3-month plan: $3,000/month
6-month plan: $1,600/month
Here's What You Get:
✓ The Complete 6-Month Regulated Business Growth Protocol
✓ 10 Bi-Weekly Strategy Calls (60 minutes each, every other week for 6 months)
✓ 3 Deep-Dive Strategy Intensives (90 minutes each at Month 1, Month 3, and Month 6)
✓ Weekly Email Check-Ins (strategic guidance and accountability)
✓ Done-WITH-You Systems Build (We start to build your business infrastructure with you in real-time on some of our calls)
✓ Complete Systems Toolkit (templates for SOPs, accountability systems, cash flow planning, client grading)
Total: 15 hours of direct strategic partnership over 6 months
Total value if purchased separately: $20,000+
Your Beta Founder Rate: $9,000
Breaking Down the Value
When you join as a Beta Founder, you are not purchasing advice. You are making an investment in the most important asset of your business – you.
Here is what your investment gets you:
1. Strategic Direction & Architecture (Value: $9,500+)
The Foundational Dual-Audit: A complete diagnostic of your brain and business model leaks.
Custom Strategic Blueprint: Your personalized 6-month rebuild roadmap, integrating Pumpkin Plan methodology with brain science.
Ongoing Strategic Direction: Continuous course-correction and priority-setting across the entire engagement.
2. High-Touch Implementation Partnership (Value: $9,000)
Weekly Email Reporting: Real-time, weekly guidance via email for strategy, brain function, and crisis management. Report on your progress and call out your most important work for the week.
10 Hours of Private Implementation Calls: Two 60-minute direct working sessions per month.
3 Deep-Dive Strategy Intensives (4.5 hours total): 90-minute sessions at critical inflection points.
3. The Complete Protocol & IP Toolkit (Value: $3,000)
The Regulated Business Growth Protocol Framework: The complete step-by-step methodology.
Proprietary Systems Templates: Your Client Grading Matrix, SOP templates, financial trackers.
Your Brain Function Toolkit: Personalized practices for managing stress, mental load, and decision fatigue that actually fit your life and help your brain function better.
Total Quantifiable Value: $20,000+
Your Beta Founder Rate: $9,000
Why Beta Pricing?
In full honesty, I'm taking my first 4 clients through this integrated 6-month protocol to build comprehensive case studies for values-driven, community-focused service businesses. I have tons of experience, and this business strategy hasn’t been my main focus for the last 8 years.
You get the complete program at a lower rate as a result, even though the systems & methodologies we will be using are proven.
This is me documenting the results for this specific application of it.
You get results at a founding rate. I get testimonials, data, and case studies. That's the arrangement.
This is a strategic partnership where your commitment as a founding client is valued as highly as my expertise.
"But What If..."
"What if it doesn't work for me?"
The 6-Month Results Promise:
Complete the protocol: attend the calls, send your weekly check-ins, do the implementation work between sessions.
If at Month 6 you don't have more money in your accounts, haven't recovered meaningful time in your week, aren't paying yourself more consistently, and still can't step back without things falling apart, you get two additional months of bi-weekly calls (a $5,000 value) at no charge.
Your success is the matters that much to me.
These are not flashy, empty, internet promises.
These are typical results when we implement the Pumpkin Plan in your business, and help you establish your badass founder brain care strategy.
"I don't have time for this."
The protocol is designed to create time in the long run.
We will need you to put in some time and work first to get to that payoff though, so please don’t show up expecting a genie to do that work for you.
Most clients recover meaningful hours per week before the program ends.
Your time investment now saves you hundreds of wasted hours every year.
This is a time-creation engine, and also a time commitment.
Bi-weekly calls plus weekly email check-ins means this fits into a real schedule if you can carve out 3-5 hours a week to work on it. Some weeks will require more, some less.
The implementation happens between calls, on your time, at your pace.
"I tried coaching but didn’t get a ROI"
You were sold mindset without operations, or operations without mindset.
Business coaches told you to build systems but ignored your burnout.
Therapists helped you feel better but couldn't teach you to stabilize cash flow.
This is the bridge between your brain and your business operations.
"I can't afford it right now."
If you're making $400K-$2M in revenue and can't afford a $9,000 investment in your business foundation, that's not a great sign.
You're hemorrhaging money somewhere. It might be bad-fit clients killing your cash flow, inefficient operations eating your time, offers that aren’t actually profitable, or under charging because raising prices feels complicated when the mission is so close to your heart.
