When You're Going Thru Hell...
Just last week, I found myself staring at my laptop at midnight, wrestling with a mountain of marketing tasks and wondering which, if any of them, would move the needle for…
Six days into our challenge to scale to $1 million in monthly profit, I’m reminded of something: progress doesn’t come from waiting for inspiration (the “perfect” idea) or chasing shortcuts. It comes from showing up, every single day, and working on the problems that are unique to your product/service and your market.
In this article, I’m sharing “how the sausage is made”, behind the scenes – i.e. what it takes to grow fast, stay focused, and keep your sanity when the pressure’s on (no fluff, no "overnight success" hype).
Here’s what you’re getting in today’s article / video:
- An actionable example of how daily habits create compounding results
- The power of ambitious goals matter (how they pull you forward, into action, and challenge you)
- How ____ _____ about your clients’ (or customers’) _____ is one of the easiest growth hacks (i.e. sometimes the problem is “the answer”)
Plus, I’ll share what’s working (and what’s not) as we scale Growbo, blending human creativity with the latest tech.
Ready to see how relentless consistency can transform your business—and maybe your mindset too? Let’s dive in…
Want to get all your marketing and funnel work done—without the headaches of hiring a team? Download our free guide: 33 Marketing Projects You Can Delegate to Growbo and discover how to save 100+ hours a month, grow faster, and scale without the overhead.
Why Daily Content Beats Waiting for Perfect
By Day 6, I'm really starting to feel the "muscle" of writing content daily developing. While I've created a lot of content before, this time I'm committed to absolute consistency.
These videos—and now this article—are the cornerstone of our strategy. They become the basis for blog articles, newsletters, and social media posts across platforms like YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
What I'm learning is that the daily act of creating isn't just about volume—it's about quality, too. It's easy to fall into "silver bullet syndrome," hoping AI or someone else can do the work, or get stuck in perfectionism and never launch.
But the real magic happens when you show up, do the work, and improve a little each day.
The algorithms on social media are actually on our side if we produce something genuinely interesting and helpful. They want engagement, and if we deliver, they'll help us reach more people.
The image below illustrates the difference between relying solely on talent versus leveraging the power of consistency. While talent alone produces limited results over time, consistency creates steady, compounding growth.
This reinforces the idea that showing up daily—even with small actions—yields far greater long-term results than waiting for the "perfect" moment or relying only on natural ability.
From $100K to $1M: The Power of Written Goals
Our goal is ambitious: $1 million in profit per month. As a tech-enabled service, that means we need to hit about $5 million in monthly revenue, assuming 20% net profit margins. That requires serving hundreds of client accounts simultaneously.
The following illustration highlights the power of clear, written goals in driving success.
While 86% of people operate without defined goals, those who set them are 10 times more successful. The 3% who write down their goals are three times more successful than those with unwritten ones.
This reinforces the importance of not only setting ambitious targets—like our $1M profit goal—but also committing them to writing and building structured plans to achieve them.
We've hit big milestones before. In 2021, we reached $1.2 million in gross revenue, growing 936% from July 2020 to March 2021.
We broke $100,000 in monthly recurring revenue, completely bootstrapped. But now, the challenge is to take things to the next level, serve more clients, and have a bigger impact—accelerating creativity and the entrepreneurial spirit.
The Reality Behind 10-Hour Work Days
I'm not just here to talk about lofty ideals. I want to get into the nitty-gritty so you can learn—and maybe be entertained by whether we fly or fail. By Day 6, the daily discipline is starting to pay off.
My personal task system is more structured than ever, and I'm not stopping work each day until every goal is completed with integrity. The result: extreme productivity and a growing sense of accomplishment.
The work itself is becoming rewarding, which is crucial for sustainability. I've been working long hours—10 to 12 hours a day—and I'm hoping to build in some downtime soon.
Sometimes I even prep two video scripts a day to build up a "bank account" of content, so missing a day won't derail our momentum.
How Daily Routine Unlocks Creative Ideas
One unexpected benefit of this routine: creative ideas are coming more frequently, sometimes right before sleep. Recently, I came up with an idea for a viral commercial—a sarcastic, Dollar Shave Club-style video that contrasts human talent with AI hype.
We're an all-in-one team of human professionals at a fraction of the cost of hiring a full-time employee, and I think this commercial could really resonate. It will take some time to produce, but it’s worth it.
