Automate and Streamline: This Course Doesn't Cover It (And Why That's Okay)

TLDR
Ross explicitly skipped automation and streamlining in the course. Here’s why, and what to do about bandwidth management before you get to that stage.

This Section Wasn’t Covered in the Course

Ross’s exact words: “We are not on this course going to talk about streamlining and automation for your business. Not adding employees, but adding other vendors like VAs. That’s not a for today thing.”

That was an intentional call.

Here’s the logic. This course is about getting started and building the core loop: find deals, buy them, renovate them, sell or hold. Everything in the course feeds that loop. Automation and VA systems are tools you reach for after that loop is running.

Bringing in virtual assistants and process automation before you understand your own workflow is like building a pit crew for a car you don’t know how to drive yet. You’ll spend more time managing the systems than doing the work they’re supposed to handle.

What Bandwidth Management Looks Like at This Stage

The relevant piece from the Empire section is in personal-accountability: the GTD method and journaling.

At the solo flipper stage, your bandwidth management system is:

  • Capture everything (Todoist, a notebook, whatever you’ll actually use)
  • Review daily, set your one thing
  • Weekly review to connect daily actions to bigger goals

That’s it. Before you automate tasks, you need to understand which tasks are worth doing in the first place. The GTD practice reveals that.

VAs become useful once you have:

  • Recurring administrative tasks that happen the same way every time
  • Enough volume that those tasks are consuming hours per week
  • Clear enough processes that you can document them for someone else to follow

Most people reach that point somewhere around deal three or four. Some earlier, some later.

When You’re Ready for This Topic

There’s more to be said about VAs, automation tools, and systems for scaling your operation. It’s just not part of this course.

For now, focus on:

  1. Getting deals done
  2. Managing projects tightly
  3. Building your vendor relationships

The systems question answers itself once those three things are running. You’ll feel the friction. Then you’ll know exactly what to automate.