Working Harder Isn’t the Answer

Here’s why hustle culture is keeping you stuck—and what to do instead.

A few years ago, I met a business owner named Sarah.

She’d built her company from the ground up

—10 years of hustle, late nights, and nonstop grinding.

On paper, she was killing it:

• Solid revenue,

• A growing team,

• And a packed client roster.

But when I asked her how it felt to run her business, she let out a long sigh.

“Honestly? It’s exhausting.

I’m working harder than ever, and it feels like I’m stuck.

The more I do, the more chaos I create.

I can’t figure out what’s holding us back.”

Sound familiar?

Here’s the truth:

If you feel like you’re working 24/7 but still not seeing the results you want, you’re not alone.

Most businesses are held back by one core problem

—a bottleneck they don’t even realize exists.

The bad news?

It’s keeping you stuck.

The good news?

You can fix it once you know where to look.

The Wrong Way to Fix Growth Problems

When sales drop, what’s your first move?

• Spend more on ads?
  

• Push the team harder?
  

• Maybe slap on a discount and hope for the best?

That’s like throwing a Band-Aid on a broken leg.

The real issue is hiding underneath those surface problems.

If you don’t dig deeper, you’ll stay stuck in the same cycle

—working harder for less.

Find the Real Problem with the “5 Whys”

Let me show you how to uncover what’s actually holding you back.

Scenario: Your revenue just tanked by 15%.

1. Why #1: Why is revenue down?
   Fewer sales closed this quarter.
   

2. Why #2: Why are fewer sales closing?
   Our leads aren’t making it past the first call.
   

3. Why #3: Why aren’t leads progressing?
   Sales reps are spending too much time on unqualified leads.
   

4. Why #4: Why are sales reps handling unqualified leads?
   Marketing is sending them anyone with a pulse.
   

5. Why #5: Why is marketing doing that?
   Because sales and marketing haven’t updated their ideal customer profile (ICP) in over a year.

Boom. There’s your bottleneck: misalignment between sales and marketing.

What Happens Next?

Here’s how you solve it:

1. Get sales and marketing in a room.
   

2. Define your updated ICP. (Who’s your dream client? What do they look like?)
   

3. Create clear criteria for what makes a lead “qualified.”
   

4. Train both teams, track your results, and tweak as you go.

No more wasting time on the wrong leads.

No more friction between teams.

Just progress.

Unlock Your Bottleneck with a Proven System

If identifying and fixing bottlenecks sounds like a lot to tackle on your own, we’ve got you covered.

Join our "Peeling the Onion" Workshop, where we guide you step-by-step to uncover and solve the real root causes of your challenges.

🔥 Foundation Tier & Beyond: Discover how to align your team around clear goals and eliminate the chaos holding you back.

Seats are limited

—reserve your spot today:

Join the Workshop →

What’s Stalling Your Growth?

Not sure where your bottleneck is?

Don’t worry

—you’re not supposed to figure this out alone.

Take the Scalability & Bottleneck Identifier Tool today.

It’s free, fast, and like having a flashlight for your blind spots.

Find Your Bottleneck Now →

Make This the Year You Break Through

Stop spinning your wheels on the wrong problems.

Start focusing on what will actually move the needle.

💡 Ready for more?

The Growth and Pinnacle Tiers offer advanced workshops to build systems, streamline operations, and achieve long-term scalability.

👉 Let’s build your custom plan:

Learn More About VGS →

You’ve got this. And we’ve got your back.

Let’s do this together.