Fix Your Broken Business — Fast: A Proven Blueprint for Small Business Owners Who’ve Had Enough

September 11, 2025•7 min read

INTRO: You’re Not Alone (But You Are Responsible)

If you’re a tradie, founder, or small business owner and you’re feeling overwhelmed, underpaid, and stuck — you’re not alone. Most business owners didn’t get into business to become financial experts, systems engineers, or HR managers. They were just damn good at what they did.

But somewhere along the way, the business became a trap. Long hours. Low margins. Staff headaches. Constant stress.

And the worst part? You feel like you should’ve figured it out by now.

This blog post isn’t going to sugar-coat it. I’m going to give it to you straight — because your business, your family, and your future deserve the truth. Here’s the blueprint I’ve used to help hundreds of small business owners fix their broken businesses and finally build something that sets them free.

SECTION 1: The Brutal Truth — Your Thinking Is the Real Problem

Every broken business I’ve helped had one thing in common: the problem started with the owner’s thinking.

If your thinking is broken, no tactic, tool, or system will save you.

Most owners spend their days reacting. Fighting fires. Micromanaging. Doing $20/hour admin instead of building a million-dollar machine.

To fix your business, you have to fix your thinking first.

You don’t rise to the level of your goals — you fall to the level of your systems. And your systems are built on your mindset.

Start by asking better questions:

What would this look like if it were simple?
What am I tolerating that’s holding us back?
If I were replaced tomorrow, what would my replacement do first?

SECTION 2: Take Radical Responsibility

No one is coming to save you. Not the government. Not your accountant. Not your staff. Not even your partner.

Your business is your responsibility. Own it.

Take Steve, for example. A hardworking rural fencer in New Zealand. Great at his trade, loved by clients — but had no systems, no financial controls, and no clue how much money he was losing every month.

He finally reached out to me when he realised something: he didn’t know what he didn’t know.

And once he admitted that? Everything changed.

Quality thinking = quality actions = quality results.

From that day on, he became the CEO of his business — not just the guy doing the work.

SECTION 3: Build Momentum With Urgent Action

If I had to choose one superpower for any business owner, it would be this: urgency.

Not stress. Not hustle. Not panic. Real urgency.

The ability to take fast, imperfect action.

Every day you delay, you bleed money. You lose leads. You frustrate good staff. You confuse your customers.

Want to turn things around? Move faster. Don’t wait for the perfect plan — implement the next right action and course correct as you go.

Here are a few urgent actions you could take this week:

Follow up on every open quote
Raise one of your prices by 10 percent
Call back a past client and ask how you can help
Fire the team member you’ve been avoiding

SECTION 4: Stop the Excuses. Start the Fixes.

Most business owners are addicted to excuses.

It’s the market
It’s my team
I don’t have time
I’m not good with numbers

Let me be brutally honest: None of that matters.

What matters is what you do next.

Instead of complaining about cash flow — do a Profit Power Audit and find where it’s leaking. Instead of blaming your staff — install a scoreboard and get visible. Instead of drowning in admin — delegate or use the Business Growth Services team to buy back your time.

The difference between those who scale and those who stay stuck? Action.

SECTION 5: Install the Core Systems That Actually Scale

You don’t need hundreds of systems. You need a few that work.

Start here:

Pricing Ninety percent of the business owners I coach are undercharging. Raise your prices or improve your quoting process. Cheap work is the most expensive work you’ll ever do.

People Use the attitude vs. skill matrix. Promote the rockstars. Coach the willing. Fire the toxic. One wrong person can destroy a great culture.

Time Use the Ultimate Life Planner to track your time. Where are you spending your golden hours? Where are you leaking energy? Plan your weeks like a high-performance athlete — not a reactive amateur.

Systems Document your first SOP this week. Just one. Then build from there. If you do this consistently, in 12 months your business will run better without you.

SECTION 6: The Fastest Way Forward — Join a High-Performance Environment

You can’t do this alone.

If you could’ve fixed your business by yourself, you already would’ve.

That’s why I created the Business Gym — the only training platform built for business owners like you who want financial and lifestyle freedom without fluff, theory, or wasting time.

Inside the Gym, you’ll get:

Daily tools that create momentum
5–15 minute training bursts that deliver real results
Weekly Power 1/2 Hour sessions with real business owners solving real problems
Follow-up systems that actually get money in the door
An epic support community that pushes you forward

Plus, you can start the 30-Day Fix Your Business Challenge inside the Gym today.

SECTION 7: Why Consistency Beats Talent Every Time

You don’t need to be a genius to win in business.

You just need to show up. Every day.

Most owners overestimate what they can do in a day, and underestimate what they can achieve in a year of consistent action.

You don’t need new tactics every week. You need to consistently apply what already works.

Consistency builds trust. With customers. With your team. With yourself.

Want to stand out in your market? Be the one who delivers, every single time — no excuses.

SECTION 8: Install a Scoreboard and Make It Visible

What gets measured gets improved. But what gets seen gets smashed.

If you’re not tracking performance visibly, you’re leading in the dark.

Put a scoreboard on the wall — sales, quotes, jobs completed, Google reviews, follow-ups, profit.

Make it public. Make it fun. Celebrate wins. Track losses.

Your team wants to win. But they need to see the score to know how.

SECTION 9: Your Leadership Is the Ceiling

Your team will never outperform your example.

Culture isn’t what you say — it’s what you tolerate.

If you want your team to be accountable, be more accountable yourself. If you want urgency, show urgency. If you want positivity, kill gossip on the spot.

Business is hard. Leadership is harder. But it’s the only way forward.

You don’t get what you want. You get what you lead.

SECTION 10: Your 30-Day Business Challenge

Here’s your challenge. For the next 30 days, do one thing each day that moves your business forward.

Start small. Stay consistent.

Week 1: Clean up your thinking

Write down the 3 things holding your business back
Identify one belief that needs to go
Block 1 hour for deep thinking — no interruptions

Week 2: Fix your foundation

Review pricing. Increase one rate.
Audit your calendar. Eliminate 3 time-wasters.
Have 1 brutally honest conversation with a team member or supplier

Week 3: Build your machine

Create your first SOP
Design your scoreboard
Schedule your golden hour daily

Week 4: Lead boldly

Show up for your team
Give feedback immediately
Share your vision 1-on-1 with your key players

This is how you turn momentum into transformation.

You don’t need a miracle.

You need one good day — repeated 30 times.

FINAL WORD: No One Cares More Than You — So Lead

Your business will never outgrow your leadership.

If you want better results, you need to become a better leader. That starts with telling yourself the truth — then acting on it.

No more hoping. No more waiting. No more spinning your wheels in survival mode.

This is your moment to take control, take ownership, and fix what’s broken — before it’s too late.

Want Help?

Join the Business Gym: https://www.skool.com/thebusinessgym/about?ref=c7aa31422f204551a9df58bc93ec0c89
Connect with me on LinkedIn
Subscribe to the PBA YouTube Channel and PBA Podcast
Sign up for WINNING Wednesday, your weekly hit of no-fluff tactics and truth bombs.
Go to www.premierbusinessacademy.co.nz for lots of great resources.