The protocol identifies and fixes the leaks.
The truth is you can’t afford to keep going the way you are. Your business needs you to find a way to increase profitability and get out of the burnout cycle before things get worse.
If we help you transition out 2 bad-fit clients and replace them with 2 ideal clients at $1,000 higher monthly retainers, that's $24,000 additional annual revenue. The $9K investment just paid for itself 2.5x over.
I lost out on millions of dollars by telling myself I couldn’t afford help for myself for years. I knew the value of the work I did, and I was too afraid to take the risk knowing if I found the right person it would pay off. You don’ have to make that same mistake.
The harder question is what staying in the current pattern is costing you, in money, in time, and in the wear it puts on you and the people around you.
"My situation is too specific for a framework."
I’m sure your situation is unique. And the core pattern tends to be pretty consistent across values-driven service businesses: unpredictable cash flow, no real systems, a team that needs managing, and an owner working harder than everyone else while feeling guilty about the possibility of stepping back.
The frameworks that fix these problems work across industries because they address the real root cause, not just the symptoms.
I've worked with coaches, consultants, bookkeepers, contractors, landscapers, and agencies. The core problems are identical.
This Is Not For Everyone
This protocol works well for values-driven, community-focused service business owners who:
✓ Are making $400K-$2M in yearly revenue but can't escape operational chaos
✓ Have cash flow thats unpredictable month to month. Some months flush, others panicked about payroll
✓ Are stuck in day-to-day operations with zero time to think strategically about growth & where you want the business to go
✓ Know they are the bottleneck in their own business
✓ Have a team that struggles to follow through without being closely managed
✓ Are running on memory and manual processes rather than real systems
✓ Are ready to do the work (not just consume more information)
This is a good fit for coaches, consultants, therapists, bookkeepers, accountants, medical practices, wellness businesses, agencies, contractors, and other service businesses where the work is deeply connected to the people and community you serve.
You’re probably not the right fit if
You aren't ready to loosen your grip on day-to-day control. This requires actually letting go of some things.
You run a product-based business or SaaS company.
You want advice without doing the implementation work between sessions.
Your business is under $400K in revenue. Different support tends to serve you better at that stage.
You built primarily for exit and the values-driven, community-focused framing doesn't resonate.
There Are 4 Beta Founder Spots. That's It.
Why only 4?
This level of high-touch strategic partnership has a real capacity limit. When the 4 spots are filled, the price moves up to reflect the value being delivered.
Beta Founders also get early access to all future programs and updates.
Your Next Step: The Strategy Diagnostic Call
If you've read this far, you're not just curious—you're ready.
Here's how this works:
Step 1: Book Your FREE 20-Minute Strategy Diagnostic
Schedule a complimentary diagnostic call where I'll:
Identify your #1 capacity leak
Determine how far you are from your Sweet Spot
Walk through how the protocol would work for your specific situation
Determine together if this is the right fit
You'll leave with clarity whether or not we work together.
Step 2: If It's a Yes, Reserve Your Beta Founder Spot
If we both agree this is a fit and you want in, you'll receive a contract and invoice to secure your spot.
Full payment or first installment due to reserve your place in the limited Beta cohort.
About Lissy Donovan
I'm an ICF PCC-certified coach, Certified Pumpkin Plan Strategist, and former business consultant who spent over a decade creating million-dollar results for everyone but myself.
I've been homeless. I've lived in my car. I've worked 60-hour weeks while unable to pay myself consistently. And I’ve helped clients 4x, 6x, and 8x their revenue while all that was happening.
I don't teach theory. I teach the exact path I'm walking.
My Background:
16 years as a business consultant helping businesses grow 3-10x across industries
ICF PCC certification with 8 years specializing in burnout, ADHD, brain health, mindfulness, and leadership
Certified Pumpkin Plan Strategist
1600+ clients with a 5.0 average satisfaction rating
21+ years of meditation and brain health practices
The Regulated Business Growth Protocol is the combination of everything I've learned: strategic business consulting, ICF PCC coaching, Pumpkin Plan methodology, and the lived experience of finally building something that actually works for me too.
You can't build a sustainable business on top of a burned-out brain. And you can't rest your way into a business with real infrastructure. We address all of it in The Regulated Business Growth Protocol