The Moment Everything Changed
August 13, 2025
⚠️ Trigger Warning: This post discusses terminal illness and grief.
No one wants to prep for the worst.
It feels morbid. Like you’re inviting disaster by writing it down.
But if you’ve ever heard me talk about hiring and team building, you’ll know I say it every damn time:
“When you’re building a team, you’re building a position.
Not a person.
Because what if that person was gone tomorrow?”
For Janet Camilleri, that ‘what if’ became her reality.
Janet is the founder of Front Page SEO, a no-BS SEO agency helping small businesses get real results, not just traffic, but clicks, calls, and clients.
But two years ago, everything shifted.
Her right-hand woman, the person she spoke to daily, who ran huge parts of her business was diagnosed with terminal cancer. And just three weeks later, she was gone.
Suddenly, Janet was grieving, overwhelmed, and holding a business that should have fallen apart.
But it didn’t.
Because even though Janet had never planned for this… she had prepared.
“I Just Want Lisa”
When we spoke on the Vision to Grow podcast, Janet shared something that hit me hard.
“I had the interview guides, the job description, the onboarding process… everything was documented. So when I had to hire someone new, I could.”
Did it feel wrong? Yes.
Did she still cry and miss Lisa every day? Absolutely.
Lisa wasn’t just a team member, she was a friend. A confidante. A core part of Front Page SEO. Her memorial still sits proudly on Front Page SEO’s website.
But Janet’s business kept going.
Her new hire could step in. Clients were served. Team members were supported. Wages (and Janet’s bills) were paid.
That is the power of systems.
Not because they remove emotion but because they give you the capacity to feel it, without everything else collapsing.
From SEO to Systems: How Janet Built with Intention
Before the grief, before the crisis, Janet was already building differently.
Front Page SEO isn’t some cowboy agency churning out fluff and backlinks.
Janet’s background as a teacher-turned-marketer shapes everything she does.
She doesn’t just do SEO, she teaches it.
She helps business owners understand what’s happening under the hood, so they never get ripped off or left in the dark.
After being made redundant in 2012, she thought:
“I have skills. I’m going to start my own business!”
She was great at digital marketing. Not so much at business admin. (Who can relate?)
But she learned. She built. And she stayed the course.
Now, 12+ years in, she’s not just helping clients rank on Google, she’s giving them the knowledge to make smart marketing decisions that last.
Whether it’s done-for-you SEO or DIY training, Janet’s mission is the same:
Transparency. Simplicity. Empowerment.
And that mindset? It shaped how she grew her business.
Janet didn’t just outsource. She designed roles.
She didn’t just hope for good hires. She built onboarding that worked.
Her SEO systems and her operations have one thing in common:
They’re clear. Repeatable. And designed to outlast any one person.
The Real Lesson for Founders
This episode wasn’t just a conversation about SEO or team building.
It was a wake-up call.
If your entire business lives in your brain…
If your team can’t operate without voice notes and panic messages…
If your “systems” are Post-its and vibes…
You’re not leading. You’re managing chaos.
And chaos doesn’t scale.
Janet didn’t survive that season because she got lucky.
She survived it because her operations were built before they were needed.
Ready to Build a Team That Doesn’t Break You?
This isn’t about being cold or corporate.
It’s about creating something that supports you, even when you need support most.
Inside Grow Advantage, we help founders like you build real systems, delegate without drama, and scale without becoming the glue holding everything together.
📞 Book your clarity call
Let’s build the structure before the storm.
🎧 Listen to Janet’s full story on Vision to Grow – Episode 14: From Loss to Legacy.
It’s honest, raw, and probably the most important business story you’ll hear this year.
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