3 Things Keeping You Stuck at 6 Figures11 min read
Sometimes it’s hard to admit that something isn’t working when, from the outside, it all looks so good.
Maybe your business is successful. On paper.
You’re making money. You’ve got clients. A team, even.
People probably think you’ve made it.
But it doesn’t feel that way.
Behind the scenes there’s this quiet hum of exhaustion running underneath everything.
You’re constantly in motion but never really caught up.
You lie awake thinking about everything that’s still on your plate.
You wake up already behind.
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And you keep telling yourself,
“It’s just a busy season… it’ll get better… I just need to get through this launch, this hire, this quarter…”
But deep down, you’re starting to wonder if this is just… how it’s always going to feel.
No one really talks about this part.
The in-between.
That strange, tender space where you’ve created success— but not the kind that feels good to live inside of.
Where you’ve hit six figures, maybe even multiple six figures,
but it’s all still so fragile. So dependent on you.
So damn tiring.
And what I’ve seen, over and over again, is that it’s not your offer, or your work ethic, or your ambition that’s holding you back.
It’s the invisible things.
So I wrote about it.
The three things I see keeping brilliant, driven entrepreneurs stuck in the six-figure slog.
Not to call anyone out. But to finally put words to the things so many are feeling but don’t know how to name.
Let’s talk about what’s really going on.
Doing (almost) everything yourself
It’s one of those things that just kind of… happened.
In the beginning, it made sense.
You wore all the hats. You were the business.
You figured it out as you went.
And even now—with a VA, maybe a contractor or two—so much of it still starts and ends with you.
The decisions.
The strategy.
The last-minute fixes.
The marketing plans that live mostly in your head.
The client issues that no one else can really handle.
The endless Slack messages and check-ins and mental tabs that never close.
It’s not that you haven’t delegated anything.
It’s that you haven’t been able to fully let go of much.
So even when someone else is doing the task, you’re still in it.
Still thinking about it.
Still checking and reviewing and adjusting and following up.
And there’s a part of you that knows this isn’t sustainable.
But it also feels easier—in the short term—to just do it yourself.
Because by the time you explain it, document it, train someone, and manage the process…
you could’ve just done it.
So you do.
And the weight of that keeps piling up.
The inbox. The scheduling. The bookkeeping. The marketing.
The launch that needs planning.
The podcast you want to start.
You keep meaning to look at your financials.
To rework your client onboarding.
To fix the thing that’s been broken for months.
But the urgent to dos always win.
And you tell yourself it’s just a busy season.
Next month will be different.
You’ll get on top of it soon.
But… never in the history of running your business has that ever happened, and it’s not about to start.
Because this isn’t about time. It’s about capacity.
Your business has grown…but the way you run it hasn’t.
And that’s the thing that keeps six-figure entrepreneurs stuck.
Not a lack of ideas.
Not a lack of talent.
But the fact that everything still relies on them to function.
Even with a team.
Even with support.
It’s still on your shoulders.
No wonder you can’t shut your brain off.
And maybe the hardest part of all is the quiet belief that you should be able to handle it.
That if you just managed your time better…
worked a little later…
got through this next stretch…
then it would all feel easier.
But here’s the truth:
You can’t scale a business that only works because you do.
Hustle doesn’t scale.
Systems do.
People do.
Your ability to let go—that’s what creates capacity.
So if you’re feeling stretched, stuck, or maxed out…
Here’s the first thing I’d do…
Pick one thing.
A system. A process. A role.
Something that, if it worked better or wasn’t on your plate at all, would give you real relief.
And get it in place this week.
Because when you can step out of the weeds and get to the big things, that’s when growth not only happens, but happens in a sustainable way.
Trying to do everything at once
This is the one I see the most.
Especially with the high-capacity, idea-generating, multi-tab-in-your-brain-at-all-times entrepreneurs.
(And if you’ve got an ADHD-ish brain? You know exactly what I mean.)
There are just… so many ideas.
So many opportunities.
So many things you could do to grow the business.
You want to launch the new offer. Build the funnel. Redesign the website. Hire the next team member. Start a podcast. Rework your pricing. Create content for LinkedIn, Instagram, your newsletter, your blog…
…and also be a better leader, plan a vacation, take Fridays off, and figure out if you should finally set up ClickUp properly.
Nothing feels optional. Everything feels important.
So you work on all of it a little bit at a time.
