Forum Discussion

Contributor 4

30 days ago

Solved

Stuck with Plateau Solution?

we all are the problem in our businesses as we are also the solution. How long do you struggle to improve at something before you attempt to outsource help and pay for assistance? Is the desire t...

travisshepherd
30 days ago
Stuck with the Plateau Solution?
Let’s be honest: we are usually the exact bottleneck holding our own businesses back. We are the problem, but we’re also the solution.
In the beginning, when cash is tight, you survive by doing absolutely everything with your own two hands. The problem is that grit becomes a habit. We get addicted to the grind, and pride convinces us that we need to figure it all out on our own. But honestly? It's often just a failure to see the real opportunity cost. Spending 20 hours beating your head against a wall to save a buck isn't saving money—it's wasting time that should be spent on high-value, revenue-generating work.
They say you can only focus on moving the needle on two major things a year, but we often fail to focus on just two things for 12 months at a time. The reason is a total lack of accountability. When you're the boss, it’s way too easy to negotiate with yourself and jump to a shinier, easier project the second things get frustrating. Without a mentor or a solid peer community to call us out, we just stay stuck in the loop.
To break through, we have to set a hard limit on our own stubbornness. If we can’t figure something out in a few hours, we need to stop struggling and pay an expert to do it faster. We have to flip the script: stop trading our valuable time to save a dollar, and start trading dollars to buy back our time.

travisshepherd

Contributor 5

30 days ago

Stuck with the Plateau Solution?

Let’s be honest: we are usually the exact bottleneck holding our own businesses back. We are the problem, but we’re also the solution.

In the beginning, when cash is tight, you survive by doing absolutely everything with your own two hands. The problem is that grit becomes a habit. We get addicted to the grind, and pride convinces us that we need to figure it all out on our own. But honestly? It's often just a failure to see the real opportunity cost. Spending 20 hours beating your head against a wall to save a buck isn't saving money—it's wasting time that should be spent on high-value, revenue-generating work.

They say you can only focus on moving the needle on two major things a year, but we often fail to focus on just two things for 12 months at a time. The reason is a total lack of accountability. When you're the boss, it’s way too easy to negotiate with yourself and jump to a shinier, easier project the second things get frustrating. Without a mentor or a solid peer community to call us out, we just stay stuck in the loop.

To break through, we have to set a hard limit on our own stubbornness. If we can’t figure something out in a few hours, we need to stop struggling and pay an expert to do it faster. We have to flip the script: stop trading our valuable time to save a dollar, and start trading dollars to buy back our time.

Brand

Contributor 4

30 days ago

I believe you are correct. Humility would bring us to this realization with the right people around us. I do believe in continuous improvement and there is value in a business owner learning how to do something, but there needs to be a cost/benefit analysis to decide when enough is enough. At a certain level, it all gets outsourced to someone else and you only have personal development and leadership left to worry about.

It is hard to see the forrest through the trees for a long time though.