Unlocking Hidden Profit Through Better Operations: Insights from Jhana Li of Spyglass Ops

In a recent episode of Pivot to Profit, host Pam Jordan welcomed operations strategist and Spyglass Ops founder, Jhana Li, to discuss how refining business operations can uncover hidden profit, reclaim time, and fuel sustainable growth.

Jhana’s journey into entrepreneurship began unconventionally—while traveling across the Americas in a van, she served as COO for a digital agency. That experience revealed both her talent for operations and its potential as a powerful growth lever. Over the years, she led operations for multiple startups, consulted for over 50 businesses, and coached hundreds more before launching Spyglass Ops.

Through her firm, Jhana helps founders scale by tightening systems, training teams, and eliminating inefficiencies—particularly in labor costs. She notes that many business owners attempt to fix operational challenges by simply hiring more staff. While this might seem like a quick solution, it often leads to payroll bloat, reduced productivity, and diminished profit margins. Her approach focuses on boosting revenue per employee by improving processes first, then strategically adding headcount only when necessary.

Another core element of Jhana’s work is helping founders shed the “wear every hat” mentality. She uses detailed time audits to calculate the cost of high-value CEOs spending hours on low-value administrative tasks—often revealing millions in lost revenue potential. By freeing up and reallocating those hours to sales, marketing, and strategic growth, she helps businesses increase profit without raising expenses.

For Jhana, true operational stability isn’t defined by flashy changes—it’s marked by the absence of fires to put out, client churn, or growth bottlenecks. Smooth-running systems allow companies to scale while maintaining strong profit margins.

Her own growth as a business owner included a major money mindset shift. In Spyglass Ops’ first year, she realized she had severely undervalued her services, ultimately raising prices tenfold to match market value. Her guiding belief: “Money is neutral—it’s simply energy, and how you let it flow matters.”

Jhana’s message to entrepreneurs is clear: prioritize profit over unchecked growth, and build operational systems that align with your vision while protecting your margins.

Want more from Jhana? Find her here: https://www.instagram.com/thejhanali/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/jhana-li/ and https://www.youtube.com/@theJhanaLi