Business stuck at a certain level?

Business stuck at a certain level? Here’s two hard-to-spot reasons why.

This just came up on a coaching call, where a business owner has been stuck around $40k/month for too long. Here’s what I told her.

Feeling stuck sucks. I’ve been there, my clients have been there, every other business owner has been there.

There are two reasons for why we’re stuck that aren’t easy to see.

The first is that there’s a skill or tactic that needs some work.

Something we need to start doing, change, or stop.

Or even something we think we’re doing right, but it isn’t right, or isn’t right for the level we’re at now.

To spot this, you’ll need objective feedback. That’s generally the case when we’re stuck, because if we could see the solution then we wouldn’t be stuck any more.

The second reason for being stuck could be in your head.

We all have a comfort zone. We can slow down when we get comfortable, or sabotage as we push beyond our comfort zone.

Like a thermostat keeping your room at the set temperature.

The way to spot this: your actions or energy change, maybe once you hit a certain revenue level, team size, or some other external measure.

You might notice:

• less enthusiasm or diligence for sales-generating activities
• avoiding the inbox
• avoiding tasks, putting in less effort
• sudden inspiration to change direction

The tricky part: we’re good at hiding these or explaining them away. “Busy” is a handy excuse. We all need someone in our life who we respect, who we’ve asked to gently but firmly call us out.

Another client was stuck around $40k/month, spending a lot of time in operations and very little time on sales.

The fix covered both tactics and mindset.

Tactics:

• spend 50-75% of his time generating sales
• have the team take over more of operations

Mindset:

• operations will never be perfect
• you can lean on the team
• you’re not a terrible person if there’s an issue

These changes broke their $40k/month plateau, and they hit $1m/year in sales within 7 months.

So if you’re stuck, there’s hope. Once you spot the reason, things can change rapidly.

Not sure which one it is for you? Book a free clarity call and we’ll figure it out together.