The $50K Revenue Trap (And How My Body Forced Me to Wake Up)

For the first few years of my business, I did everything the market told me I should do.

I was building a business based on what I thought would make me look impressive—everyone else's definition of success, not mine.

I grew my agency to $50K a month in revenue. I had three employees. From the outside, it looked like I was "making it."

But I was miserable.

I was doing work I wasn't very good at and didn't enjoy, for people who treated me like shit—and my team even worse.

It took my body completely shutting down—developing severe vertigo from a viral ear infection—for me to realize I hated every second of what I'd built.

And here's the thing: I had to let it get that severe, that bad, before I was willing to realize there was a different way.

I'm not going to say that as soon as I had this realization, I suddenly had it all figured out. It still took me years to get to where I am now.

• Mindset work to find my own definition of success (and stop chasing everyone else’s)

• Reflection to find clarity on the work that truly lit me up

• Experimentation to try business models, offers, and delivery methods

• Developing faith in myself, my abilities, and my vision for the future

• Willingness to make short-term sacrifices that enabled me to move closer to my long term vision

Today? I generate the same amount of revenue with 3x the profits.

And infinitely more joy, meaning, and purpose.

That's the goal.

And here's what I've learned: often, we don't realize that we have a fundamental belief that we aren't good enough. 

That we need to constantly be proving ourselves.

Yes, that's part of why we're ambitious, high-performing, driven people. But it's also why we chase things that don't actually serve us.

When we can take a step back and get clear on what we actually want—the kind of work we feel called to do, the kind of clients we're on a mission to support—everything starts to change.

I'm not saying it gets easy. But it gets simpler.

And it does become a whole heckuva lot easier to be in flow while doing the work.

The Scarcity Mindset Manifesto (And How It Shows Up in Your Business)

If you read Thursday's newsletter about Minimum Viable Pipeline, you saw the math behind Sarah's 80-hour weeks to make $10K a month.

But here's what I didn't say: Sarah's problem wasn't strategy. It was scarcity.

Scarcity thinking sounds like this:

• "If I charge more, I'll lose clients."

• "Working harder proves I'm valuable."

• "I should be grateful for any opportunity."

• "I need to say yes to everyone who might pay me."

• "I can't control who comes to me, so I have to take what I get."

And here's the insidious part: scarcity mindset disguises itself as virtue.

It feels responsible. It feels humble. It feels like you're being a "good" entrepreneur by hustling harder, serving more people, and never turning down work.

But it's actually the most expensive mindset you can have.

How Scarcity Disguises Itself as Strategy

When you're operating from scarcity, you think you're being strategic. You tell yourself:

• "I'm building relationships by saying yes to everything."

• "I'm gaining experience by taking on diverse projects."

• "I'm being smart by not putting all my eggs in one basket."

But what you're actually doing is:

• Confusing being busy with being successful. 
  You equate a packed calendar with progress, even when half your tasks move you sideways instead of forward.

• Believing that suffering equals worthiness. 
  If it's not hard, if you're not exhausted, and if you're not constantly proving yourself, then somehow you're not earning your success.

• Treating your business like a lottery ticket. 
  You're hoping the right client will find you, hoping the next project will be "the one," hoping that if you just work hard enough, good things will happen.

The brutal truth? If your business model requires you to be everywhere and serve everyone, you haven't designed a business—you've designed a prison.

The Math Doesn't Lie

Let's go back to Sarah's situation from Thursday:

• $375/month pricing

• 27 clients needed to hit $10K/month

• 54 hours/month (minimum) on client calls

• Plus prep time, sales calls, admin, and marketing

• Total: 80-90 hours per week

This isn't sustainable. This isn't strategic. This is scarcity in action.

And the worst part? Sarah knew she was worth more. She knew she could deliver better results. She knew her clients got incredible value from working with her.

She was so afraid of losing opportunities that she created a business model that guaranteed she'd be overwhelmed, underpaid, and underwater.

I’ve learned from very personal experience and from watching it over and over and over again with my clients that this scarcity mindset is so deeply ingrained that giving it up requires a willingness to face some dark truths within ourselves.

And to accept that the drive, hustle, and ambition that got us really far in life are actually an anchor holding us back from reaching that next level.

