💣 Your HighLevel Snapshot is a Ticking Time Bomb (And Your Team Knows It)
Real talk: When's the last time someone on your team changed something in your snapshot and you had NO IDEA what they did?
Or worse - when's the last time YOU built something cool six months ago and now you can't remember how it works? 😅
Yeah. That's the snapshot chaos we're all living in.
Michael from Agency Unbound just dropped a truth bomb: We're not using HighLevel wrong. We're just documenting it wrong. And that's why agencies hit a wall at 40-50 clients and either simplify everything (boring) or drown in complexity (chaos).
But there's a third option. And it involves a simple 5-column spreadsheet that might just save your agency.
Let me break down what Michael's teaching thousands of HighLevel users about snapshot management.
The "Ferrari in the Garage" Problem 🏎️
Here's what happens to 90% of agencies when they first discover HighLevel:
Phase 1: The Honeymoon 💕
"OMG I can automate EVERYTHING!"
"This workflow is going to change lives!"
"I can solve such complex problems for clients!"
Brain exploding with possibilities
Phase 2: The Reality Check 😰
Workflows break
Team members don't understand your setup
Clients are confused
Support tickets pile up
Everything is held together with digital duct tape
Phase 3: The Advice 😤
"Just simplify it"
"Keep it basic"
"Don't use all those fancy features"
"Stick to simple automations"
But wait... If we're supposed to keep everything simple, why did we even come to HighLevel?
It's like owning 10 Ferraris but being told you shouldn't drive them because you don't have the right systems in place. Technically you COULD drive them... but it's dangerous without proper training.
Michael's Background: From Freelancer to Diamond Agency 💎
Michael isn't some guru selling courses from his couch. He's:
✅ Helped multiple agencies reach Gold SaaS status
✅ Currently working full-time at Vertical Action (one of only 22 Diamond agencies)
✅ Has consulted with agencies for YEARS on snapshot strategy
✅ Manages accounts at 1,000+ paid client scale
His big realization? The problem isn't HighLevel's complexity. The problem is nobody knows how to document, delegate, and scale complex systems.
What Even IS a Snapshot? 📸
For anyone new to HighLevel snapshots:
Think of it like a template or blueprint of your entire sub-account setup:
All your workflows
Custom fields
Tags and custom values
Funnels and pages
Email sequences
Everything (well, almost everything)
The promise: Build one product once. Sell it 100 times. 🎯
The reality: If you don't document properly, you'll be manually fixing things in every single account forever.
What DOESN'T Copy Over in Snapshots? 🤔
This trips people up constantly:
What doesn't transfer:
Actual business-specific data (names, phone numbers, etc.)
Custom VALUES (the content inside custom fields)
Your personal business details embedded everywhere
The rookie mistake: Building a snapshot with YOUR personal info everywhere, then deploying it to clients and realizing your email/phone/business name is plastered all over their account. Awkward. 😬
Michael's solution: Make a snapshot OF your snapshot. Create a "clean" version with NO personal details, then deploy THAT one. Use custom values strategically so you can personalize in seconds.
The $99 Problem That's Costing You $10,000+ 💸
Here's the pattern Michael sees at midsize agencies (40-50+ clients):
Option A: Keep it simple
Charge $200/month for basic features
Zero differentiation from competitors
Race to the bottom on pricing
Can't scale profitably
Option B: Add cool features
Costs explode
Churn goes up
Team can't manage complexity
You become the bottleneck for EVERYTHING
What agencies actually need: The ability to build complex, valuable solutions WITHOUT becoming a slave to them.
That's what Agency Unbound teaches.
The Free Course: Snapshot Fundamentals 📚
Before Michael even LETS you into his paid program, he's giving away a completely free course that took him 100+ hours to build.
What's included in the FREE course:
📋 How to document everything in your snapshot
🗺️ How to make workflow maps your team can actually follow
✅ Creating test cases to prove things work
🚀 Launching snapshots without everything blowing up
🔄 Updating snapshots as HighLevel evolves
Why free first? Because Michael doesn't want people jumping into advanced training if they don't have the basics down. That's a recipe for frustration.
His philosophy: "If your brain lights up during the free course and you're thinking 'I can't wait for more' - THEN join the membership."
The 5-Column Documentation Framework 📊
This is the game-changer. Michael's entire system boils down to a simple spreadsheet with 5 columns:
Column 1: Name
What's the asset called? (workflow name, tag, custom field, etc.)
Column 2: Type
Is it a workflow? A tag? A custom field? A funnel?
Column 3: What It Does (1-2 sentences MAX)
"Takes a booked lead and sends 3 email reminders for the sales call"
"Tag manually added by salesperson when prospect is undecided to trigger follow-up workflow"
Keep it SHORT. This isn't a novel.
