Go From Stuck To Unstoppable - Episode 191

 Every business hits a plateau at some point. It's a natural part of growth. Recognizing that and accepting it is a first step to breaking through and unlocking your next level of success.

But during that plateau, you really start feeling the pressure. You're pushing yourself harder than ever and no matter how much effort you put in, your business just can't break past its current level. Revenue becomes stagnant. 

Growth feels unpredictable. And deep down inside, you know something you're doing isn't working. You just can't seem to put your finger on what it is.

The truth is, most business owners dealing with this don't realize they're stuck until the frustration sets in. They believe working harder will eventually create a breakthrough. But what if the real solution isn't in effort, but in clarity? Today, we'll be diving into the key warning signs that your business is stuck and what you can do to break free.

This is the budding entrepreneur podcast. 

Good day and welcome to the budding entrepreneur podcast. I'm your host, Randy Bridges. 

In each episode, we dive into practical business strategies that you can put to work in your business right away. We also focus on inspiring stories from leaders who are shaking and making things happen in their industry. It's all about giving you the tools and insights to take you and your business to the next level. So get comfortable and let's jump right in. 

All right, all right. And welcome to session 191 of the podcast.

Today is Friday, March 21st, 2025. And we're going to be tackling one of the biggest hidden challenges in business, knowing when you're stuck and how to get unstuck. Here's what we'll cover in today's session. 

We're going to be going over an awesome quote from Warren Buffett, and then we're going to look into how to recognize when your business is stuck, why working harder isn't the solution, the shift you need to break free, and real examples of how data-driven insights unlock real growth. To kick things off, let's start with our quote of the week. Warren Buffett said, the most important investment you can make is in yourself. 

Now, Warren's no-nonsense approach to business finance reminds me that growth isn't automatic. It requires movement, but not just any movement. If you're standing still, or worse, running in circles, you need to reassess what's driving your business forward. 

So let's dig into this week's topic because it will be the foundation for the next few podcasts. Now, a lot of business owners that I work with don't realize they're stuck until they look back and see how long they've been in the same place. The warning signs are subtle at first, but they eventually become hard to ignore. 

Here's what I recommend that people look for as signs when your business is stuck. First off, revenue and profitability plateau. You're making sales, but your bottom line isn't growing. 

Expenses keep creeping up and profits feel smaller each month. Another one, decision fatigue. We covered this in episode 187. 

This is where every decision feels overwhelming because there's no clear direction. You're constantly second guessing what's next, and then wondering if that second guess was the right direction in the first place. You're also constantly firefighting. 

You're putting out fires, but never making any progress. Your people might be the ones that should be doing this, but you find yourself drugged into it on a constant basis. And if you step away, and if you step away from the business even momentarily to deal with some of these firefights, everything's going to stall.

And finally, lack of data-driven decisions. You find yourself guessing more than you're analyzing. You don't really know what's working because you're not tracking it. 

These four things are very common, and they're great signs that something is really, really wrong. Now, what's causing this to occur, right? Well, for a lot of businesses who want to grow, it's critical that they focus on these three challenges to be resolved. Number one, no clear roadmap. 

Without a roadmap, you're making short-term decisions instead of working towards a long-term strategy. Number two, you have inefficient systems. When processes haven't been optimized, it leads to wasted time and effort.

And number three, and this is the biggie, the owner as the bottleneck. If everything in your business still relies on you, it limits how much the business can grow. Now, when you first start encountering this, a common mistake that business owners will make is doubling down on effort when results aren't showing up. 

But effort isn't the problem, direction is. Imagine pouring water into a leaky bucket. No matter how much you add, it keeps draining out. 

That's exactly what happens when profit leaks and inefficiencies are silently eating away at your revenue. More effort doesn't solve the problem, it just accelerates the waste. So, how do profit leaks and inefficiencies drain revenue and profit? Let's dig into three main ways.

