One of the quiet traps in running a business is this:
If something is possible we often feel we should do it.
You can post to multiple social media platforms.
You can run a Facebook group.
You can launch another offer.
You can attend every networking event.
You can create more content, build another fun or try another strategy.
And because you can, it slowly becomes another thing on the list.
Before long your business starts to feel busy.
Not necessarily wrong. Not necessarily failing, just heavier than it needs to be.
Many health fitness and wellbeing business owners I speak to are incredibly capable; they’re used to working hard, showing up for their clients and giving their best. But capability can create a subtle problem. When you are capable of doing a lot of things it becomes very easy to do too many things.
The word should quietly creeps into business.
You should be posting more.
You should be building your audience.
You should be visible everywhere.
You should be doing what everyone else seems to be doing.
The difficulty is that much of this advice is generic. It doesn’t take into account: your personality, your energy levels, your business model, where your clients actually come from, what you enjoy doing, what genuinely moves your business forward and what you actually want to achieve. So people end up maintaining activities that look sensible on paper but don’t really work in practice. And because nothing is technically wrong, those things can continue for months or even years.
Every activity in your business requires something. Not just time but energy.
- Mental energy to think about it.
- Creative energy to produce content.
- Emotional energy to keep showing up.
- Decision making energy to main consistency.
The challenge is that energy is finite. Every hour spent maintaining something that isn’t truly working is an hour that could have been spent on something that does work. This is where many business owners quietly find themselves stuck. They’re not lazy. They’re not lacking ideas. They’re simply spread across too many things.
A powerful shift happens when you start asking a different question.
Instead of: Can I do this?
You ask: Is this the best use of my time and energy right now?
Those two questions lead to very different businesses.
Growth rarely comes from adding more and more things. Often it comes from focusing more clearly on fewer things.
Sometimes the hardest things to question are the ones you’ve been doing for a while.
Here are a few signs that something in your business might deserve being reviewed:
- It takes a lot of effort but produces very little return.
- You maintain it mostly out of habit.
- You feel slightly relieved at the thought of stopping.
- You keep it going because you feel you should.
- It distracts you from the work you most enjoy doing.
None of these automatically mean something has to go. But they are worth noticing. Because many business owners keep things running long after they have stopped being useful.
There is a strange belief in business that doing less means you’re going backwards or even lazy. In reality the opposite is often true. Simplifying a business can mean: clearer focus, better use of energy, stronger results, more consistency, greater enjoyment of the work. It can also mean giving yourself permission to stop doing things that are no longer serving you. Just because something works for someone else does not mean it needs to work for you. And just because something could work doesn’t mean it is the right choice for your business.
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
If you’re a health, fitness or wellbeing business owner who feels a bit stuck, overwhelmed or unsure what your next step is, you’re always welcome to get in touch. Sometimes one conversation can help you see your business and your options much more clearly. Email me philippa@holdmyhandcoaching.com and let’s talk.
Until next time,
Best wishes
Philippa x