9 Questions to Get Your Business Out of a Growth Rut

Eva Gutierrez đź’ˇ
3 min readJul 25, 2024

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As entrepreneurs, we often find ourselves caught in a cycle of repetition, living the same six months over and over again.

We set goals, make plans, but somehow end up in the same place we started. Sound familiar?

Alex Hormozi, a successful entrepreneur and investor, captured this phenomenon perfectly in a recent tweet:

“You either grow into your potential or you keep living the same six months over and over again. The difference is how many hard conversations you’re willing to have and how fast you have them once you realize you need to.”

This powerful insight begs the question: How do we break this cycle and truly grow into our potential?

The answer lies in asking ourselves better questions and having those hard conversations Hormozi mentions.

Let’s dive into 9 crucial questions that can help you accelerate your growth and avoid the six-month loop.

1. What Should You Focus On?

One of the biggest challenges for entrepreneurs is deciding where to direct their energy. With countless opportunities and tasks vying for your attention, it’s easy to spread yourself too thin or focus on the wrong things.

To break this cycle, ask yourself:

  • What activities directly contribute to my business growth?
  • Which tasks, if completed, would make everything else easier or unnecessary?
  • Am I avoiding any important but uncomfortable tasks?

By ruthlessly prioritizing and focusing on high-impact activities, you can make significant strides in your business growth.

2. How Do You Keep the Momentum?

Starting strong is one thing, but maintaining momentum is where many entrepreneurs falter. The initial excitement wears off, obstacles arise, and suddenly you find yourself back where you started.

To maintain momentum, consider these questions:

  • What systems can I put in place to ensure consistent progress?
  • How can I celebrate small wins to stay motivated?
  • Who can I be accountable to for my goals and actions?

Remember, momentum is built through consistent action, not sporadic bursts of effort.

3. What Makes You Move Even Faster?

In today’s fast-paced business world, speed can be a significant competitive advantage. But how do you increase your pace without burning out?

Ask yourself:

  • What’s holding me back from making decisions more quickly?
  • How can I streamline my processes to eliminate unnecessary steps?
  • Am I leveraging technology and delegating effectively to speed up my work?

By identifying and addressing the factors that slow you down, you can significantly accelerate your progress.

The Power of Hard Conversations

Returning to Hormozi’s insight, the key to breaking the six-month loop lies in having hard conversations — with yourself, your team, your clients, or even your loved ones.

These conversations might involve:

  • Admitting where you’re falling short
  • Addressing conflicts or issues you’ve been avoiding
  • Making tough decisions about your business direction
  • Setting boundaries to protect your time and energy

The faster you have these conversations, the quicker you can course-correct and accelerate your growth.

Want to outsource what conversations you should have with yourself so you can grow your business while keeping it aligned with your values and ideal lifestyle?

I create a free 3-Day Think Retreat for you.

Each day you get one thought exercise you’ll use alongside Claude to think better about your business.

These thought exercises come from:

  • Reading 7 hours of psychology research looking at how business owners can use intuition and reasoning in their decision-making
  • Going through 98 mental models to find the best applicable in most situations
  • Watching hundreds of hours of entrepreneurial interviews to find the idea of the invisible games we play

→ It’s free.

→ It outsources the hard part of figuring out what to reflect on.

→ And each thought exercise is specifically written to make Claude your business strategist.

Start your free 3-day Think Retreat here.

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Eva Gutierrez đź’ˇ

Weekly thought exercises inspired by mental models, psychology principles, and questions from successful entrepreneurs. ➡️ ThinkWithAI.com