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Downloadable Worksheet
Weekly Colour Audit Matrix (PDF)
Categorise operational hours into maintenance (Red), execution (Blue), and strategic leverage (Black).
The Core Framework
Technical mastery gets you into the game; strategic use of your limited time and resources keeps you in control. Most small business owners don't have a talent problem; they have a capacity allocation problem. And while many business owners will tell you 'time is money,' perhaps a better way to frame that is 'time is colour'.
- Red Work (<25% Target): Unpaid compliance, maintenance, invoicing, and emergency firefighting. Essential upkeep but yields $0 margin.
- Blue Work (50–60% Target): Direct execution, paid client delivery, and craft work. Generates today's cash flow.
- Black Work (15–20% Target): Strategic engine building, process creation, proposal automation, and pricing resets. Generates future business value.
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