Running a small business is exciting, rewarding, and often overwhelming all at the same time. There are endless strategies, advice columns, and “success formulas” online, but it can be hard to know which voices to trust.

That’s exactly why The Journey exists.

Published monthly by 17hats, The Journey is designed to bring real-world business education to small business owners without fluff, hype, or unrealistic promises. Each issue focuses on practical systems, client experience strategies, and lessons learned from real entrepreneurs building sustainable businesses.

Instead of abstract theories, the magazine features clear education on running the business behind the business—including workflows, organization, financial practices, and client communication. Many issues also spotlight 17hats members and industry professionals, sharing the processes and strategies they actually use to run their businesses day-to-day.

The goal is simple: give small business owners information they can trust and ideas they can implement immediately.

As 17hats CEO Amanda Rae explains:

“We started The Journey and the 17hats Marketplace because the internet is full of people trying to be someone. Everywhere you turn, someone claims to have the formula for success, leaving you to wonder who is legitimate and who isn’t.
With The Journey and the 17hats Marketplace, our goal is simple: bring you proven, honest, and straightforward education from real business owners you can trust.”

Every issue is built around that philosophy: clear education, real experiences, and practical systems that help businesses grow.

March’s Issue: The Power of Automation

The March issue of The Journey focuses on one of the most powerful tools small business owners can use to reclaim their time: automation.

For many entrepreneurs, automation can sound intimidating — technical, complicated, or like a massive project that requires hours of setup. But in reality, automation often starts with something much simpler: improving one small process at a time.

Amanda Rae introduces this idea through a concept she learned from entrepreneur Alex Hormozi: the idea of “1,000 Golden BBs.”

Success in business rarely comes from one big breakthrough. Instead, it comes from hundreds of small, intentional actions that create momentum over time.

Automation works the same way.

Rather than trying to automate everything at once, business owners can start with one small improvement—automating a follow-up email, creating a workflow for new leads, or adding online scheduling to remove back-and-forth communication. Each step removes friction from daily operations and frees up time to focus on higher-value work.

As Amanda Rae explains:

“Automation isn’t one giant project — it’s a series of Golden BBs. If you automate one small task today, another next week, and another the week after, you’re already creating momentum. Each step removes friction from your day, giving you more space to focus on the work that truly grows your business.”

Over time, those small improvements can transform how a business runs.

And for most small business owners, that transformation starts with one goal: getting time back.

What You’ll Find Inside the Automation Issue

The March issue dives deep into automation and workflows inside 17hats, showing business owners how small systems can create smoother client experiences while reducing repetitive work.

Inside the issue, readers will discover:

Automation Explained: A practical guide to 17hats Workflows and how they transform everyday tasks into repeatable systems that run behind the scenes.

Personal vs. Personalized Emails: How to build email templates that feel authentic and human while still saving hours of time through automation.

Automation in Action: The story of a balloon artist who turned small orders into a new revenue stream by building a simple automated pickup system.

Workflow Deep Dive: A step-by-step breakdown of how workflows operate — from triggers and base dates to automation steps and approvals.

Hattie AI Tips: Practical ways to use AI inside 17hats to draft emails, refine communication, and speed up everyday tasks.

Feature Updates: Including a brand-new feature designed to change how businesses follow up with leads and clients.

Together, these articles show how automation isn’t about removing the human element from a business; it’s about removing the repetitive work that gets in the way of meaningful work.

Small Systems, Big Momentum

At its core, The Journey is about helping business owners build businesses that are sustainable, organized, and easier to run.

Automation plays a major role in that vision because time is one of the most valuable—and limited—resources entrepreneurs have.

As Amanda Rae writes in the CEO letter:

“Time is the one resource we can never get back — and the one resource most business owners wish they had more of. Automation is one of the most powerful ways to reclaim it.”

By focusing on small, repeatable improvements, business owners can gradually create systems that support growth instead of constantly reacting to daily tasks.

Those small improvements — those “Golden BBs” — build momentum.

And momentum is what moves businesses forward.