How to Build a Small Biz in 20 Minutes or Less

Some days I could swear I don’t have the same 24 hours in a day as everyone else (that’s possible…right?)

I see other people—working moms in particular—who have a demanding job, a side hustle, at least one volunteer position with the school or in the community, an active social life and countless activities related to kids’ competitive sports, dance and more, and I feel downright unaccomplished (and yet somehow, still exhausted!). 

How can some working parents get it all done every day, achieve their personal and professional goals, and still fit in a few precious moments for themselves?

This question plagued me a lot earlier in my career (when admittedly, the hand-on kid care was tougher and I was in the process of launching Masthead) but still comes up pretty regularly now that I’m trying to grow the business.

It’s only when I catch myself not-so-occasionally scrolling my phone, deep in a rabbit hole of short form video (not even LinkedIn is safe!), that I have a vague awareness that I may not be using my time completely wisely.

A few years back, I really wanted to understand where my time was going. So I picked up an incredible productivity how-to book geared for working women, I Know How She Does It by Laura Vanderkam. I decided to track every single minute of my day (and night!) for four weeks using an app called Harvest. That’s the app that we use at Masthead for freelance time management, but I knew it could be really well suited for keeping tabs on my personal time as well.

It was definitely tough to reset to the tracker every time I dashed from my desk to make lunch or spent 10 minutes walking to pick my kids up at school, but the results were truly eye-opening. 

Just as I’d suspected, there were actually a lot more moments in my day where I was just frittering time away because I wasn’t exactly sure what I was supposed to be doing…or just needed a little dopamine hit from something fun and mindless.

Once I assessed my hours, I realized I had a lot more time than I'd thought to spend with my family, check off personal to-do items, and grow my company. Much of that “free time” appeared in 5 to 20-minute increments that could be maximized throughout the day. 

Initially, I thought these windows weren’t enough time to do anything meaningful, like start a new project. But once I really started brainstorming, I realized that planning for and tapping these small pockets of time could help me plow through some lingering tasks and grow Masthead. 

These are some business-building to-dos that help me get ahead when I'm lucky enough to win a little extra time in my day. Use them as inspiration for ways to enhance your own professional life in 20-minute chunks.

Add a Networking Event to Your Calendar

Search and sign up for networking events in your area. There are plenty of in-person and virtual sessions through Eventbrite and Meetup.org but I also like to bookmark specific marketing-related organizations that I'm interested in. During my downtime, I'll check what's coming up at She Runs It, American Marketing Association, and New York Women in Communications.

Engage in a Social Group Discussion

Aimlessly scrolling social is a default response when many of us have a few minutes (or we’re bored!). Use that time to your advantage by tapping into two to three professional groups on Facebook. These communities can give you insights into trends, discussions, and the latest happenings in your professional circles. 

I also love taking a few minutes to leave comments for the folks I follow on LinkedIn—it's a great, low-lift way to boost your own visibility. 

Take an Inspirational Break

Watch a TED Talk on a subject that inspires you and your work. By design—they're no more than 18 minutes. You can do this while eating lunch or commuting by train, bus, or cab. If productivity topics are your jam, you’ll enjoy this list of playlists on “productivity” topics to watch or listen to on TED.

Scroll Through *Your* Brand’s Social Media

If you feel like you’re behind on your business’ social media as the leader of your company (it happens!) use these precious minutes to visit your business’ social media feeds, read comments, engage in discussions where it’s appropriate, and repost some company posts on your personal pages. It’s helpful to read what followers are saying about the brand. Jot down a few ideas for UGC content, blogs, or newsletters that come from this “research session.”

Follow Up

I use Boomerang for Gmail to remind me who I should follow up with. If I Boomerang a note I've sent out to a key contact, it will return to my inbox and remind me to reach back out again. This has saved me numerous times with harder-to-reach contacts and allows me to put follow-ups out of my mind until I have a little block of time to deal with them.

Take an Online Class

I love using downtime as a way to squeeze in online learning. I’ve recently completed a course on Learning Notion (a productivity tool I’m hoping to introduce to my team). , And last year I made sure to grow my understanding of AI’s use for marketing. Save a link to a course you want to take and work through lessons whenever you have a 5 to 10-minute break or a meeting gets canceled. If you have a LinkedIn Premium membership you can do LinkedIn Learning classes (my favorite!). You might also want to check out Coursera, HubSpot Academy courses, Teachable, Kajabi, and Google Digital Garage

Show up Higher in Search Results

Are you set up on Google's My Business? It's free to create a business profile and it’s an easy way to help customers find you, particularly if you're a brick-and-mortar business. Make sure you have a way of collecting customer reviews and feedback about the business, its services, and products. Ask customers to leave reviews on Google My Business if you’re a brick-and-mortar shop.

Post a Poll on Social Media

Want to drive some engagement and get answers to a burning question about an industry topic or trend? Post a poll on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Threads, or an Instagram story. It’s an easy way to draw in the lurkers in your audience (who can resist a poll?) and come up with content ideas for a future newsletter, blog, or social post. See who voted on your poll and use it as an excuse to reach out to potential clients, customers, and leads.

Update Your Email Signature

It only takes about two minutes but this marketing move can have a big impact. Use your professional email signature to call out a recent achievement, link to a media mention or publicity, or add a URL to get a free download when the user subscribes to your email. You could use a tagged link service like Bit.ly so you know if it’s getting clicks.

Analyze Ways to Enhance Your Website

Check your website's speed to ensure a slow-loading site isn’t driving bounce rates and a negative user experience. Look at how the page loads on a mobile app and evaluate whether the mobile device design could be improved. According to SimilarWeb data, mobile accounts for 67% of global traffic as of January 2025. Scan a few competitors’ websites to see how their mobile interface looks. Use this time to schedule a call with your website team next week and brainstorm ways to improve the site.

Catch Up on Webinar Recordings

I love to sign up for free webinar sessions that come from my favorite creators, newsletter writers, organizations I follow, and professionals I admire in the industry. The only problem is, I can’t make all of the live “online events.” That’s why I appreciate it when the host sends out a recording of the session afterward. I suggest keeping these emails in a folder in your inbox that you can go to whenever you have some free time. Take it one step further and send a connection request to the webinar host and/or speakers letting them know you enjoyed the session.

Read an Industry-specific Article

One of the top challenges of being a business owner is staying on top of all the industry's news each morning and noting what pops up throughout the day on the news and in social media. Try dedicated apps that help you bookmark content—like Raindrop, Instapaper, and Pocket—or save the URLs in a note-taking app on your phone. I also save posts on LinkedIn or Facebook that I want to read or comment on later. If you don’t have Google alerts set up yet for industry keywords, make sure you do that on your next 20-minute work break.

Remember, it’s also totally okay to not optimize every minute of your day to grow your business. If you decide to take the next unexpected break you have to do a meditation, go on a walk, or simply look out the window on a car ride, those are beneficial, too. Your brain needs a break to rest and give you space to be creative.

Two more easy things you can do in under 20 minutes? Subscribe to Masthead’s newsletter (to learn about our next online events and read our latest blogs—and follow me on LinkedIn to get a transparent look at what it’s like to run and grow a business.