Introduction:

You're doing everything right. You show up. You work hard. You follow the advice. But something still isn't clicking.
Here's the truth: it might not be about effort at all.
On this episode of The Strategic Thinkers Podcast, I sit down with strategist Erica Bourne to talk about a problem most business owners never see coming. They aren't failing because they lack drive. They are failing because they are solving the wrong problem.
Erica Bourne is the founder of Erica Bourne Consulting and creator of the Born Ops Method, a framework built to help small and mid-size businesses fix what's really broken. She spends her days listening between the lines, spotting the gaps her clients can't see, and turning confusion into a clear plan.
In this article, you'll learn how to catch the real problem before it costs you time and money. You'll see how one small shift in who I chose to work with changed my whole business. And you'll walk away with one simple question you can ask before your next big decision.

Real Story

When I first left my corporate job, I had one mission. I wanted to help small businesses. I had spent years inside big companies, watching them plan how to outcompete, or even buy out, the little guy. I always felt for the small business owner in that fight. So when I went out on my own, I decided I would be the strategist small businesses never had.
I said yes to almost everyone. People would tell me, "I wish someone could help me the way big companies get help." I stepped in to be that person.
But something kept going wrong. I would give advice. Clients would nod. Then they would say, "Let me get back to you." Weeks would pass. Nothing would change. I kept spending time and energy on people who weren't ready to act.
Year three came and went. Year five came and went. A mentor named Michelle Mitchell warned me early on. She told me, "That's so cute, you keep doing that." She knew I had to learn the lesson myself.
By year five, I finally understood. Helping early-stage business owners felt good, but it wasn't keeping my own business alive. So I made one change. I decided to work only with people who were ready to act, not just people who wanted validation.
I still create free content for people who are still figuring things out. But my paid work now goes to business owners who are ready to move.
The result surprised me. My business became steady. My energy went further. And I still get to help early-stage dreamers, just in a different way, on my own terms.
One shift. One decision about who to work with. That one change is what let me build a business that could actually last.

The Truth (why it matters)

Here is the truth most business owners miss: passion is not the same as readiness.
You can love your idea. You can believe in it with your whole heart. But if you're not ready to act on good advice, that advice won't save you.
Erica and I see this pattern again and again.
Early-stage business owners are usually looking for validation. They want someone to tell them their idea is good. Seasoned business owners are looking for strategy. They already know their idea works. Now they need help protecting it.
This shows up in how people react to problems, too. Early-stage owners tend to be reactionary. Something breaks, and then they scramble to fix it. Seasoned owners learn to be preventative. They plan ahead so the break never happens in the first place.
Erica compares it to walking a tightrope. When you're two feet off the ground, a wobble doesn't scare you. But the higher you climb, the more a mistake costs. That's why seasoned business owners take fewer risks. They have more to lose.
There's another pattern hiding underneath all of this: most people don't listen close enough. Erica says the real answers come from what people don't say, not just what they do say. A business owner might say their marketing isn't working. But the real problem might be that they're marketing to the wrong crowd altogether, in a place their real customers never visit.
This is why Erica and I both stress one simple habit: watch for repeats. If something goes wrong once, that could be bad luck. If it happens two or three times, that's a pattern. And a pattern always has a cause you can find and fix.
Skipping this step is expensive. Erica has watched business owners spend five and six figures on tools and consultants that never fit their real problem. Not because the tool was bad, but because nobody stopped to ask what the actual problem was first.
The cost of guessing is always higher than the cost of asking one more question. Business owners who slow down long enough to name the real problem save money, time, and a lot of frustration. Those who rush past it end up paying for the same mistake more than once.

What To Do (One Clear Action)

Before your next fix, ask one question: what problem am I actually solving?
This one habit can save you thousands of dollars and months of wasted effort.
Here's how to use it.
First, write down what you think the problem is. Be specific. Not "my business is slow," but "I got three new leads this month and closed none of them."
Second, ask why three times. Why did I close none of them? Maybe the leads weren't a good fit. Why weren't they a good fit? Maybe my marketing is reaching the wrong crowd. Why is it reaching the wrong crowd? Maybe I'm using a platform my real customers don't use.
By the third why, you usually land much closer to the real problem than where you started.
Third, check if this is the first time or a repeat. If it's the first time, take note and move on. If it's happened two or three times, stop. That's a pattern, and patterns need a real plan, not a quick fix.
This works because it slows down the rush to act. Most people jump straight from problem to solution. They skip the step where they actually understand what's broken. That's how good money ends up spent on the wrong fix.
Next time something isn't working, don't reach for the nearest fix. Reach for this question first. It costs you five minutes. Skipping it can cost you far more.

Conclusion

Most business owners aren't failing because they lack effort. They're failing because they're solving problems that were never the real problem to begin with.
I learned this the hard way. It took years of working with people who weren't ready before I made one change: choosing readiness over passion. That single shift is what let my business grow into something steady.
Erica sees the same pattern with the business owners she works with every day. The ones who slow down enough to ask the right question, and listen closely enough to catch the pattern, are the ones who build something that lasts.
You don't need ten new strategies. You need one clear question, asked at the right moment, before you spend the next dollar or make the next big move.
The businesses that grow steady aren't the ones that guess the fastest. They're the ones that ask the best questions before they act.

Call-to-Action

Ready to make better decisions without costly mistakes?

Download Geoffrey Kent’s guide on scaling business growth:
👉 www.thinkbigwithgeoffreykent.com

It shows you what to focus on first, so you don’t waste time or money guessing.

About the Guest

Erica Bourne is a business strategist and the founder of Erica Bourne Consulting. She created the Born Ops Method, a framework built around organization, process, and strategy that helps small and mid-size businesses get ready for growth, transition, or exit. Erica works closely with founders and leadership teams to turn blind spots into clear, actionable plans.
Connect: ericabourne.com | LinkedIn: Erica Bourne Consulting | Substack: Erica Bourne

What's Your Next Move

What's one problem in your business you might be solving the wrong way?
This is part of a series on real business blind spots. Drop your questions in the comments — I'll address them in upcoming episodes.
Subscribe to The Strategic Thinkers Podcast to catch the rest of the series.Ready to identify the blind spots blocking your opportunities?Take my free Blind Spots Audit and discover where to focus next.