Column 4: How to Set It Up
When you deploy this snapshot to a new account, what needs customizing?
Assign user to this workflow
Customize the email template
Add client logo here
Column 5: Change Log
When your team makes updates, they log:
Date of change
What was changed
Why
That's it. No complicated documentation systems. No 50-page manuals nobody reads.
The Recipe Website Problem 🍳
Michael uses a BRILLIANT analogy about documentation:
Ever look up a recipe online and have to scroll through someone's life story, 47 photos, and 12 ads just to find out how much flour you need? 😤
What happens?
You lose trust in that website
You never go back to it for recipes again
You find a better source
This is EXACTLY what happens with bad SOP documentation.
Your team goes to your docs looking for answers:
❌ Takes forever to find what they need
❌ The answer isn't even there
Result? They stop using your documentation altogether. They either wing it (dangerous) or constantly interrupt you (bottleneck).
Michael's solution: Document EVERYTHING in that simple 5-column format. Make it searchable. Make it trustworthy.
The $99/Month Agency Unbound Membership 🎓
Once you've mastered the free basics, here's what the paid program includes:
What You Get:
📞 Weekly live calls with Michael
👥 Private HighLevel community (built IN HighLevel)
📝 Constantly updated SOPs as HighLevel evolves
🏗️ Advanced architecture templates (tag routers, complex workflows)
✅ Certification program (not just a quiz - actual hands-on proof)
📋 Discovery call checklists for scoping projects properly
🎯 Accountability challenges and special events
🎨 Snapshot design examples from complex real-world builds
Who it's for:
Agencies with 40+ clients hitting complexity walls
Freelancers building systems that need to scale
Teams that need training on snapshot management
Anyone making money in HighLevel who wants to level up
Who it's NOT for:
Complete HighLevel beginners (take the free course first)
People looking for "instant cash" without doing the work
Solo operators who refuse to document anything
The Cabbage Crew Success Story 🥬
Michael recently ran a 1-month intensive beta program with a small group called the Cabbage Crew.
Results?
✅ Completely changed how they do business
✅ Managing more clients with less chaos
✅ Team members can work independently
✅ Systems that actually scale
Michael's certification isn't just a quiz. You have to DO the work. He wants to see you implement his system before he'll vouch for you.
Why? Because when agencies ask "Do you know anyone who follows your snapshot system?" - Michael only recommends people he's SEEN execute it successfully.
The Delegation Problem (And How to Fix It) 🤝
Jenna asked Michael the million-dollar question: "How do I delegate when I'm not clear enough?"
Michael flipped it: The problem isn't YOU. It's that your snapshot isn't documented.
Why Delegation Fails:
The Trust Problem:
Team builds something → it breaks something else
You don't know what they changed
They don't understand the implications
Everything requires YOUR approval
The Documentation Problem:
They look for answers in your docs
Can't find it OR it's not there
They stop trusting your documentation
They just ask you every time (you're the bottleneck again)
The Solution: Write. Everything. Down.
With that 5-column system, your team:
✅ Knows what everything does
✅ Can trace dependencies
✅ Logs all their changes
✅ You can review updates before going live
Now you have actual accountability without micromanaging.
Michael's #1 Snapshot Tip: It's a Team Sport 🏆
Snapshots aren't a solo venture. Even if you're a one-person shop right now, you need to build with OTHER PEOPLE in mind:
Think about EVERYONE who touches your system:
🎯 The lead going through your sales process
💼 The salesperson managing that lead
🛠️ The tech support person troubleshooting
📊 The account manager checking dashboards
🤝 The client trying to understand their account
Build for THEIR success, not just yours.
When you focus on making everyone else successful - your clients, your team, your support people - the success comes back to you.
Michael's rewritten his entire program MULTIPLE TIMES in the last month based on feedback. Why? Because it has to work for other people, not just him.
The Bottom Line 🎯
Stop treating your HighLevel snapshots like a secret recipe only YOU understand.
Start documenting like your agency's future depends on it. (Because it does.)
Michael's giving away the foundation for free. If you're serious about scaling past 50 clients without losing your mind, grab the free course and see if your brain lights up.
And if you're ready to unlock the full potential of HighLevel without dumbing down your product? The Agency Unbound membership is $99/month and includes everything you need to build, scale, and manage complex systems your team can actually run without you.
Stop owning Ferraris you're afraid to drive. 🏎️
Ready to master snapshot management? Check out Agency Unbound's free course and see if the membership is right for you. Plus, join Jenna's Facebook group for free weekly Thursday night calls where agency owners share what's working (and what's not).
