Failure following success
Many business owners feel stuck scaling their business, but not in the way you’d expect. Their revenue looks solid. Customers are happy. Things seem to be working. But something feels off. Growth doesn’t feel sustainable. They’re tired. Their team is overwhelmed. And what’s under the hood doesn’t match the surface-level success.
This conversation with Dr. Mike Smith from Action Coach hit on something that isn’t talked about enough—the silent breakdown that can follow your best year in business.
Dr. Mike Smith—an executive coach with deep experience in both Fortune 500 transformations and small business growth—has seen a surprising pattern repeat itself: most fast-growing companies don’t fail during their early struggles. They fail after their most successful year, when cracks in capital, process, and structure finally show themselves under pressure.
When Growth Becomes a Liability
A record year can actually destabilize a business. The cash might be flowing, but the structure supporting that success hasn’t caught up. And that’s where things start to unravel.
As Mike puts it:
“The majority of businesses that go bankrupt actually go bankrupt after their best year.”
It sounds counterintuitive, but when you break it down, it makes sense. A big revenue year hides cracks. It encourages overspending. It creates expectations your systems can’t support. And when the market shifts—or when demand slows—you’re left scrambling.
I asked Mike what this moment looks like from the inside, and his answer was straightforward: The business has grown beyond its systems. Owners hit a wall. They’re stuck between hustle and burnout, with no clear way forward.
The Real Indicators You’re at a Breaking Point
Mike sees these scenarios all the time: business owners with a solid product, loyal customers, and a growing operation—but no real strategy for scaling.
So I asked him: How do you know you’re at that moment? How do you spot it before you’re in trouble?
Here’s what he said:
- You want to grow but don’t know how
- You’re not hitting the numbers you used to
- You’re starting to think about stepping back—but the business isn’t ready
It’s the classic “I built this thing, but now I’m trapped inside it” feeling.
And here’s the kicker: most of the time, business owners don’t realize how much of the problem is structural. They keep trying to outwork the problem instead of rethinking the system.
From Startups to Fortune 500: A Practical Approach to Growth
Mike isn’t coming at this from a theoretical perspective. His background is both entrepreneurial and operational. He grew up in rural Indiana, paid his way through college by making custom woodworking pieces, and ended up working with Fortune 500 companies on process, metrics, and acquisition strategy.
He told a story that stuck with me—how he took a shredding division from zero to $23 million in less than four years. Not because he threw money at marketing, but because he built a scalable structure, integrated with the right partners, and made sure the processes could handle the load.
“You can’t just go overspend during your best year,” he said. “You have to plan for the years that follow.”
That lesson is what’s missing in a lot of businesses that are in growth mode. They’re optimizing for the next sale—not for long-term viability.
The System Mike Uses to Get Teams Unstuck
What Mike offers isn’t magic. It’s methodical. That’s what I liked about it. The approach is practical, measurable, and rooted in systems—something most founders don’t slow down to build.
He walks clients through what he calls a “diag” session—a full diagnostic of the business, its revenue, costs, processes, and even the owner’s personal goals. He looks for alignment. Because if the owner’s personal goals and the business structure are at odds, growth will always be painful.
“Your business goals have to align with your personal goals, or you’re just fooling yourself,” he said.
He digs into the metrics: lead sources, average sale, conversion rates. Not to report them, but to understand them. He wants to know where the business really is—not where the owner hopes it is.
From there, he lays out a phased strategy based on what he calls “test and measure.” This isn’t about pushing 40% growth blindly. It’s about making small, continuous improvements—1% or 2% at a time—that add up to major progress over time.
Not Every Business Is Scalable—Yet
One of the points that came up in our conversation is that many business owners don’t actually have a business—they have a job. And it’s one they can’t walk away from.
Mike described this as the “Golden Age of Business” problem. We’ve got thousands of baby boomers running successful businesses—but they can’t sell them. Why? Because without them, the business isn’t a business. It’s just a person with a truck, a client list, and no real structure for transition.
“If I’m Mike Smith Construction and it’s just me and two guys in a truck—what am I selling?” he asked.
The goal is to turn that job into a business. A business that someone else can run. A business that creates profit without your daily presence.
That doesn’t mean you have to sell. But it does mean you build systems so that if you want to sell—or step back—you can.
Planned and Organized Growth > Fast and Fragile Growth
Mike kept coming back to this idea: growth is only valuable when it’s structured.
That means planning your hiring, your capital investments, your systems—all with the same rigor you’d apply to any financial strategy. He talked about industries like roofing, where companies overexpand after a strong hail season, only to find themselves bankrupt when the storm pattern shifts.
That’s what happens when you treat growth as an emotional high instead of a strategic plan.
“When you have planned and organized growth, you usually have profitable growth,” Mike said.
And he’s right. There’s a difference between doing more work and building more value.
One Question Every Business Owner Should Ask Themselves
At one point, I asked Mike: What’s one thing an owner can do right now to see if they’re in trouble—or to improve their profitability immediately?
His answer?
“Do you know your numbers?”
It sounds simple. But most business owners don’t really know their numbers—not at the level they need to. They don’t know their average transaction size. Or how many leads they generate. Or where those leads are coming from.
Mike’s advice is to evaluate your current state—honestly. Not just with instinct, but with data. Then compare that state to your goals, your competitors, and your market potential. That’s where clarity starts.
Where to Start and Learn
Mike didn’t come on the show to pitch coaching services. He genuinely believes in helping business owners figure out what’s next. You can find several of his free seminars on Eventbrite, like the Six Steps to a Better Business Workshop, and a free 1-on-1 coaching session on his website. Each offering is designed to give business owners a clearer path forward—whether you’re stuck, scaling, or planning to exit.
He encourages bringing your team—especially anyone handling back-office operations. Because what often holds the business back isn’t the work being done—it’s how the work is structured.
Building a Business That Doesn’t Break You
Here’s what I took away from this conversation:
- Success without structure is risky.
- Growth without clarity is expensive.
- A business that can’t run without you isn’t a business—it’s a bottleneck.
What Mike offers isn’t a shortcut. It’s not a “10X overnight” strategy. It’s a system for stepping out of reactive chaos and into a leadership role where your decisions create freedom, not friction. Whether you’re scaling, thinking about succession, or just trying to get back control of your time, this episode will help you see the next few moves clearly.
You can find Dr. Mike Smith on Eventbrite or visit St. Louis West Action Coach to explore his tools.
And if this episode resonated with you, I’d love to hear your thoughts. How have you approached growth in your business? Are you building something you can eventually step away from—or something that depends entirely on you?
Sources and Links
Dr. Mike Smith
ActionCOACH
Eventbrite
3 Tips to Organize Your Business