Number one, your hidden cost multiplying. These small efficiencies, like maybe unnecessary software subscriptions, manual processes, or inconsistent pricing, quietly stack up. It's a few dollars here and there that may not seem like much, but over time they erode profitability without you even noticing. 

Another one is wasted time equals wasted money. If your team spends hours fixing errors, redoing work, handling customer issues that could have been prevented, that's all time that could have gone toward revenue generating activities. And finally, client churn kills momentum. 

If you're constantly replacing lost clients instead of retaining them, your sales efforts only keep you running in place instead of driving the long-term growth. So when I hear a business owner say, I just need to hustle harder, work longer hours, and maybe I can grind through this, they're treating the symptom not the cause. Now what they could be doing is something that is probably a lot more productive and also is better for the business long term, implementing the concept of working smarter. 

Now let's dive a little into that phrase because it's often said but seldom used correctly when people are talking about, we're going to automate this, and we're going to do that. These are ideas that you can do, but really working smarter means shifting the focus from doing more to optimizing what already exists. Sometimes automation is one of those keys, but sometimes it's not. 

Let's take for example a business owner who's running a service business. They keep pushing for more sales, but they ignore the profit leaks and inefficiencies that are draining their revenue. More sales ends up meaning more stress, more expenses, and more work that's unaccountable. 

The business feels busier, but it's not more successful. Ultimately, it becomes an open loop for more and more problems. It's a trap, but imagine that same business owner pausing and analyzing the numbers with the team.

Together they discover that 40% of their leads never convert because of slow response times. 25% of revenue is lost due to unnecessary overhead costs, and the retention rates are low because customers feel abandoned after the sale. Instead of pushing harder, they should implement a follow-up system for leads, trim the unnecessary expenses, and create a better post-sale experience to increase that retention. 

Suddenly, revenue grows without adding extra ongoing work. Yes, you're going to do the stuff up front, but guess what? You're going to have no worry about it moving down the road. You'll be able to look at other ways to deal with efficiencies and get them more implemented within your business. 

Now, let's look at how effort without clarity becomes a liability. Many entrepreneurs fall into this trap because they're rewarded for hard work in the past. In the early days of the business, grinding it out made a difference, but as the business grows, effort without clarity becomes a liability. 

And by clarity, I mean the results of vision, knowing where you're headed, what is going to get you there, and making sure you're keeping it in play. Dealing with this liability, think of it like running on a treadmill. You're expending energy, but you're not actually getting anywhere.

Without a clear strategy, more effort means scaling inefficiencies. The bigger your business gets, the bigger your problems become if they're not solved early. More stress, less control. 

You end up constantly reacting instead of leading. And a business that runs you. Instead of building something scalable, you create a structure where success is dependent on you working harder. 

The real key to growth is not working harder. It's getting clarity on where the real problems are and fixing them strategically. So, let's take a look at some of the shifts you can use to break free from this trap.

If working harder isn't the answer, what is? Well, in my answer, it's clarity, data, and leverage. Let's break that down because those three words might sound like business buzzwords, but they're actually the foundation of every successful company. First of all, clarity is knowing exactly where you're headed and why. 

It's the difference between driving to a destination with GPS versus just hoping you end up somewhere good. If you're constantly shifting strategies, reacting to problems instead of planning ahead, or just feeling overwhelmed because of everything that's going on, it's probably because you don't have a clear roadmap. Now, data is what helps you make smarter decisions. 

Without it, you're flying blind. Imagine you're running a race. You have no idea how fast you're going, how far you've gone, or how much energy you have left. 

That's what running a business without tracking key numbers feels like. When you use information, data, hard numbers to guide your decisions and not just gut-level reactions, you can stop guessing and start making moves that actually lead to progress. And finally, leverage. 

Leverage is about getting the most out of what you have. It's using systems, automation, people, and tools to multiply your results instead of just working harder. Multiply. 