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Enough to not lose the thread.
But never quite enough to get anything all the way out the door.
Here’s what I’ve seen over and over again with my clients: they are doing a lot. But not a lot of what actually matters.
I hear over and over again:
- My business is busy but often unfocused and haphazard.
- I feel complete overwhelm. There are so many different things I could focus on and I’m not sure how to prioritize.
- I don’t have a clear strategy in place. Mostly I feel like I’m throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.
This is what happens when you don’t have a clear growth strategy for your business.
You’re showing up. You’re working hard.
But somehow… it still feels like nothing’s really working.
Because everything is in motion, but nothing is getting real traction.
And the weight of it all—the half-finished projects, the unmade decisions, the unread notifications—it just adds to the mental clutter.
Here’s the truth:
The difference between a six-figure business and a million-dollar one is often a matter of what gets left out.
Scaling is about doing less but better.
So if you’re feeling pulled in too many directions right now…
Here’s what I’d suggest:
Pull out a sticky note and write down your top 3 growth priorities for the next 90 days.
Not what sounds nice. Not what you “should” do.
But the 3 things that would actually move the needle toward the version of your business you want to be running.
And then?
Use that list like a filter.
Every project, every task, every idea that pops into your head—hold it up to the list.
If it doesn’t serve one of those 3?
It’s not for right now.
And trust me, I knooow how hard it is to just pick 3, to focus on less. It’s vulnerable – what if you pick the wrong 3 things?
But when you create constraint, you create momentum. When you chase everything, you stay stuck.
You’re getting in your own way
This is the hardest one to look at— it’s vulnerable. But it’s also the one that will unlock everything else.
Because the truth is, it’s not that you don’t know what to do. You’re smart. You’ve gotten this far. You know how to figure stuff out.
But when you really get honest…
You’re holding yourself back.
You say you want more—more growth, more impact, more ease—but there’s a part of you that flinches at what it might take to get there.
What if you go all in on the big goal and it doesn’t work?
What if you grow too fast and can’t handle it?
What if you raise your prices and no one buys, or speak up and someone disagrees, or finally take a real break and everything falls apart?
So you stay just shy of the edge.
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You keep showing up, but you don’t fully let yourself be seen.
You talk about your offer, but you don’t really sell it.
You tinker with the backend, double check the client docs, rewrite the homepage, keep “working on” the strategy—because it feels safer than doing the brave thing.
And that disconnect—that constant loop of almost but not quite, ready but not really—it starts to wear on you.
Because on some level, you know it’s not the algorithm, or the industry, or your audience holding you back.
It’s the voice in your head that says:
Not yet.
Not you.
Not good enough.
But here’s the thing.
Scaling your business isn’t just about more clients, or more systems, or more revenue.
It’s about who you become in the process.
Because the version of you who leads a million-dollar business?
She doesn’t hustle harder.
She leads differently.
She makes decisions without spiraling.
She invests in herself before she feels “ready.”
She stops hiding behind the work and actually steps into her role.
She rests. Delegates. Protects her peace like her business depends on it—because it does.
The truth is, your strategy will only take you as far as your mindset will let it.
So if you’re feeling stuck…
Maybe it’s not about what you’re doing.
Maybe it’s about what you’re avoiding.
And if that’s true, here’s a gentle place to start:
Ask yourself—if I were already running a million-dollar business, what would I do differently this week?
Then pick one thing.
Not all of it. Just one.
You’ll be amazed at how fast things shift when your mindset catches up to your ambition.
So… which one hit hardest?
If you’re being honest, it’s probably all three.
And you’re not alone.
This is the messy, uncomfortable middle of entrepreneurship—the part where you’ve created success, but haven’t yet built the infrastructure (or internal capacity) to sustain it at scale.
That’s the work I do with my clients.
We simplify the chaos, build the structure, and scale the business—without burning out the human behind it.
Because hustle got you here. But it won’t get you there.
I deeply believe the goal for all entrepreneurs is growth that shows up in your bank account, your nervous system, and your calendar. Because real success is profit you enjoy, peace you can feel, and time you actually get to spend.
Imagine finishing work by 3pm with zero guilt. Walking your dog. Eating dinner with your family without checking your phone. Taking a Friday off just because you want to. That’s the version of success we’re building here.
👉 Ready for more strategy, support, and real talk like this?
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Because I promise, you can have a growing business AND a life with space to breathe.
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