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Everyday Effectiveness | Biz Ops Exposed

Gwen Bortner is a no-nonsense Operational Strategist and Business Advisor with an intuitive coaching mindset. She helps visionary female entrepreneurs achieve their most ambitious goals without the stress and overwhelm of trying to do it all on their own. Her approach comes from the belief that personal and professional success looks different for everyone, and most business owners waste time and energy trying to conform to outside expectations and definitions of success. From finance to IT, and small business operations to academia, Gwen has seen cookie-cutter strategies put organizations on the fast track to frustration, burnout, and eventually failure. Problem-solving is her zone of genius, and Gwen can quickly discern the root cause of issues, simplify systems and processes, then create the most direct path to any given solution.

Featured Post

Nothing is permanent, except death

Reader — That choice you're second-guessing? The one keeping you up at night? It's probably not the disaster you think it is. Too many entrepreneurs get paralyzed thinking every business decision is permanent. They agonize over choices, convinced that picking the wrong path will doom them to failure. But that’s a myth. Fact: You can always make a different choice. For example, I decided this week to push pause on our Small Biz Book Club. A year ago, monthly conversations focused on business...

Reader — Hope you had a restful long weekend. If you're like most of my clients, you're probably easing back into work mode today. And maybe feeling that familiar tug of overwhelm as you look at everything on your plate. Here's a question I want you to sit with: What if the business you're returning to isn't actually the business you want to be running? I know that sounds dramatic, but hear me out. Recently, I've had several conversations with successful business owners who all said some...

Reader — Success doesn't require working yourself to the bone. But that’s a false belief causing countless business owners to burn out while their profits stagnate. Here's what I've discovered after working with hundreds of entrepreneurs: your business runs exactly as it was designed to run. If you're exhausted and overwhelmed, that's by design — not by necessity. The truth is that alignment reduces friction. When the GEARS of your business work together harmoniously, everything flows with...

Reader — Q1 is coming to a close, and I have one question for you: How is 2025 shaping up so far? It’s been a busy travel season for me, a little for work and a little for fun. I was in Phoenix for a few weeks at a couple of networking events, just finished our annual ski trip, and getting ready to speak at both Creativation and Craftcation in April. I know a lot of people hate bouncing from airport to airport, but it doesn’t faze me. I enjoy traveling solo or with others, especially if...

Reader — It’s been six months since Tonya Kubo and I launched The Business You Really Want, a podcast for women who want sustainable success in business and in life. As of today, we’ve produced 30 episodes — which puts us in the top 5% of podcasts. Would you believe 90% of podcasts never make it past three episodes? When I think about it, it’s both surprising and not surprising. It surprises me because I can’t imagine going through the time, energy and effort to launch a podcast only to...

Reader — Guess what? Author Tamsen Webster will be joining us for the Small Biz Book Club discussion of her latest book, Say What They Can't Unhear this Wednesday, Feb. 19, from 10 to 11 a.m. Pacific. Don't worry if you haven't read the book. You're still welcome to join us. Sometimes the best insights come from hearing others discuss their takeaways and experiences. I'm a big fan of audiobooks myself, so whether you prefer reading or listening, the Small Biz Book Club is designed to help you...

Reader — We may only be four weeks into the new year, but I’m already having an amazing 2025. I spent the early part of the month kicking off Q1 with all of my clients at our online planning retreat. And then I scurried up north with three clients for our Savvy Syndicate mastermind. The extended time together allowed for a much deeper look into each woman's business than is usually feasible during Zoom calls. And the unscripted time each of us had to explore the grounds in quiet contemplation...

From Insight to Impact - Your weekly nudge toward sustainable success

Reader — Every Friday, I sit down with my clients and ask them four carefully crafted questions based on our work together. Time and again, I've watched the right question delivered at the right moment shift a business owner's entire perspective. My questions aren't random. They are carefully crafted based on my experience helping entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses for the past several decades. And my goal for 2025 is to bring this transformative practice to more business owners at...

Reader — It’s been a great year here at Everyday Effectiveness, with changes affecting just about every aspect of the business. Here’s a quick list of what our team has been up to this year: I finally took the time to create a Services page for the website. We rebranded, and we redesigned our website. I had the pleasure of being featured on Lean Out Your Business, Talk Nerdy to Me, the OBM Opportunity, and Badass Creatives. We launched Savvy Syndicate, our client-only mastermind. I brought...

Reader — The holiday season brings a unique set of challenges to your usual energy patterns. Between personal obligations, end-of-year business demands, and the general festive atmosphere, December rarely follows your typical workflow. This is exactly why understanding your energy patterns becomes even more critical during this time. Many business owners make the mistake of trying to maintain their usual pace in December while adding holiday commitments on top. This is a recipe for burnout....