That's the key word. Until you can multiply, you're doing additive. Additive is 1 plus 1 plus 1. Multiplicative is 1 times 2 times 3 times 5. If you're doing everything yourself, or your team is constantly in busy mode but not getting real traction, you're missing leverage. 

The goal isn't to do more, it's to get more done with less effort. So how do you apply these three? Clarity, data, and leverage. Well, clarity first and action second. 

One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is jumping into action without a clear plan. If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there. Maybe it won't. 

And that doesn't mean it'll be the right road if you get on it. Instead of reacting to problems, take a step back and ask, what's actually stopping progress? Is it my pricing? Is it operations? Is it a sales bottleneck? If you don't identify the real issue, you'll waste time fixing the wrong things. I suggest people in clarity motion look for patterns, not just numbers yet, but behaviors. 

Are leads dropping off at a certain stage? Is retention lower than you expect? Are customers asking the same questions before buying? Each of these points to something that deeper needs to be fixed. For example, a business owner might think they need more leads, so they keep spending money on ads. When they look at the information, they realize they weren't losing leads at the front. 

They were losing them right before the sale. Instead of wasting money on getting more leads, they tweak their offer and their conversions can jump by, oh, I don't know, 25, maybe even 50%. Would that be worth it to you? I think it would. 

Now let's talk about using data-driven insights. It goes with that clarity first, action second. Too many business owners rely on gut feelings, that's what we just discussed, instead of hard numbers. 

And while instincts are valuable, data tells the real story. Instead of guessing, analyze where the money is actually going. Most businesses have hidden money they don't even realize is slipping away.

You want to track the right numbers because revenue is great, but profit matters more. It's what you end up with at the end of the race that matters more than what you did in your place in the race. Customer volume is great, but retention is more profitable. 

And social media engagement is nice, but conversion rates actually pay the bills. For example, a service-based business might track their client retention and realize that projects weren't structured for repeat work. Instead of chasing new clients every month, they can adjust their offer to include built-in renewals, increasing the lifetime client value tremendously, 30% or more should be a target you're looking at.

And finally, leverage not labor. Hard work has its place, but if you're relying on effort alone, you're capping your growth. Instead of doing everything yourself, build systems that can scale. 

That means automating repetitive tasks so your time is spent on high-value work. Go back to our Eisenhower model if you need more information on that. Also, delegating to people who can handle things better than you, and creating processes that remove you as the bottleneck. 

If you have a coaching business and they're spending too much time on one-to-one sessions, instead of adding more hours, they can shift to a group coaching model. Yes, they make less per coaching model, but it's easy to double your revenue without doubling the work on your plate. The takeaway from all of this? The shift from feeling stuck to breaking free isn't about grinding harder. 

It's about getting clear on what needs to change, using data to make smart choices, and leveraging the right systems to multiply your results. Now, if you find yourself in this trap, and you want to talk through your specific challenges, let's have a conversation. You can book a Maximum Business Impact Session with me at app.randybridgesconsulting.com/mbi-calendar. 

I'll put the link in the YouTube notes below. Whether you ask for my help or you do it yourself, either way, it's time to get your business moving in the right direction. Now today, as a recap, we covered the warning signs that your business is stuck, why working harder isn't the solution, how to shift your approach and regain momentum, and the power of data-driven insights and breaking free.

Next week, we're diving into something that's costing business owners thousands without them realizing it. We're going to dive deep on the three most costly profit leakers that you don't see. If you're making money but your profits aren't growing, you definitely want to dig into this episode. 

That's it for this episode. I hope you picked up some valuable insights and maybe even sparked a few new ideas. If you want to keep the conversation going, or maybe even explore partnerships, don't hesitate to reach out. 

And hey, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this with someone who needs to hear it. The steps you take today could be the start of something big tomorrow. For the budding entrepreneur, I wish you the best in your health, your wealth, your business, your family, everything about you.

Take care, and we'll see you back here next week.