Reclaiming Your Time: Lessons from Amy Pierce on Building a Business That Doesn’t Own You

Time. It’s the one thing every business owner swears they need more of—and the one thing they can’t seem to get back.

If that sounds familiar, you’ll want to hear Amy Pierce’s story. On the latest episode of The TrustBuilt Podcast, Amy, founder of Bank Strategic Solutions, shared her journey from a demanding corporate banking career to building a business on her own terms. Her story is packed with insights on time management, delegation, and building a company that works for you—not the other way around.

So, if you’ve been running on fumes, feeling like you can’t step away without everything falling apart, keep reading. These lessons from Amy might just be what you need to start reclaiming your time.

If You Don't Make Time for Change, You’ll Stay Stuck

Amy had a great corporate job—stock options, benefits, security—the whole package. But she also had something else: burnout.

She knew she needed to make a change, but like so many business owners, the fear of leaving stability kept her stuck. So, she called her dad for advice.

Instead of telling her to stay put, he hit her with a simple but powerful question:

"If you don’t do it now, when will you ever do it?"

Oof. That was it. That was the moment she knew she had to take control of her time and career.

🔹 Lesson? Big changes don’t happen when you "find the time." You have to make the time. If you don’t, your business—and your life—will keep running you instead of the other way around.

Time Management = Decision Management

Amy’s company helps banks improve efficiency, streamline operations, and navigate mergers—all things that hinge on one critical issue: decision-making.

One of the biggest problems she sees? Too many decisions flow through one person.

Sound familiar?

When business owners don’t trust their team to make decisions, they become the bottleneck. That means:
❌ Constant interruptions
❌ Slower growth
❌ No real time off

🔹 Lesson? If you’re still making every decision in your business, you’re not managing your time—you’re mismanaging your leadership. It’s time to empower your team and delegate with confidence.

📌 Pro Tip: Make a list of every decision you make in a week. If 80% of them could have been handled by someone else, you’ve got a delegation problem.

Systems Save You Time (and Headaches)

One of the most frustrating things in any business—whether it’s a bank or a bakery—is broken systems.

Amy works with banks that are constantly trying to grow, but because they don’t have clear processes in place, everything takes longer than it should.

The same applies to small business owners. If you’re reinventing the wheel every day, or if you’re the only one who knows how to do certain tasks, you’re setting yourself up for exhaustion.

🔹 Lesson? Want more time? Create repeatable systems. Whether it’s customer onboarding, team meetings, or financial reporting—if it happens more than once, document it and make it a process.

📌 Quick Fix: Start with one thing you do every week that eats up your time. Document the steps and train your team to handle it without you.

Time Freedom Starts with the Right People

Hiring is one of the biggest time-sucks for business owners—especially when you get it wrong.

Amy shared how hiring self-motivated, problem-solving people has made all the difference in her ability to step back from the daily grind. She looks for team members who:
✔ Can work independently
✔ Are proactive problem solvers
✔ Bring ideas to the table instead of just executing tasks

If you’re micromanaging because you don’t trust your team, you don’t just have a time problem—you have a hiring problem.

🔹 Lesson? The right hires give you back time. The wrong hires cost you more than just payroll—they cost you your freedom.

📌 Ask Yourself: If you had to step away for a month, would your business still run smoothly? If not, it’s time to start hiring and training with that goal in mind.

The Real Secret to Getting Your Time Back? Letting Go

The hardest part of reclaiming your time isn’t time-blocking or better organization—it’s letting go of control.

Amy admitted that letting go was a process. But once she did, she saw how her business actually ran better without her micromanaging everything.

🔹 Lesson? Trust your team. Trust your processes. Trust yourself to step back and focus on the big picture.

📌 Challenge: Pick one task or decision you normally hold onto and delegate it this week. Then don’t touch it. See what happens.

Final Thoughts: It’s Time to Take Your Time Back

Amy’s story is a reminder that owning a business shouldn’t mean sacrificing your life.

✔ Set up better systems
✔ Hire the right people
✔ Stop making every decision yourself
✔ Let go of the need to control everything

And most importantly? Make time for change—because no one’s going to give it to you.

So, if you’re feeling trapped in your business, ask yourself the same question that changed Amy’s life:

"If you don’t do it now, when will you ever do it?"

I’ll leave you with that.

If you’re in banking and want to learn more about Bank Strategic Solutions, visit:
🌐 www.bankstrategic.com

#TimeManagement #BusinessFreedom #DelegateToGrow #TrustBuiltPodcast #WorkOnYourBusinessNotInIt