Stop Surviving and Start Thriving:
5 Steps to Break Free From Misaligned Business Strategies
In This Issue:
- Identify the Survival Trap: Understand how reacting to crises can pull you away from your ultimate business vision.
- Spot & Correct Misaligned Actions: Learn how to evaluate crisis responses and redirect your efforts toward profitable growth and long-term goals.
- Stay Focused on Your Vision: Discover tools to prune unnecessary distractions and say “no” to opportunities that don’t align with your business mission.
Escaping the Survival Trap: Stay True to Your Vision
As an entrepreneur, it’s natural to do whatever it takes to keep your business going when crisis hits—be it a sudden cash shortage, the loss of a key employee, or a major client walking away. I’ve found that crisis can sometimes even be more subtle or persistent (i.e. struggling to bring in enough business to cover your business and personal expenses). While quick fixes or drastic action often feel necessary in the moment, they can sometimes carry you further from your ultimate vision rather than closer to it. This phenomenon is known as the “Survival Trap”.
What is the Survival Trap?
The Survival Trap occurs when you repeatedly respond to urgent problems by taking actions that solve your immediate issues but misalign you with your longer-term strategic goals. These crisis-induced tactics might secure temporary relief, but they can gradually push your business off-course. Instead of moving toward your envisioned brand identity and market position, you get stuck juggling short-term “fixes” that fail to build sustainable momentum. This cycle of crisis and desperate action often results in a persistent feeling of anxiety and self-doubt.
An Example in Practice
Imagine the owner of a landscaping company aiming to become a high-end, cutting-edge provider in the community. Faced with an unexpected cash crunch caused by the loss of a major recurring customer, the owner scrambles to fill the gap and keep the business going through deep discounting. While these strategies bring in cash and keep employees busy, they also dilute the brand’s high-value image and steer the business away from its ultimate goal, not to mention threatening the business’s financial health and profitability. This entrepreneur is surviving, but not thriving—and certainly not moving closer to the desired vision.
Breaking Free from the Survival Trap
If you are feeling trapped in this cycle and have no idea how to get out, I want to first let you know that you are not alone. Everyone goes through this process of struggle and growth as they take on the challenge of entrepreneurship. I find myself in the survival trap far more often than I would like. The great news is that there is a way to overcome it! To escape the Survival Trap, you’ll first need a clear picture of your ultimate vision. Without a strong understanding of where you want to end up, it will be difficult to take any kind of decisive or effective action to get there. You’ll also need a structured way to assess how your decisions affect your long-term direction. Now let’s take you through the process of realigning your actions. I’ve also included a free fillable worksheet in this email to help you as you work through overcoming your personal survival trap.
1. Define Your Ultimate Vision:
Start with your “why”. Why does your business exist? Just saying, “We exist to make money” is not enough of a “why” to inspire others. People want to feel a sense of significance, a sense of a greater purpose, and will buy from and associate with companies that make them feel that.
You should include answers to other questions that describe your ideal vision such as: What do you want your brand to stand for? What type of clients do you want to serve? What do you want to be known for in your market? What does your ideal company culture look like? What is your ideal financial position? Your own role in the company. What are you doing day to day? What lifestyle are you living as a result? Describe your ideal workday.
Don’t rush this process. Having a solid vision is just as important as setting a sure foundation for a building. Take the time to really get to what you want most in your life and write it down.
2. Identify the Crisis and Your Typical Responses:
Now that we are defining our vision, let’s talk about how we can adjust our crisis response behavior. Consider a common crisis you face—say, for example, you run a seasonal lawn care business and we’re getting into the winter months. Sales and cash are starting to dry up as they usually do this time of year. List the actions you usually take to relieve the pressure. Are these actions consistently moving you toward or away from your defined vision?
3. Map Out Your Actions:
Using a tool like the Survival Trap diagram attached to this email, place your ultimate vision on one side and your immediate crisis on the other. Plot your usual responses around the crisis and note their direction. The goal is to visualize which moves push you closer to your vision and which pushes you further away.
Continuing with our example of the lawn care business, let’s say your usual response during winter months is to take out a loan to shore up your cash reserves and get you through to the spring. If part of your vision is to build a business that achieves 15% profit each year and is debt free, you would likely put the response “taking out a bridge loan” on the left side of the diagram (further away from your ultimate vision). You are in effect doing something that would sabotage your ability to improve your profitability and be debt free, since you are signing up for months or even years of costly debt payments and interest.
4. Select Better Solutions:
Next time a crisis arises, remember your vision. Ask yourself: Can you solve this problem in a way that supports your long-term goal? In the example of a manufacturer, instead of discounting high-end products at a bargain outlet, could you strategically partner with a boutique that respects your brand’s integrity, or adjust your product mix to prevent overproduction?
5. Say “No” to Misaligned Opportunities:
Entrepreneurs are often bombarded by new ideas. Not every idea is a good one; some are mere “shiny objects” that distract from your Sweet Spot—the intersection of your best clients, your unique offering, and the most profitable, systematized parts of your business. “Shiny objects” can come in the form of clients, products, investments, subscriptions, or anything else that can distract or even prevent you from achieving your vision. By rigorously filtering opportunities against your vision and mission, you learn to say no more often than yes.
Pruning Away What Doesn’t Serve You
This process isn’t just about responding to crises differently—it’s also about pruning away clients, products, or services that don’t fit your Sweet Spot. By eliminating those low-value, off-vision elements, you free up resources to focus on the most profitable, high-potential areas that align with your goals. We understand this seems counterintuitive and can be a daunting and scary thing to do. Can firing your troublesome clients or eliminating some offerings really help my business? The answer is YES! Over time, pruning ensures you nurture only the parts of your business that will help you flourish. We have seen it in dozens of clients that we’ve helped in the past, and they all can attest that pruning was one of the most influential decisions they’ve made.
Reclaiming Your Direction
Escaping the Survival Trap isn’t about ignoring the real challenges your business faces. It’s about addressing them in ways that move you closer to your ultimate destination rather than sidetracking you. By consistently choosing solutions that fit your vision, you transform crises from distractions into catalysts for meaningful progress.
In short, it’s time to break free. Stop merely surviving and start intentionally steering your business toward its envisioned future, one decision at a time.
We’d love your feedback as you do this analysis for your business! What insights did you gain? What would you like help with in the future? We’re here to help you, so don’t hesitate to reach out!
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Adam Litster
Certified Profit First Professional and Pumpkin Plan Strategist
(816) 500-5779
