Let's Talk About Your Stalling Small Business, & The Realities You're Facing

You’re out of steam. There’s too much to do. And you’re falling further behind every day.

And it feels like the same story, every year. Well, at least for a handful of the previous years. 

Did you really go into business to operate this way? Is this what you imagined entrepreneurship would look like? Has the chaos become comfortable?

What if your small business could provide for you and your team, be enjoyable, have meaning, and facilitate ongoing success? 

All at the same time?

That’s what you really want. That’s what I wanted. That’s what we can have. It’s what we would have, but something’s missing. 

But, there’s a way to find that missing ingredient, likely several of them. And it’s the process shared earlier for making the jump (chaos to order). Let’s see it one more time. 

Revisiting the five-stage process to untangle your business and move it forward 

Leaders are repeaters and what’s most important is said throughout the Jump book many many times. This process is one of them. Here’s the quick and dirty rundown of the five stages to move you from chaos to order. 

1. Tackle low effort high impact endeavors. 
2. Simplify everything, everywhere. 
3. Make what’s left better. 
4. Identify and fill in the gaps to effectively move forward. 
5. Master sustainability. 

Take the process, overlay it with your business and see where you stumble. Where do you struggle and where do you stop?

Following the process will illuminate the missing pieces in you as a leader, the holes in your business foundation, the team members you’ve left behind, and the lack of systems to scale your operation.

Ultimately, face and embrace the reality of what it takes to run a well-oiled machine as a business, and ask yourself a key question. 

Is this the business you want to place all your effort into? It’s going to be hard, so is this worth it?

During the final year of Noodlehead Marketing, I had a clear choice in front of me. Rebooting the company was going to be hard. Sustaining that business the right way would be challenging. Knowing I’d focus this energy towards something in my life, was my marketing agency going to be the target of this effort?

My answer was no. My yes was elsewhere. So, I chose to let go of what was in front of me, something that was great in numerous ways, to go a different direction. 

For you, it may be yes. But the clarity of that yes imbued with the harsh reality of business ownership and the success that comes from the required responsibility will set the foundation to do what’s required; To say no to everything except the one thing you’ve said yes to. Just like marriage. 

What's it look like to go from rogue management to system oriented leadership?

From this strong commitment flows the ingredients to build a long-lasting foundation for your company. 

When numerous opportunities flow your way, you’ll confidently say no without fear of missing out on something good. Because what’s greatest is what you're going after. Nothing else matters, and the distractions that so easily pulled you away from your focus have no sway from your direction. You're in it to the end, and to do it right.  

You’ll take your time building strongly from the foundation, fostering an abundance of margin. Your anchoring into bedrock and setting this up for the long run. Short term wins are nice, but they’re simply you taking advantage of the opportunities that have displayed themselves in front of you while also moving towards the larger goal. It’s the long term wins your most interested in harnessing. If a short term opportunity can pull you away, it’s an easy and resounding no. 

You're a strong leader now. And, where you're not, your aware of and working on it. You’ve built teams and systems to augment your weaknesses and amplify you and your team's strengths. 

Everything done has an intent and everyone knows how every action plays into the larger mission. What they do today matters because it changes the trajectory and pace of the company.

Communication is so proactive and clear it’s as if you and your team are reading each other’s minds. 

People are devastated leaving the organization because of how powerfully positive their involvement has become. 

This is the end game. 

And it’s something we can all create if we choose to. 

But it goes back to accepting reality and choosing where to focus. Are you ready for them both? 

Hero Photo by Patrick Hendry on Unsplash