Let’s not dwell on the museum of mistakes, the hiring mistakes and cost it took me to see through the myths that keep business owners trapped. If you are reading this between your key client dropping you, thinking when I get our next big client things will get easier, these myths are probably running on autopilot in the background tripping you up.
Let's bust them, one by one.
Myth #1: "When I Hit [Insert Revenue Goal], Things Will Get Easier"
Have you been thinking or fantasising along these lines?
"When we hit £1M revenue..."
"Once we land that next big client..."
"After this big project launches..."
...then everything will be fine.
I believed this for years. Win some sales, switch to delivery. Projects ending, scramble back to sales. Riding the seesaw from feast to famine until you're mainlining Pepto Bismol.
The reality check is that if landing the next client was going to solve your problems, it would have been done by now.
Instead? You're scrambling to deliver, stress increases, sales stops, and the cycle repeats. Every new milestone just reveals new problems. £500k problems become £1M problems. They don't disappear; they evolve.
Here’s what’s going to catch you out: revenue milestones don't fix foundational problems. They amplify them.
Unless you fix the core issues which are systemised marketing that generates leads consistently, a sales process that converts predictably, delivery that doesn't require you, then you're just perpetuating the cycle at a bigger scale.
Myth #2: "I Just Need to Hire a Sales Manager"
Hire someone to handle sales. Focus on the business. Watch revenue soar while you work ON the business, not IN it. That my dear friend is a fantasy and a fallacy.
But it’s logical, right? Being trapped in founder led sales is a painful thorn in your paw.
There is no silver unicorn coming to save you, in fact I want you to read about my £60k hiring mistake and why I wish I’d never hired a BDM. Yeah, six months, zero results and not a single deal closed.
Why was this such a catastrophic mistake? Because there was nothing to MANAGE.
No pipeline with a systemised way to fill it
No sales playbook showing exactly how to convert leads
No documented process with proven results
Everything was in my head!
To make it worse, I stopped doing sales entirely when she started. Pipeline evaporated. By the time I let her go, I was in a hole so deep I could see Australia.
The Hidden Cost:
£60k salary? That was just the start.
Lost momentum: £50k
Pipeline rebuild: £40k
Opportunity cost: £50k
Confidence destroyed: Priceless
Total damage: Closer to £200k.
To make it actually work, build the machine before you hire someone to manage it. (MANAGE is the operative word here.)
Before you even think about hiring:
Document what actually works in your sales process
Map out what converts
List every objection and the response that works
Create the follow-up sequence that closes deals
If you can't hand someone a playbook and say "follow this," you're not ready to hire.
Myth #3: "Fewer High-Paying Clients = More Freedom"
Here’s the advice I’ve seen spewed around in various forms:
"One £10k client is better than ten £1k clients."
When you're exhausted from juggling dozens of small accounts, this sounds like salvation. Just work with a few premium clients. Simplify everything. Freedom at last.
The trap is that this thinking is still tying you to the business. And a few key relationships opens you up to more risk via their payment schedules, their business health.
One big client having a bad quarter? Your quarter is ruined.
One decision-maker leaves? Your pipeline evaporates.
One project goes wrong? Your reputation is toast.
I learned this reality the hard way when I lost two six-figure clients within a month of each other!
The business nearly died. Not because we weren't good at what we did, but because we'd built our house on sand.
There's a reason BMW owns Rolls Royce and VW owns Lamborghini. The premium brands are prestigious. The volume brands are profitable.
Higher volume businesses are:
More systematised (they have to be efficient)
More resilient (lose one client, barely notice)
More profitable (and better cash flow)
Less dependent on you (systems run it)
The Sweet Spot:
It's not about more clients OR fewer clients. It's about the RIGHT mix:
No client over 30% of revenue
Recurring revenue from multiple sources
Systems that deliver without you
Team that can handle variety
The Pattern Behind All Three Myths
Notice something? All three myths promise the same thing: that something external will free you from the business.
But they all fail for the same reason: they assume the problem is outside of you when actually, the problem is the model itself.
The business works only when you do. And no milestone, hire, or strategy changes that unless you change the fundamental structure.
Time to face the truth. Answer honestly:
Myth 1 Check:
How many times in the last 3 months did you drop everything to chase new business?
How many times did winning a client actually make life harder, not easier?
Do you see the pattern yet?
Myth 2 Check:
What percentage of your processes are documented?
Could someone run your sales process without you?
Have you proven what works before trying to scale it?
Myth 3 Check:
What percentage of revenue comes from your biggest client?
If you lost your top 2 clients tomorrow, would you survive?
Are you building systems or relationships?
If you're worried about the quality of your revenue, how to build systems so you can free yourself as the bottleneck, I'm here to help if you need to talk it over.
In the mean time, there's a simple system I teach clients to work ON the business which doesn't add to overwhelm. It's called the 7 Pillars of Business Mastery and you can get it here.
