Working Too Much in Your Business? Then You're Stuck

If you're working 60+ hours a week and your revenue isn't growing proportionally, something's broken. And I doubt it’s your work ethic.

42% of small-business owners report burnout. You're not the only one running this hard and feeling stuck.

And here’s what makes it worse, those working the most hours aren't always the ones who grow the fastest. Often, they're the ones spinning their wheels. They’re working incredibly hard, but they’re working reactively. (Yes, this is the voice of experience.)

I used to believe that working “too much” was a badge of honor. What I discovered was that it was a brightly flashing sign that I was stuck and something needed to change.

If this resonates with you, it’s time to take a step back and consider the possibility that you’re working really hard on the wrong things.

Working too much and being stuck usually means at least 1 of the following: lack of strategic focus, missing systems and leverage, and confusion about which activities actually drive growth.

Many of the overworked business owners I’ve met and worked with obsess over Lever 1 in the Pathway to Profit, my 7-lever framework for strategic growth. They're pouring the bulk of their work time into generating more leads and prospects while completely ignoring the other 5 levers (closing rates, client retention, average transaction value, frequency of sales, and costs).

This means they're working 60 hours a week generating leads they can't close efficiently, for clients they can't retain long-term, at prices that don't sustain the business model. This is a strategy issue.

Some are so focused on creating their ideal products or services that they never consider what it will take to create revenue from their offerings.

This means they’re spending 60 hours a week being creative without necessarily understanding whether they have a market for their offerings or not.

And still others are struggling with the self-confidence to be successful.

This means they’re spending 60 hours a week battling their own head trash, often without even realizing it.

How you got here isn’t the issue. Getting you unstuck so you can make a decision about your business is. Because right now you’re building a cage and not a business.

Building a sustainable, profitable business requires serious effort. But if you’re stuck, it’s not the kind you’ve been giving. You need strategic effort. The kind that builds leverage instead of dependency. The kind that creates systems instead of chaos. The kind that scales without breaking you.

What working too much really costs you

Working too much costs more than just your time. When you’re stuck working 60+ hours a week, you're exhausted. Your partner is worried. And your body starts to show the unending wear and tear.

These numbers begin to tell the story:

• 42% of small-business owners report burnout
• Studies link working long hours to increased risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes
• 52% say stress is a regular part of the job

But the costs go deeper than statistics.

What are the health consequences of working too much?

In addition to increasing your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and chronic stress disorders, working too much can also result in burnout-related mental health conditions. Chronic stress compromises decision-making and innovation, which means even your hard work becomes less effective.

Your physical and mental health will likely deteriorate long before the business does.

The unfortunate irony here is that you’re sacrificing your health to build a business that requires your health to run.

How does working too much affect your personal life?

Missing bedtimes. Forgetting anniversaries. Your kids asking if you're coming to dinner. And a million other meaningful moments that you’re missing because you’re working.

Your partner isn't necessarily asking you to work less because they don't understand entrepreneurship. They're asking because they're losing you. And if you keep going like this, they won't be wrong.

I get that you have to make personal sacrifices to create the business you want. Consciously decide what sacrifices you’re willing to make instead of letting them happen by default. After all, I doubt that you started your business to become a stranger in your own home.

Why does overworking create business bottlenecks?

When you’re reacting instead of thinking strategically while running your business, you're the bottleneck. So your team either mimics your panic or waits for you to step back so they can finally lead.

Every hour you spend doing work someone else could do is an hour you're not spending on the work only you can do. When you're buried in execution, you're not leading.

Then there’s the fact that the business can't grow past your capacity when you are the capacity. Your hard work may actually be preventing your business from scaling.

I can’t tell you how profoundly sad it is for me to see business owners continuing to run on their hamster wheels, getting nowhere.

Key Takeaway: Working too much drains you and creates bottlenecks that prevent your business from growing. The cost shows up in your health, your relationships, and your revenue.

The myth you've been sold about working hard

Traditional business advice tells you to hustle harder. Outwork everyone. Put in the hours. Grind when everyone else is sleeping.

The problem with that advice is that it ignores the fact that you’re human, and not a robot. I used to expect myself to be a robot and would regularly push myself to get more and more and more done.

Sure, I heard the motto “Work Smarter, Not Harder”. I even received a gift with that phrase emblazoned on it. But I didn’t understand what it really meant. I actually thought it was dumb because I had 100% bought into the “truth” about working harder to get ahead. As a result, I wound up working myself into an ulcer, anxiety, and an eating disorder.

It wasn’t until I truly embraced being strategic about my work that I made the progress I wanted to as an entrepreneur.

Most people I work with are already working incredibly hard on the wrong things, in the wrong ways, without the right systems.

Yes, sustainable growth requires serious effort. But you need to be strategic in your efforts, build leverage instead of dependency, create systems instead of chaos, and scale without sacrificing yourself or your relationships.

Key Takeaway: Your goal needs to be making every hour of your hard work get you closer and closer to the business and life you really want. Regardless of how many hours you work.

How you got here (and why you're still stuck)

As a culture, we’re trained to work reactively and not strategically. Working strategically (with focus, leverage, and systems) requires a different kind of discipline and a different way of looking at things.

What keeps you stuck:

• Everything requires your direct involvement
• You can’t trust anyone to do things as well as you
• The business will fall apart without your constant involvement and attention
• You’ve tied your identity to being the hardest worker and wear your exhaustion as a badge
• You’re uncertain about how to get your business to grow

When you're this overwhelmed, you literally can't see what's hiding in plain sight. The clients in your database, the prices you could raise, or the costs bleeding you dry.

I recently worked with a quick-start client. He was so used to running as quickly as he could to get stuff done that he rarely looked at whether the work actually needed to be done or the repercussions of doing it. All that speed was creating busywork, not progress. I've been coaching him on how to look at the bigger picture and develop a strategic mindset.

How to redirect your effort and break through the plateau

What I've discovered is that overworking is almost always a symptom of being stuck in what I call the Escape phase of the business growth cycle.

Escape is about gaining clarity about what's broken, bloated, or unnecessary. When you're working 60+ hours a week, you can't see the problems clearly. You're just surviving them.

That's why you don’t start with "work harder" or even "work smarter." You’ve got to start by pausing long enough to see what's actually broken.

Here’s what I really want you to hear:

None of this means you’re failing. It means you’re human. And it means you’re ready for a different approach.

Where to start

Try one of the following two options to identify what needs to be fixed:

Option 1. Ask yourself, “If I sold this business tomorrow, what would the buyer fix first?”

Whatever comes to mind is probably what's currently draining your time and energy.

Now, what's one small step you could take this week to start fixing that?

Option 2. Schedule just 90 minutes this week to step back and look at your business instead of working in it.

During that time, ask yourself:

·         Where is my time actually going?

·         What am I doing that someone else could do?

·         What's one thing I could stop doing this week?

That's it. One thing. Not a business transformation. One strategic decision that redirects your hard work toward what actually matters.

This is just the first step in what I call the Escape → Expand → Excel framework, but getting clarity is what matters right now.

Once you've identified the problems, bloated processes, or unnecessary work, you'll finally have direction. And with that direction, your creativity will return. You'll clearly see what's missing, what needs to change, and where you need to focus to start growing again at a sustainable pace.

Imagine working 45 focused, strategic hours that produce better results than 70 scattered, reactive ones.

Which of these resonated most with where you are right now?

The Lever 1 obsession?

Creating without a revenue strategy?

Battling head trash?

All 3?

If you’re ready to redirect your effort toward what will actually grow your business, without working too much and burning yourself, let's talk. Schedule a 15-minute call to discuss your biggest challenge with working too much.