If your business growth has slowed or you’ve found yourself saying “I’ll get to that later,” this episode is a gentle nudge to pause and think. Complacency can sneak into your business under the disguise of comfort, hesitation, or routine. Inside this episode are simple, mindful steps to help you shift back into intentional action.
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- Website Visibility Workshops
- Website Power-Up Plan™
- Tool of the Week 👉 TidyCal
This is a Calendly alternative. Simpler in my opinion. I have one regular calendar for people to schedule with me, one for podast guesting and one with a paid consultation that accepts payments. I really like the simplicity of this tool. - Recommended Podcast 👉 Never Be Yourself At Work! Authenticity Is Quietly Sabotaging You! with Evy Pompouras on the Diary of a CEO.
- I quite agree with Evy’s perspective because it feels like some people are mistaking the word authenticity for an almost entitlement approach. It doesn’t mean share everything to the world. But when you do share it should be honest and you.
- Hop over to Episodes I Like Playlist for other recommended episodes
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Complacency in business = business death. How’s that for a podcast start? Doom and gloom. Sheesh. But we don’t do doom and gloom around here, now do we?
The idea of complacency came up in a conversation a couple of weeks ago and I’ve seen it in my business in the past and in clients’ businesses.
The dictionary defines complacency as “a feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s achievements.”
I don’t believe that people actively think this as they are experiencing complacency.
Complacency can come in the form of stagnant business growth.
- It can be hidden as procrastination.
- It can be hidden as burnout.
- It can be hidden as contentment.
How can you know?
Let’s see some phrases that could signal complacency…
- “This is fine for now.”
(settling for “good enough” instead of improving) - “I’ll get to that later.”
(constant deferring of important but non-urgent actions) - “I already tried that once—it didn’t work.”
(writing off opportunities without testing or adjusting) - “My clients seem happy, so I don’t need to change anything.”
(assuming satisfaction = growth) - “I don’t have time to learn something new right now.”
(avoiding growth because it’s uncomfortable) - “It’s working well enough as is.”
(ignoring potential leaks or missed opportunities) - “I’m not ready to invest in that yet.”
(staying in hesitation mode rather than progress mode) - “I’ll wait until business slows down to work on my website/marketing/sales.”
(pushing off foundational growth work) - “I’ve been doing it this way for years.”
(clinging to habit instead of innovation)
By themselves, any single phrase isn’t a full on signal.
If you’ve heard yourself using these phrases, stop and ask if it’s something you repeatedly say… that’s the sign that there may be some complacency.
Mine was a lot of “I don’t have time” and “I’ll get to that later.”
And here’s where awareness plays the role in getting out of complacency. You have to see it first, then you can alter it.
I’ll offer up these ideas for getting out of complacency…
- Take a walk…
Bah ha ha ha Just kidding. I love how this is the answer to almost everything.
Realistically…
- When you hear yourself say one of the above phrases, stop what you’re doing. Write it down in a journal, type it into a note or record a voice memo on your phone. Type the exact thought.
Then use the following question relative to the thought to pull out any insights. They might not come immediately. You may have to do this numerous times.
Am I choosing comfort or growth right now?
What’s a single tiny step that I can do to choose growth?
The answer to that last one might simply be to stay aware for now.
The Takeaway
Do you always have to be in growth mode? Regardless of what all the IG ads and influencers are saying, that’d be a no.
If you’re seeing stagnant sales, running in complacency gear is just one angle to look at.
If you’d like to explore this topic further for your business, feel free to reach out. I’m happy to listen.
Next Up
Feeling inspired to take a small next step? Head to episode 73, Website Tasks That Fit Your Time, Energy and Budget Right Now. It’ll help you find some website tasks that, well, fit your time, energy and budget right now!
