How Automating My Business Saved It During Brain Surgery

On April 30th, my life split into “before” and “after.”

I had a seizure—completely out of the blue—and everything that came next unravelled fast. There were tests, scans, medical acronyms thrown around with alarming casualness. I was told I had a brain tumour. A rare one, as it turned out. Within days, I went from project timelines and client calls to neurosurgeons and hospital gowns.

I underwent awake brain surgery.

I spent days relearning how to use my left side.

I battled drug side effects that left me more spaced out than present.

At one point, my head felt like Ottawa in the summer—under construction and full of detours.

And yet… my business didn’t fall apart.

That still amazes me. Because the truth is, I wasn’t answering emails. I wasn’t checking in on timelines. I wasn’t logging in to anything. I was completely offline—mentally, physically, emotionally. But things didn’t crash. No balls were dropped. Clients didn’t feel abandoned. That’s not because I powered through. It’s because I’d taken the time for automating my business before the crisis ever happened.

What saved me wasn’t hustle or some dramatic show of resilience. It was automation. Quiet, behind-the-scenes tech that kept the wheels turning without needing me at the centre.

Zapier ran the connections I’d normally click through myself—passing info from forms to folders, or email to CRM. HoneyBook held all my client data in one place—timelines, invoices, email history, so no one needed me to resend or explain. MailerLite kept my automated emails moving, continuing conversations even when I was silent. Publer kept my content publishing as scheduled. And my WordPress site just kept doing its thing—stable, reliable, with no attention needed.

If you want to automate your business, it’s not about flashy tools—it’s about building a structure that supports you when you can’t show up.

But even more important than the tools themselves was the intention behind them. I hadn’t built these systems expecting a health crisis. I’d built them because I was tired of being the only one who knew how things worked. I wanted space. I wanted to build something that didn’t rely on me 24/7. And when everything in my personal life went sideways, that decision became one of the best I’ve ever made.

I’ve always believed that your business should support your life—not the other way around. But now I understand that in a deeper way. There is a kind of quiet power in knowing that your business doesn’t fall apart when you do. That your clients are still supported. That your VA or team members have what they need. That your offers, emails, and onboarding don’t rely on you being constantly available.

So if you’re someone who’s been meaning to “get your systems sorted” but keep pushing it to the side—I get it.

But let this be a gentle nudge: don’t wait for a crisis. Start now, even if it’s just with small things.

One automation.
One email sequence.
One documented workflow.

If you’re not sure where to start to automate your business, begin by identifying the tasks that drain you most—then remove yourself from the equation, one piece at a time.

I don’t say this as a warning. I say it with love—and experience. You deserve a business that gives you room to breathe. One that still functions if life gets messy. One that doesn’t demand every drop of your energy to stay afloat.

If you’re ready to make that happen, I’d love to help. Because whether it’s a product launch, client onboarding, or just your weekly admin, your business should have your back—even when you’re flat on yours.