You probably don't know my story and with a business named 'Better Happy' might assume i'm one of those overly optimistic always positive people.

The reality is I started Better Happy after my first business made me miserable.

I started my first business - which was a group training gym - with nothing more than passion, excitement and a small amount of money in the bank.

When I say with nothing I mean - no business acumen, no business plan, not even a pricing structure.

My naive mindset was 'I'll just do a great job, change peoples lives and it will all come good'.

And maybe through luck or something else it did do pretty good.

​Within 5 years we were a:
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​-  A six figure business
- Over 100 members
- 4 full time members of staff and
- Our own facility
​- Little debt
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​Here's a snapshot of the old website FYI:

Now I was never going to sell that little business for a life changing sum of money but it did well and had some serious potential.

So what went wrong?...

I did.

The business doubled in revenue and profitability every year for 4 years.

You can't ask for much more than that.

BUT - from about year 3 (I had the business for 5 years) onwards I became more and more drained.

Up until year 3 I loved it.

I was working crazy hours for little to no money but I didn't care, I was making my vision a reality and creating my own destiny.

This is what I now clearly see as the Startup Phase (See map below).

When I could see the thing was working and was able to not only start taking on a team but also pay myself a half decent amount I was again motivated and happy

This is what I now clearly see as the Success Phase (See map below).

But around year 3 (it can be way longer depending on your motivations) the novelty of everything being reliant on me started to wear off.

I started to feel stuck by he business I had created for freedom, like it was a chain around my neck. I had reached the Slog Phase.

And the reason I got burnt out was because instead of recognising this and figuring out how to move forward, I spend too much time in my own head justifying to myself why I needed to stay here.

Stay in the Slog Phase for too long and at best you'll be fed up and demotivated, at worst you'll be depressed and burnt out.

​The simple solution is you need to move to the Systems Phase. 

You can't avoid getting to the Slog Phase.
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​It's just a part of the process and if you adapt to the stage it can be relatively painless.
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​But if you do what I did and you stay stuck in the Slog Phase you will get fed up and potentially burnt out.
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So why is it so common for business owners to get fed up and burnt  out? Why don't they just move to the systems phase.

From looking back at my own experience and analysing the business owners I work with I've identified four major barriers:

1) Systems bore us - we like ideas, drive and new things. That's why we're great at the early stages of business but can get in the way at the later stages

2) Fear of letting go - We tell ourselves that if we step back systemise things will go wrong and the business will fall apart. 

3) It's hard to do on your own - We're too close to our own stuff to be able to recognise the simplicity behind a lot of what we do. We try to systemise but it seems to complicated so just give up.

4) We're perfectionists - We do things to a very high standard and we don't believe that those standards could be upheld by other people or systems.

If you're stuck in the Slog Phase and you resonate with the four barriers I've just shared it's important that you reframe your fears.

If you stay in the Slog Phase for another few years it's almost guaranteed your business will close down or fail.

So the biggest risk you can take with your business is not moving into the Systems Phase. 
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​Every time one of those four barriers tries to prevent you from doing so just remind yourself that it's going to close down if you don't do it anyway so you've really got nothing to lose (p.s. all of those things you are worried about are inaccurate).
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​When you move into the Systems Phase some magical things happen.
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​You get your life back and have more time for your personal life as the business becomes less reliant on you.
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​Your team feel more empowered as they can grow the business without having to rely on you.
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​Your clients get a more consistent continually improving level of service.
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​The efficiency in your business means you can have wider impact and make more money by reaching more people.
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​And finally but most importantly, once your business is systemised it becomes a valuable sellable asset so you will have the option to retire or move onto another project.

If moving into the Systems Phase is important to you and your business but you know you're not going to do it on your own apply to join the Better Happy Business Club.

If accepted you'll join a community that support and hold each other accountable to making their businesses a systemised sellable asset.

You'll get coaching, systems, support and quarterly in person mastermind days with Better Happy Coaches and other like minded business owners.

You can find out more about and apply for the business club on our home page or via the button below.