The Strategy Mindset Shift

Here's what changes when you move from scarcity to strategy:

Control vs. Chaos 

Instead of: "I'll take whatever comes my way,"
You realize: "I get to define the business I want to build."

You stop being reactive to whatever the market throws at you. You start being proactive about intentionally designing the work I want to do, the clients I want to serve, and the life I want to lead.

Worthy of Premium 

Instead of: "I should be grateful anyone will pay me"
You realize: "My expertise deserves premium compensation."

This isn't about ego. It's about economics. When you charge premium rates, you can serve fewer clients better. Everyone wins.

Selective vs. Desperate 

Instead of: "I can't afford to say no."
You realize: "I can't afford to say yes to the wrong people."

Saying no to wrong-fit clients isn't about being picky. It's about creating space for the right-fit clients who will value your work and pay what it's worth.

Math vs. Magic 

Instead of: "I hope this works out."
You realize: "Business growth is engineered, not hoped for."

When you understand the math behind your business model, you stop leaving growth to chance. You start designing for the outcomes you want.

And Sarah isn’t the only Solo CEO client who has seen the positive results of this intentional design.

Nathan redefined their One Thing and got clear on the kind of clients they wanted to work with and the business they wanted to build. A couple of weeks ago, they attended a big industry event filled with their ICP. The last time they’d attended this event was in 2022.

They sent this text comparing this year's results to those from 2022 when they took a much broader, scarcity-minded approach.

“By being more picky, I have 2x the leads and 4x the clarity on how to sell them.”

The Internal Work This Requires

Making this shift isn't just about changing your pricing or your processes. It's about changing how you see yourself and your worth.

It requires you to:

Acknowledge where scarcity thinking shows up in your business decisions. 

Notice when you're making choices from fear instead of strategy. When you're saying yes because you're scared to say no. When you're undercharging because you don't believe you're worth more.

Face the fear of "What if I miss out?" 

There's always going to be another opportunity, another client, another project. The question isn't whether you'll miss something—it's whether you're creating space for the right something.

Give yourself permission to want ease, profit, and sustainability. 

You don't have to earn the right to an easier business through years of suffering. You're allowed to want a business that serves your life instead of consuming it.

Examine your relationship with control. 

Scarcity mindset tells you that you don't have much control over what happens to you. Strategy mindset reminds you that you have more control than you think—starting with how you design your business model.

Your Scarcity Audit

Before you can design a different business, you need to see clearly where scarcity thinking is currently driving your decisions.

Ask yourself:

In my current business model:

• What am I saying yes to out of fear instead of strategy?

• Where am I overdelivering because I don't believe my core offer is enough?

• How am I pricing based on what I think people will pay instead of what my work is worth?

In my daily decisions:

• Am I designing this business from fear or from vision?

• What would I do differently if I truly believed I deserved premium compensation?

• Where am I making things harder than they need to be because I think struggle equals worthiness?

In my relationship with clients:

• Am I attracting people who value my work, or people who just want the cheapest option?

• Am I positioning myself as a strategic partner or a grateful service provider?

• What would change if I believed that the right clients want to pay me well?

Your Next Strategic Decision

You don't have to overhaul your entire business overnight. But you can start with one strategic decision that moves you from scarcity to abundance.

Maybe it's:

• Raising your rates on your next proposal

• Saying no to a project that doesn't align with your vision

• Redesigning your service to require fewer clients instead of more

• Having a conversation with a current client about scope and boundaries

The goal isn't perfection. The goal is to start making decisions from strategy instead of scarcity.

To start building a business that serves your vision instead of your fear.

The Business You Deserve Is Waiting

Here's what I know for sure: the business you deserve—the one that's profitable, sustainable, and aligned with who you actually are—is waiting for you to believe you deserve it.

Strategy without the right mindset is just sophisticated suffering.

But when you combine clear strategy with abundance thinking? When you design your business from vision instead of fear?

That's when everything changes.

Not because it gets easy. But because it gets aligned. And alignment, it turns out, is where the real magic happens.

In love and growth,
Kasey

P.S. If this resonates and you're ready to do the deep work of building a business from strategy instead of scarcity, check out The 90 Day Business Breakthrough Workshop.

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