Scaling in a Turbulent Economy

If you’re trying to grow your business right now, you already know that it’s not simple.

The economy is unpredictable. Costs are up. Customers are cautious. Supply chains shift, interest rates climb, and hiring the right people feels harder than ever. Every time you think you’ve found steady ground, something changes again.

And when you finally do hit growth, it doesn’t feel easier; it feels more chaotic.

Scaling your business can feel like chaos

You work hard to land more clients, drive more revenue, and get the phones ringing. On the outside, it looks like success. But on the inside? Every small inefficiency suddenly becomes massive. Is that one unclear role on your team? It causes daily friction. The bottleneck you’ve been ignoring? It now grinds the whole machine to a halt.

So how do you scale a business when the economy feels shaky and growth only piles on more chaos?

The lesson from the pumpkin patch

Here’s the shift: growth isn’t about doing more, it’s about focusing on less.

“When you plant your field with dozens of seeds and spread your attention across all of them, every pumpkin will stay small. But when you focus your energy on the strongest pumpkins, they thrive and grow bigger than you ever imagined.” – The Pumpkin Plan

That principle matters more than ever in today’s turbulent economy. If you spread yourself thin; chasing every opportunity, trying every fix, reacting to every problem; you’ll burn out and stall. But when you focus on your best clients, your most valuable offerings, and your biggest constraints, you create strength that survives uncertainty.

That’s how you scale a business in tough times: by doubling down on focus, not frantic activity.

The framework for scaling business: 

Focus isn’t always easy. When everything feels urgent, you need a clear framework that helps you act in the right order. That’s why I developed the C6 Cycle. It’s a six-step system I tested inside 24 struggling businesses. It worked every time, because it forces clarity, exposes the real issues, and locks in fixes that last.

Here’s how it works:

Catalyst
Change won’t happen just because you want it. You need a spark that makes improvement unavoidable. For some businesses, that’s tightening profit first. For others, it’s forcing a true test like stepping away for a few weeks to see what breaks.
Commitment
A spark fizzles without commitment. You can’t be half-in. Make the change non-negotiable. Share it with your team and your family. Make it harder to quit than to keep going.
Cascade
Once the spark is lit and you’re committed, chaos stops looking random. Patterns show up. You see exactly what’s breaking, and in what order.
Concentration
Every system has one choke point that holds everything else back. Don’t try to fix everything. Fix that. Remove the constraint, and the whole business breathes easier.
Cure
Don’t gamble. Test one fix at a time. If it works, keep it. If it doesn’t, kill it fast. Then repeat until stability appears.
Continuity
Real change is when the fix outlives your attention. Build it into routines, metrics, and accountability. Create systems that run without you.

This matters in today’s economy

In stable times, you can sometimes get away with messy growth. The cracks are there, but the momentum covers them up.

But in a turbulent economy, the cracks widen fast. If you don’t have systems, clarity, and focus, the stress will eat you alive.

That’s why focusing on fewer, stronger “pumpkins” matters so much right now. It’s not about chasing everything but about scaling what’s working and cutting what isn’t.

Putting this into practice

Here’s what I want you to do this week:

Identify your catalyst. What’s the spark that will force you to take action now?
Commit to fixing one thing. Burn the boats; don’t give yourself a way out.
Find your biggest constraint. Ask: “If I could fix just one thing in my business, what would have the greatest positive impact?”
Concentrate your effort. Stop chasing side projects, shiny objects, or small fixes. Focus your energy on that one constraint.

This is the Pumpkin Plan in motion. Nurture the best. Cut the rest. Use the C6 Cycle to give your focus structure and staying power.

The bottom line

You can’t control interest rates, inflation, or customer moods. You can’t control when the next curveball hits. But you can control how you scale your business. You can decide to stop chasing everything and start concentrating on the few things that matter most.

Remember, scaling a business isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing less and with more intention.

Here’s to your intention – and success!

-Mike

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