Pushing Yourself to Evolve | The Uncomfortable Path to Growth

Here’s a question. As a business owner, what would you say is the biggest enemy of progress? For me, it’s the comfort zone.

Most successful entrepreneurs and leaders know they’ll have to spend a fair bit of time in discomfort on their path to business growth. Take marathon runners as an analogy; they love running, they want to win, and that feeling of smashing through the finish line is unbeatable. But CHRIST do they suffer for it along the way.

That’s what we’re talking about on today’s podcast; the discomfort that’s necessary to evolve.

The comfort zone is an interesting phenomenon, because it looks different for each of us. Some people’s comfort zone is not feeling stretched, so they avoid stress. Others are perfectionists about their brand or website, unwilling to try things they disagree with, but they can’t explain why they disagree. Then there are people who say they want change, yet change is what they fear the most.

Clients tend to come to Codebreak when they need to get out of their comfort zone. Something they’re doing isn’t working, and it’s killing their progress. I’m not going to lie; that phase is uncomfortable.

Lesson One | Don’t expect different results from doing the same thing

They might be super attached to their branding, their colours, their marketing strategy, the language they use. It’s understandable that they feel protective. But you can’t keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result. It is – quite literally – the definition of insanity.

Maybe your messaging needs to change. Maybe you need to be more direct. Maybe you’re targeting the wrong people. Perhaps your logo needs to be smaller, or you need to change your brand colours. Maybe you need to explore marketing automation or start using Meta ads.

If you’ve approached an agency like Codebreak, you should be ready to take the leap. You have to trust that your agency knows what they’re doing. If they’re good – like we are – they won’t sabotage your brand. And let’s be real; if you’re pulling in less than half a million in turnover, how recognisable is your brand at this point anyway?

Businesses that have scaled to a decent level also tend to assume that what worked to get them there will continue to work. But tactics that brought them to a certain size might not be enough to reach the next level.

Expanding their reach might mean venturing into new territory, like speaking at events or running webinars, to reach a larger audience. But suggesting these things can trigger anxiety. I’ll say: “OK, so to get to a million, maybe you should consider speaking from a stage.” And they’ll say: “No, I don’t know how to do that.”

Yet they insist they know how to talk to their audience, even though they haven’t engaged them on a larger platform. This kind of anxiety, or stubbornness, gets in the way of growth. Sometimes, people are their own biggest obstacles.

Lesson Two | Playing it safe will only get you so far

If you follow the same path as everyone else, you can only get as far as they did. And that might be far enough; there are proven templates for marketing agencies and most businesses. But maybe you don’t want to do it their way – we certainly don’t.

In some cases, we’re forging a new path, which involves risk, and things can go wrong. Right now, for example, I’m negotiating a campaign where we’ll spend a lot of money. It’s enough money that if it goes wrong, it’ll cause issues.

I have to go to bed at night knowing I might lose it all and that it might not work. And that has to be OK. I have to ask myself: “Am I confident enough that if this doesn’t work, I can recover the loss?” Most people aren’t willing to take that risk or do the work to recover if things don’t go as planned.

Lesson Three | Put yourself in situations that test your adaptability

For me, the end of my comfort zone used to be live events. Live events are the best way to learn how to handle unexpected situations quickly. Things will happen that you don’t expect, and you have to navigate that on the spot.

I was nervous the first time we did Stay Hungry Live – a boutique marketing event where I stand up in a room full of 20 people in a fancy hotel and answer their business challenges. I made the mistake of not staying the night before, so I had to rush to Birmingham very early in the morning to set up. By the time guests arrived, I was a sweaty mess.

Doing a webinar, or hosting a live event is terrifying the first time. Even the most famous speakers in the world were terrified the first time and might still feel uncomfortable now. They aren’t nervous because they’re unprepared; they’re practiced, they know what to do if it goes wrong. But there’s always a chance it could go really wrong.

There could be a power cut. Your audience might openly disagree with what you’re saying. You get all sorts of interruptions – people showing up late, phones going off, someone getting ill, or even just people not paying attention and doing their own thing. That adaptability is essential.

Look at stand-up comedians; the good ones are highly adaptable. If they lose the room, they have to figure out quickly how to get it back. And footballers; if they’re one-nil down, or if a player gets sent off, they need to adjust their tactics. It’s the same with podcasts, live events, sales meetings, or implementing a marketing strategy. You have to ready to pivot when things aren’t working.

Lesson Four | Don’t give up when you hit the first hurdle

Say you’ve been focussing on lead generation for a live event or masterclass. Not everyone will show up, and you might think: “Christ, I spent so much per lead, and they didn’t come.” But that’s not the end. For example, if you have 50 people who didn’t show up, you can still re-engage them.

Recently, we had a masterclass with modest signups – 29 people – and only 8 showed up. We sent a follow-up email offering the replay, and 19 more requested it. So, 27 out of 29 expressed interest, giving you a group of people genuinely interested to nurture over time.

It’s about understanding that effort doesn’t end with the first hurdle; there are more steps to clear. A Lot of people give up too soon, thinking they’ve failed, but they’ve just hit the first hurdle.

Lesson Five | Don’t try to disguise perfectionism as expertise

Perfectionism is another issue we encounter, often disguised as expertise. It drives me insane. People say: “I know my market; I know my business,” but if that were entirely true, they wouldn’t be seeking help. When we dig deeper and ask specifics, like which brands their audience likes, what car they drive, or their lifestyle, it turns out they don’t know as much as they thought.

Perfectionism is a growth killer. We’ve seen so much good work go to waste because of it. But here’s the thing—the detail isn’t where you start. If you get bogged down in analysis paralysis or perfectionism, you’ll fail anyway.

There’s no point in having something at 90% sitting in the drawer just because you wanted it to be 100%. It needs to go out, especially when time is of the essence, like with Black Friday campaigns.

The analogy of sports is great here too. Think about the Olympic 100-meter final. No one lining up is at 100%. Maybe they didn’t sleep well, or their uniform doesn’t fit quite right. If Usain Bolt had waited until he was at 100%, he’d never have raced.

And that same mentality applies to business. If you’re waiting for something to be perfect, you’ll never step up to the start line.

Lesson Six | Be willing to embrace failure

The other essential trait is a willingness to embrace failure. I’ve gotten better at this over time, but at first, I struggled with the idea of things not working. I’d think: “This isn’t working; I can’t cope.” But actually, it’s about learning from what didn’t work and improving.

This is especially true in marketing, where things change so quickly. Even as experts, we have to be willing to make mistakes and learn from experiences. If leads don’t show up, we think: “What can we do next?” If someone isn’t good on camera, we look for other ways to engage.

Every business is different, and so is every marketing strategy. Even two businesses in the same niche with the same tactics and the same audience might see completely different outcomes; one will succeed, the other will fail. Sometimes, it’s because of something as small as a logo colour or an email subject line.

Failures are invaluable teachers, and many of the biggest successes I’ve seen come directly from overcoming failure. It might sound crazy, but failure drives you to push harder and improve or it drives you to try something you wouldn’t normally do. And that’s where the magic happens.

So, final thoughts to sum up: you’ve got to get involved, jump in, and go all in. Don’t wait for perfection. You can’t dip a toe in the water and expect to succeed. And yes, that might not resonate with everyone, but it’s the reality for those of us in business.

Don’t miss the next episode of Stay Hungry – we’ll dive into straight-talking insights on business marketing, growth mindset, and the realities of running a business. And if you want to take the hassle out of your marketing, we’ve got you covered with our done-for-you service.

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