Running a business often feels like juggling flaming torches while riding a unicycle. Everywhere you turn, something demands your attention — emails, marketing, client care, bookkeeping, content creation and a partridge in a pear tree. Add the lure of the next “shiny object” and it’s easy to feel buried under the weight of too much to do.
I know this firsthand. Early on, I tried to give every quadrant of my business equal attention — admin, marketing, fulfillment, development. The result? Exhaustion. I was working harder and harder without feeling like I was moving forward.
That’s the essence of overwhelm: it paralyzes us, steals our energy, and leaves us spinning.
So how do you turn that overwhelm into momentum? It starts with one simple question:
“What do I do next?”
The answer isn’t the same for everyone — it depends on your stage of business.
Stage 1: Building the Foundation
If you’re worried about where the next client is coming from, your top priority is visibility and credibility. At least 65% of your time should go to marketing and outreach. Choose up to three strategies that feel right for you and your ideal audience — maybe LinkedIn thought leadership, consistent blogging, and local networking — and do them consistently.
Stage 2: Adding Leverage
Once you’re serving clients and revenue is coming in, overwhelm often shifts to time. You’ve built a successful business, but at the cost of your life. Here, momentum comes from adding leverage: group programs, systems, Personalized Automation™, partnerships, products — anything that lets you serve more without doing more.
When I hit this stage, I realized I’d essentially built myself a more-than-full-time job. My shift came from creating leveraged offers and refining systems so I could step out of the weeds and back into strategy.
Stage 3: Optimizing for Profit
With steady revenue and happy clients, momentum comes from refinement. Cut unnecessary expenses, add passive income streams, and tighten systems so the business supports your lifestyle instead of the other way around.
The Power of Focus
The real trap isn’t the work itself — it’s trying to do everything simultaneously and equally. That’s how overwhelm creeps in. The truth? Momentum doesn’t come from frantic multitasking. It comes from focused, consistent action.
A favorite phrase of mine is:
“Ordinary things, done consistently, create extraordinary results.”
Instead of tackling 15 ideas at once, pick one. Finish it. Then layer on the next.
Your Next Step
If you’re staring at your list today, ask yourself: What one task will either free up the most energy or move me closest to my goals? Do that first. Even better? Delegate it if you can, even if you hire someone for one project rather than ongoing services.
Overwhelm thrives in clutter. Momentum thrives in clarity. And clarity begins with a single next step.