When Your Payment Processor Betrays You
Of course, it's not all smooth sailing. Our payment processor (Stripe) has held up our payments, which is stressful and affects our cash flow. We're taking action to resolve it, and I'll share more details once it's fixed. For now, it's just a blip—something to push through.
On the sales front, we're seeing an uptick in signups, especially after announcing a price increase and the end of our $7-for-7-day trial. Some clients are locking in the current price before it goes up. One recent signup came from someone who’s been on our email list for three years—a great reminder that consistent outreach pays off.
The image below underscores the importance of persistence and speed in sales follow-ups. Research shows that 80% of deals require 5–12 touchpoints, yet 44% of salespeople give up after just one attempt. Strikingly, reaching out within five minutes can increase lead conversion rates by as much as 100x.
This highlights that consistent, timely action is just as crucial as generating new leads—reinforcing why we must refine our processes and keep the momentum strong.
However, the new bottleneck is getting content out the door. Producing quality content is one thing, but coordinating the team to edit, repurpose, publish, and promote it consistently is another challenge. We’re refining our system, allocating more talent, and documenting processes to ensure the flywheel keeps spinning.
Marketing Only Starts When You Hit Publish
Marketing only truly starts when you get in front of someone. Whether it's an email, blog post, social media update, or ad campaign, nothing happens until you hit "send" or "publish."
Our focus is on increasing impressions at the top of the funnel, because so many people still don’t know we exist—even though we offer tremendous value: an all-in-one, tech-enabled marketing fulfillment team with 13 skill sets, unlimited task delegation, and a two-week satisfaction guarantee.
Our ads have stagnated a bit. We previously had Facebook ads working well, but after tweaking our offer and pausing the original campaign, results have slowed.
Now, we're testing new ad copy and iterating to find what works. Meanwhile, leads are still coming in, and we've had recent conversions—including larger package signups.
I also dove into our email funnel and found embarrassing typos and awkward wording. Those are being fixed, and I expect a positive impact on our conversion rate. Details matter, especially when prospective clients are evaluating your professionalism.
Best Growth Hack: Actually Care About Clients
One recent story: a client needed a graphic design change late at night for an upcoming conference. I literally called team members at midnight to get it done.
The client appreciated it, and I believe this kind of genuine care for our clients’ success is one of the best levers for growth. Over time, clients recognize and value when you go above and beyond.
The illustration below shows the measurable impact of customer referrals on business growth. According to Nielsen and McKinsey, 92% of consumers trust referrals from people they know, and 50% of all purchase decisions are influenced by them.
This supports the idea that going the extra mile for clients doesn’t just strengthen relationships—it directly fuels word-of-mouth marketing and drives new business opportunities.
Why Too Much Opportunity Kills Growth
On the operations side, things are running smoothly, but I’m debating whether to pause work on our new AI tool.
Packard’s Law says you’re more likely to die of indigestion from too much opportunity than starvation from too little. I’m emotionally and rationally invested in the AI tool, but I know focus is critical.
AI is the future of business and creativity, but human talent isn’t going away—it’s just evolving.
The following image from McKinsey highlights how generative AI is already driving measurable revenue growth across business functions. In the first half of 2024, only 35–53% of respondents reported revenue increases within their units from AI use.
By the second half of the year, that number surged to 51–70%, with the biggest gains in strategy, supply chain, and marketing. This trend underscores both the opportunity and the risk: AI adoption is accelerating quickly, but spreading resources too thin could dilute impact—making focus and prioritization more important than ever.
Conclusion
I feel fulfilled by the work we’re doing, even as I push myself to new limits. I’ll keep sharing updates as we move forward. How are you liking these check-ins? Are they helpful? What would you like to see more of? Let me know—leave a comment, like, or share if you found this valuable.
As always, keep growing and stay focused. I’ll talk to you soon.
Keep Growin', Stay Focused,
Image Credits:
1. https://actioncoachbluegrass.com/the-power-of-consistency-unlocking-success-through-simple-daily-habits/
2. https://dreammakerr.com/goal-setting-statistics/
3. https://thunderbit.com/blog/sales-follow-up-statistics
4. https://hiverhq.com/blog/customer-service-growth-strategy-for-small-businesses
5. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-state-of-ai
