The Moment I Thought I'd Lost Her

She’s never missed time with my son before — that’s how I knew something was wrong.

My mother-in-law — someone who's had incredible successes in her life, but with that success came a lot of stress and challenges — stopped responding for 48 hours. She's faced health issues, legal battles, and the stress that often comes with building something successful.. She's been an entrepreneur for a long time and has experienced more ups and downs than most could stomach.

When she didn’t respond for two days — especially after missing plans with my son, something she’d never do — I knew something wasn’t right. She's the type who always responds — always talking, always involved.

I drove 30 minutes to her house, nervous about what I might find. The door was unlocked. I called her name through the door to her room. Nothing. Just the sound of a fan.

When I walked in, I saw her halfway sitting up, eyes rolled back and staring blankly upward. I called her name again. No response. In that moment, I was certain she was gone.

I called 911 immediately. Thankfully, she was alive, but they moved her to the ICU. For over a week, my wife practically lived at the hospital while I stepped in to manage everything at home with my son. For days, her face haunted me. It was a week of fear, reflection, and hard realizations.

But one thing became crystal clear: This is why I build my business the way I do.

I’m fortunate that because of how my business is structured — and because I have an incredible team — I was able to drop everything and focus on my family while still supporting my clients. My business didn’t collapse. I didn’t have to panic about sales grinding to a halt. Things kept moving because I built my business to serve my life — not the other way around.

Your Business Should Serve Your Life, Too

If this resonates, it’s probably because you’ve had that gnawing feeling before — that sense that your business is one crisis away from collapsing.

Maybe you’re constantly struggling with sales team turnover, or feeling like you have to jump back into sales calls just to keep revenue flowing. Or perhaps you feel like growth is unpredictable, and no matter how hard you push, you never feel stable enough to step back.

But maybe the real reason you feel this way is because you've been burned before.

I get it. Maybe you’ve worked with coaches or mentors who promised you the world but left you with cookie-cutter tactics that didn’t actually apply to your unique situation. Maybe you’ve invested in sales or marketing "blueprints" that ignored the complexities of your team, your offer, and your goals.

That’s exactly why I build tailored solutions — strategies that match your business, your leadership style, and your team’s strengths. It’s why my clients don’t just get a "program." They get a hands-on partner who sees what’s working, what’s broken, and what needs to change to scale successfully.

I'm not saying you need to work with me, but consider this when you assign meaning to your current results and decide what to do next.

If your past attempts at growth have felt like taking wild guesses, that’s not your fault — you were likely being told what works "in theory" or what worked for someone else, but that doesn’t mean it will work for you.

This is why I help companies find their way instead of following someone else’s path. Someone else’s way can be helpful for getting started — to model something — but for scaling, it often doesn’t pan out well.

Here's How You Build That Kind of Business:

1. Stop Being the Bottleneck by Hiring Leaders – SOPs alone aren’t enough. You need leaders who think critically and make decisions. For example, I use my Unicorn Attraction Strategy to identify those leaders by focusing on values, traits, and mindsets — not just skills. This way, you attract leaders who instinctively know how to solve problems and take ownership, reducing your need to step back into day-to-day decisions.
   
   If every major decision and process depends on you, your business isn’t stable — it’s fragile. Whether it’s finding a sales leader or structuring your team so you’re not constantly pulled back into day-to-day operations, removing yourself as the bottleneck is critical. A strong leader on your team — someone who takes ownership and drives results — changes everything. One strong leader can replace hours of micromanagement and constant problem-solving.
   

2. Focus on the Decisions That Only YOU Can Make – Focus on higher-level decisions like company direction and investments. Let your team handle decisions tied to their roles. If your team doesn’t agree right away, that’s normal — trust yourself to make the big calls.
   

3. Don’t Let Fear Paralyze You – If you've been burned before, it's easy to doubt yourself. Avoid information overload — too much research fuels hesitation. Instead, use your core values as filters. Ask: 'Does this align with what I believe? Does it move me closer to my goals?' This clarity builds confidence and momentum.
   
   If you’ve been burned by bad advice or failed strategies in the past, you may second-guess your instincts. The key is developing clear criteria for evaluating decisions — data, proven tactics, and alignment with your business’s values. Confidence comes from knowing why you’re making each decision and recognizing that you don’t need your team’s full buy-in for every big move .
   
   If you've been burned before, it’s natural to doubt yourself. But hesitation often comes down to a lack of trust in your own instincts. Remember, you’ve already built something successful — lean into what you know works, and make decisions that align with the future you want to create.
   

4. Build a System, Not Just a Sales Team – Don’t just hire closers and hope they perform. Create a system with clear metrics like show-up rates, quality score, BFNO %, and percentage of calls booked, calls moved to a setter etc. More importantly, use a proper testing strategy — one that judges ads based on quality metrics like lead quality and conversion potential, not just lead cost, CPM, click cost, CTR or even ROAS.
   
   Testing for high-quality leads ensures you’re filling your pipeline with prospects who are far more likely to close — the best way to support your sales team. – Instead of just hiring salespeople and hoping they perform, create a system that sets them up for success. This includes clear lead handling procedures, detailed reporting, and accountability structures that ensure no potential sales slip through the cracks. Focus on optimizing your sales funnel so your team can focus on closing deals, not finding leads. Scaling effectively means creating a system that’s predictable. A clear structure for sales, marketing, and client acquisition — with defined roles and measurable outcomes — gives you peace of mind.
   

5. Embrace the Right Kind of Growth – The fastest racecars have the least parts. Instead of adding complexity, strip away what’s not essential and double down on what’s working. Go a mile deep and an inch wide — not the other way around. . – Growth isn’t always about adding more — it’s about adding better. Instead of expanding your team or adding complexity, focus on refining your strategy so you can scale without sacrificing your family’s stability.
   

6. Know Your Core Values and Build Around Them – Scaling without values creates chaos. Determine what matters most to you and use those values as filters for hiring, strategy, and decision-making. When you align your business with your values, you’ll build something stable, fulfilling, and lasting.

Most entrepreneurs get so caught up in chasing the next big thing — more leads, more sales, more campaigns… Those things are important — but they forget to build a business that can hold up when life blindsides them.

If your business is built on chaos instead of a scalable values based system, it’s just a matter of time before you burn out — or worse, you’re stuck powerless when life demands your attention.

Don’t get caught in an either-or mentality. You can scale a thriving business and stay true to your values if you're a true expert at what you provide for your customers. Build something that lets you live — that’s where true success is.

Talk soon,

– Lance C. Greenberg