EP 321 - “Your Revenue Is Hiding in Plain Sight” — Sailynn Doyle on the 80/20 Shift That Changed Everything
- Govindh Jayaraman
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
There’s a moment in every entrepreneur’s journey when the hustle stops feeling heroic and starts feeling heavy. For Sailynn Doyle — business systems strategist, former home-care franchise owner, and founder of Passion • Purpose • Posture — that moment came sitting alone in her car at 9 AM on a Tuesday, exhausted and crying before another 12-hour day.
From the outside, she was a success story: a million-dollar business by year three. On the inside, she was drowning in the weight of the work. Endless demands. Constant interruptions. Team members who depended on her for every answer. Growth that created more chaos instead of more freedom.
But all of that began to change the day she uncovered a truth hiding in plain sight — a truth she captured on her Paper Napkin:
“Your revenue is hiding in plain sight. Stop chasing everyone — go all-in on the 80% that actually matter.” — Sailynn Doyle
It wasn’t just a clever saying. It was the key that transformed her business, her team, her time, and ultimately, her life.
The Lesson That Changed Everything
In 2012, during a quarterly planning meeting with two neighboring franchise owners, Sailynn and her partner Steven pulled up their referral database — a thousand potential sources. Up to that point, their salesperson was visiting everyone equally, spreading effort thin and hoping volume would carry the day.
But when they finally examined the data, everything clicked.
“When we dug into that information, there in plain sight that I did not realize for five years was that 80% of my revenue came from 20% of that list.”
This wasn’t a small revelation — it was a seismic one.
Thousands of hours had been spent courting people who were never going to make an impact. The system wasn’t broken — their focus was. And like many entrepreneurs, Sailynn had equated activity with progress.
So they made the bold decision: Stop chasing everyone. Start going deeper with the people who already mattered.
She remembers the moment vividly:
“We both looked at each other like deer in the headlights, like… I hope this works.”
It did. Quickly.
By pouring their time into the top 200 referral sources — understanding their pain points, building real relationships, showing up consistently — the entire business shifted. Revenue accelerated. Referrals increased. Their salesperson stopped “running around like a chicken with her head cut off” and started making meaningful traction.
But the real win? Sailynn got her life back.
As she implemented systems, structured her team intentionally, and streamlined the business around what actually mattered, she eventually stepped away for 30 consecutive days — and the company ran without her. A milestone many entrepreneurs dream about but rarely reach.
And she did it without burning out, scaling chaos, or losing herself.
Because underneath the business strategy was a deeper truth Sailynn had learned through years working with seniors at the end of their lives:
“No one ever said to me, ‘I wish I had worked more.’ They talked about regret. They wished they had better relationships. More presence. More time.”
This became her mission: Helping women entrepreneurs build businesses that support their lives instead of consuming them.
Her napkin isn’t just about revenue. It’s about clarity, boundaries, intentionality, and reclaiming the life your business was supposed to give you.
Here are the five core ideas from her conversation — and how leaders can put them into action today.
Five Key Takeaways (with Take Action Items)
1. Surface-Level Success Is a Trap
So many entrepreneurs build impressive numbers… and miserable lives behind them. Sailynn looked successful on paper but was the bottleneck everywhere.
Systems aren’t systems if they break the second you stop touching them.
Take Action: Choose one system you’ve “checked the box” on — onboarding, scheduling, sales follow-up — and strengthen it to the point where someone else can run it without you.
2. The 80/20 Rule Is Sitting in Your Data
Your most valuable opportunities aren’t new — they’re already in your business. For Sailynn, the top 20% of referral partners drove 80% of revenue. When she stopped spreading her team thin and started going deep, everything improved.
Take Action: Pull one year of customer, client, or referral data. Identify the top 20% driving the majority of results. Build a nurturing plan exclusively for them for the next 30 days.
3. If People Come to You for Every Answer, You’re the Problem
Sailynn calls this being a “teller.” When the entrepreneur answers every question, the team learns to stop thinking. True scale requires empowerment.
“If you’re constantly being asked for answers, you have created a culture of dependency.”
Take Action: When someone brings you a question this week, respond with: “Where could you find that?” Point them to the system. Do it consistently for 30 days.
4. Training Must Match the Way People Actually Learn
Most entrepreneurs train people the way they learn — fast, verbal, minimal detail. But real empowerment requires layered training: visual, written, hands-on.
Take Action: For your next training, create:
A video walkthrough
A step-by-step written guide
One hands-on practice session
Ask the trainee which one helped them most.
5. Your “Why” Determines Your Burnout or Your Breakthrough
When Sailynn finally got clear about the life she wanted — relationships, health, presence — she realized her business needed to serve that vision, not sabotage it.
Take Action: Write out your ideal day in detail. Not someday — today, if everything were aligned. Use this as the filter for every business decision you make in the next month.
Conclusion: What’s Hiding in Plain Sight for You?
Sailynn’s wisdom reminds us of a truth many entrepreneurs resist: Sometimes the biggest growth isn’t found in doing more — it’s found in noticing what’s already working and doing it with intention.
Her story is a testament to clarity over chaos, depth over breadth, and purpose over busyness.
So here’s the question she leaves us with:
What revenue — what opportunity, what freedom — is already hiding in plain sight in your business?
Write it down. Share it on a napkin. Use the hashtag #PaperNapkinWisdom so others can learn from your insight.
Every big transformation starts with the courage to look at what’s right in front of you.
Guest Links (URLs, not hyperlinks)
Website: https://www.passionpurposeposture.com/sailynn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sailynndoyle/