How Slowing Down to Speed Up Brings More Success to Your Business
Summary: If hustling made you rich, you'd already be there. So why does it feel like you're doing more than ever and getting less?
Most entrepreneurs don’t start their businesses to feel overwhelmed by them. But somewhere along the way, the to-do list takes over, the days blur, and you realize you don’t even take a break.
I have been there too. After the 2008 recession cut my first business in half, I did what most business owners instinctively do: I doubled down. I worked harder. I added more hours, pushed myself further, and gave everything I had to try and fix it. Eventually, I hit a wall.
At that moment, I gave myself two choices. Either get help or walk away. I chose help. Within six months, I had grown the business by 150 percent. While the results were impressive, the real transformation was internal. I stopped leading from depletion and began leading with clarity and intention. That changed everything.
Why More Effort Isn’t the Answer
We have been taught to believe that hard work and hustle lead to success. If we choose to push harder, stay later, and do more, that must mean we have succeeded. In reality, effort without strategy often leads to burnout, rather than progress.
Being busy is not the same as building momentum. Constant motion, when disconnected from a clear vision, only adds to the chaos and pushes you further from your goals.
Your business does not need more of your time. It needs more of your leadership. It needs you to have space to think, make decisions, and set direction. The funny thing is, it is often the pause that brings more success, not the push.
The funny thing is, it’s often the pause that brings more success, not the push.
What Changes When You Step Back
Picture yourself walking through a dense forest. You know there is a path ahead, but all you see are trees. You keep moving forward, hoping you'll stumble across the right path.
What you really need is not to move faster. You need to rise above the forest. From a higher vantage point, the path becomes visible. You can finally see where you are going and how to get there.
This is what stepping back in your business makes possible. It gives you the space to rise above the daily noise, gain perspective, and see the bigger picture with clarity. When you are no longer stuck in the weeds, the path forward becomes much easier to find.
Three Shifts That Bring More Success Without Burning You Out
When I stopped leading from a place of reaction and started making intentional shifts, everything in the business began to change. My team aligned more quickly. My decisions became sharper. My energy returned. As a result, the business grew again, but this time with less stress and more control.
Here is what made the difference:
1. Keep It Simple. Really Simple.
Many business owners are doing far more than they need to. Not because they want to, but because somewhere along the way, complexity started to feel like the price of growth.
More offers, more meetings, more systems. Every layer you add introduces more room for breakdowns.
Complexity is not always a sign of progress. Often, it is a signal that things have gotten off track.
You do not need more layers. You need more focus. That starts with eliminating what no longer serves you, doubling down on what works, and choosing simplicity even when it feels uncomfortable.
Simplicity creates clarity. And clarity brings more success.
2. Take Back Your Time So You Can Lead Again.
When you run a business, you often add processes, systems, procedures, and plans that seem like they will be the next best thing for you. After a while, they pile up, and you realize that perhaps they are no longer all beneficial. That’s why I brought in the “DO/DUMP/DELEGATE” rule at least once/year to change the game.
Start by getting clear on what you DO best. This is the work that draws on your unique insight, leadership, and experience to move the business forward. It might be high-level decision-making, defining the strategic direction, nurturing key relationships, or developing what comes next. This is your zone of genius and where you should be spending your time. It highlights where your impact is the highest and ensures that your time and energy are allocated here first.
Next, DUMP what no longer belongs on your plate. These may be tasks, habits, or responsibilities that once served a purpose but are now holding you back. Maybe they’re outdated reports, recurring meetings, or daily routines that feel necessary but add no real value. This step is about clearing the noise, lightening your mental load, and making space to grow. When you let go of what no longer fits, you create room for better decisions, stronger leadership, and the next level of success.
Finally, DELEGATE what no longer requires your direct involvement. Hand off the responsibilities that others can manage with confidence and skill. Delegation is not about giving up control. It is about creating capacity. Often, what drains your time and energy is exactly what lights someone else up. When you delegate work that lands in someone else's zone of genius, it becomes a win-win. You free yourself to focus on what only you can do, and they get the chance to thrive in what they do best. That is where growth accelerates. It gives you the space to lead with vision, make stronger decisions, and move the business forward with clarity and momentum.
3. Make Space to Pause and Think Clearly
Most business owners are constantly reacting. They move from task to task, put out fires, jump into meetings, and wonder why they never feel like they’re making progress. What’s missing isn’t more effort.
It’s space. Space to pause long enough to think clearly and lead intentionally.
Studies show entrepreneurs lose as much as twenty-one hours each week to low-impact work. That is time you never get back. You often do not realize how much is slipping through until you stop and examine it.
When was the last time you felt like you could just sit for a while and think strategically?
Strategic thinking does not happen in the cracks between emergencies. It happens when you protect time to pause and focus. That moment of stillness you keep postponing is not a luxury. It is a leadership requirement.
When your mind is no longer in constant reaction mode, you begin to see more clearly. You make stronger decisions, reconnect with your vision, and avoid the burnout that sneaks in when you do not even notice it.
That’s when things start to click again. That’s where real momentum begins.
What You Gain When You Lead Differently
When you stop chasing progress through packed schedules and constant motion, you unlock something far more powerful.
- You make choices from strategy instead of survival.
- You create space to grow without losing yourself in the process.
- You start leading the business you actually want, not just the one you’ve built out of habit.
This isn’t slowing down to rest, but slowing down just enough to lead smarter, act faster, and move forward with purpose. The pause you have been avoiding might be the exact move that brings the clarity, energy, and momentum you have been working so hard to find.
This is what brings more success not only to your business, but also to you as the one leading it. It allows you to pause long enough to lead with intention and clarity, so your next move is the right one because that’s how you bring more success, not just in the metrics, but in how it feels to run your business each day.
If you finally gave yourself the space to lead on your terms, what would change next?
ABOUT
Leslie Hassler
Leslie Hassler is a dynamic author, speaker, business strategist, and founder of Your Biz Rules. Leslie empowers entrepreneurs to cultivate strategies that lead to sustainable growth and increased profitability while avoiding burnout.
With a proven track record in business, finance, mindset, marketing, and entrepreneurship, Leslie’s holistic approach has helped businesses across all industries overcome challenges and thrive in a balanced manner. Many business owners who are experts in their field come to Leslie and Your Biz Rules after some measure of success to understand how to run a business that meets their business and their life goals.
Leslie shares her expertise in her books First This, Then That and Scaling Rich. She has been recognized on stages across the United States, including prestigious events such as the National Association of Women Business Owners and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. Her insights have also been featured in notable publications like Entrepreneur.com.
Leslie is a mother of two, avid traveler, Past President of NAWBO DFW, and alumni of the Goldman Sachs 10K Small Business program. Leslie is WBENC, HUB, and AI Mastery Certified.