June 27, 2025
Story [#49]

The real reason you’re stuck isn’t what you think

Or minute of brutal honesty

I had a call with a founder recently.

Smart, talented, ambitious. Drowning.

She manages projects, leads designers, runs delivery, all herself.

From the outside, it looks like she’s crushing it.

But inside it’s a different story.

She told me her main problem was leads.

“I just need more clients.”

“But I don’t have time to go get them.”

She has a decent pipeline, steady demand, and a good reputation.

But no time to grow. No structure to scale. No clarity on her runway, costs, or breakeven.

I asked:

  • Can you forecast confidently?
  • Do you know your numbers month to month?
  • Are you sure your team will be paid on time three months from now?

Her answer, every time, was no.

And still, she swore that her only problem was marketing.

But what I saw was different. She wasn’t ready to grow. She wasn’t ready to let go.

We all know this type of founders. I mean you know the type, like they think they know everything. Like one word answers.

They think they know everythign about ops and growth.

And we all know that’s just comes from fear.

And we all know that they are never gonna be successfull. If they never open up about their problems.

Founders don’t fail from lack of clients, they fail from lack of structure

I told her something that most people won’t say out loud:

“You’re not stuck because you don’t have leads.

You’re stuck because you refuse to stop controlling everything.”

She wants growth. In theory.

But in practice she’s terrified of stepping back.

Afraid to delegate. Afraid to shift her attention from doing to building.

It’s not uncommon.

I’ve seen founders stay in operational hell for years.

Not because they enjoy it.

But because it’s familiar. Predictable. Safe.

They’d rather work themselves into burnout than face the uncertainty of building a real system.

But here’s the truth:

If you can’t structure what you already have, you’re not ready for more.

And if you don’t fix it soon, it’s not just growth you’ll miss.

It’s your business that will break.

Because in a downturn, the companies that fail aren’t the ones without leads.

They’re the ones without systems.

Disclaimer.

Every business has its nuances, and every founder has their unique context and resources. Whether or not my advice applies depends on your situation, experience, and needs. But one thing is universal—use your brain.

Think about how to apply the advice in your context before acting.

Your way.

How I escaped the daily grind

Here are the 3 tools I rely on to make sure I never get pulled back into operational chaos:

1. Notion: Our Operating Brain

Before: Random docs. No clarity. Same questions every week.

Now:

  • SOPs live here
  • Roles and rules are documented
  • Everyone has access to the “how”

No more bottlenecking on me. The system runs itself.

2. Google Drive: Our Docs & Templates HQ

Before: Each estimate rebuilt from scratch. Contracts lost in inboxes.

Now:

  • Standard templates
  • Shared folders
  • Linked from Notion

Everyone knows what to use. And where to find it.

3. Make: The Invisible Assistant

I used to manually send onboarding docs, assign tasks, notify clients.

Now:

  • Clients get auto-onboarded
  • Projects get tagged and tracked
  • Dashboards update in real-time

It’s not magic.

It’s just process + automation.

I keep saying it, add

ing complexity without reason just breeds chaos.

Even something basic like a smart folder structure in Google Drive and sticking to naming conventions can save your team hours of wasted time.

Operational efficiency really isn’t that hard.

If this resonates, reply to this, I’ll show you how to bring order fast.

And one more thing.

A quick video I made on the topic. Might be useful.

Every founder has their own way of getting through hard days.

Mine is Nyx Thorne — a fictional hero I created to remind myself that clarity, courage, and rebellion are always possible.

Her journal reminds me (and maybe you) that it’s okay to struggle — and still move forward.
That’s all for today. See you next week.
- Eugene

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Autjor avatar

Hi, I’m Eugene.

Strategist, operator, and product builder helping founders escape operational chaos and build businesses that work without them.

Over the past 20+ years, I’ve grown an international agency from one-person freelance to a multimillion-dollar business. I’ve led teams, scaled systems, burned out, rebuilt, and learned (the hard way) what it really takes to run a business that doesn’t consume your life.
Today, I work with small business owners and independent founders who’ve outgrown hustle advice and need practical structure.

I help them make sense of complexity, design simple systems, and create the kind of business they actually want to run.
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