Quick Hits

• More than 20% of (small business) loan applications are rejected, while a further 28% only receive partial funding.

• From the US Chamber of Commerce 

  • In March, 40% of small businesses reported unfilled job openings, with skilled labor shortages being a significant issue.

  • The average rate paid for short maturity loans was 8.9% (up 0.1 (10 basis points)) and 28% of small business owners report borrowing on a regular basis  (4 points higher than February).

Deep Dive: The Owner's Energy Crisis

Why Working Harder Isn't Working

I hit rock bottom on a Tuesday afternoon. I was staring at my computer screen, completely unable to make a simple decision about a client proposal. My mind was blank. My creativity was gone. I'd been grinding for months, and suddenly, the tank was empty.

That moment taught me something crucial: You can't outwork an energy problem.

As business owners, we're trained to believe that pushing through fatigue is a badge of honor. Sleep when you're dead. Hustle harder. No days off.

What a load of crap.

The Unsustainable Engine

Your business runs on your energy, not just your time. When that energy consistently runs low, everything suffers – your decision-making, your creativity, your leadership. Yet most owners treat their own energy as an infinite resource -even as they meticulously manage every other business asset.

During my years building my first company, I learned the hard way that my energy was actually my scarcest resource. Money, time, team members – all of these could be replaced or increased. But my personal energy had firm limits, and ignoring them had consequences.

The Misalignment Problem

Here's what nobody talks about: Most businesses are accidentally structured to waste the owner's energy on the wrong things.

When I analyzed where my energy was going, I discovered something disturbing. The activities that drained me most were:

• Meetings where I wasn't actually needed

• Decisions others could make without me

• Problems that could have been prevented with better systems

• Conversations I'd already had multiple times

• Work that remained undelegated due to not wanting to “overload” someone

None of these were moving the business forward in meaningful ways. They were just energy sinks that I had unintentionally built into my day.

The Permission Paradox

The strangest part? I was doing this to myself. As the owner, I had complete authority to restructure how I spent my time and energy. No one was forcing me into this pattern.

Yet I stayed trapped in it for years, believing that, "this is just what running a business looks like."

This is the permission paradox: Owners have the authority to change how they work but rarely give themselves permission to use that authority.

Energy vs. Productivity

Business culture teaches us to focus on productivity – getting more done in less time. That's important, but it misses something critical: not all productive hours are created equal.

An hour of work when you're energized might generate ideas worth millions. That same hour when you're depleted might produce nothing of value, or worse, decisions you'll later regret.

Here's what actually matters: your energy-adjusted productivity. One deeply energized hour often accomplishes more than eight depleted ones.

The Warning Signs

How do you know if you're facing an energy crisis? Watch for these signals I ignored for too long:

• You dread decisions you once made confidently

• Your creative thinking has been replaced by reactive thinking

• You find yourself getting irritated by routine business matters

• You're avoiding conversations with key team members

• Weekend recovery no longer feels sufficient

• You've started questioning if you even want to run your business anymore

That last one is critical. Many owners think they've fallen out of love with their business when they've actually just fallen into an energy crisis.

The Owner’s Energy Blueprint

When I finally addressed my energy crisis, I developed a simple framework that changed everything:

1. Identify your energy creators and energy drainers: Think about the times you were in a flow state or got something done that felt great. Jot down 3-4 instances when you’ve felt that way. Think about what it felt like. Are there any trends across those instances?

Do the same with things you hate that suck energy. Now you have some targets.

2. Eliminate energy-draining activities with no strategic value: These are the silent killers. They feel like "real work," but they contribute nothing meaningful to your business. In my case, this included sitting in on meetings where I added no value but felt obligated to attend.

3. Transform necessary energy drains through systems and delegation: Some energy-draining work truly matters. Don't abandon it – transform how it gets done. Build systems. Train others. Create decision frameworks that remove you from as much of the equation as possible.

For example, I hated doing employee compensation but it’s really important. We set up a process where the team gets market survey data, does an exercise to rate performance that forces real decisions and trade-offs, and models a low, medium, and high compensation increase scenario. Now I knew that the key variables and considerations had been taken into account and I could come in at the end and make a final decision. I wasn’t out but I got as close to out as possible.

4. Protect your energy creation zones: For most owners, certain activities reliably generate energy: strategic thinking, mentoring key team members, solving complex problems, connecting with ideal clients. These aren't indulgences – they're fuel for everything else. Protect this time religiously.

5. Build recovery into your business rhythm: Energy isn't just about work type – it's about recovery cycles. I learned to build in true disconnection periods, not just vacations where I checked email hourly. These are going to be different for everyone. Some people want to socialize, others want to exercise, some play golf (so they can stress out in another way), and still others want to veg.

Find the things that help you recover.

The Counterintuitive Truth

Here's what surprised me most: When I started prioritizing my energy over traditional productivity metrics, both my energy and my productivity increased.

By eliminating energy-draining busywork, I freed up capacity for the things that actually moved the business forward. By protecting recovery time, I showed up fully present for the work that mattered.

The business didn't suffer – it accelerated.

Your Energy Assessment

Ask yourself honestly:

• What activities consistently energize me that I'm not protecting time for?

• What energy drains could I eliminate entirely without any real business impact?

• Which energy drains are important to the company? How can I minimize my involvement while making sure it gets done right?

• Where am I forcing myself to work in ways that deplete me unnecessarily?

• What recovery rhythms do I need but haven't given myself permission to implement?

The path to a better business doesn't always run through more hours. Sometimes it runs through better energy management of the hours you already have.

In this episode of Small Business Black Holes, Alan and Tonya, explore how business owners can evaluate their personal vision against their business goals to make informed decisions about growth and lifestyle balance.

What You'll Learn:

• How to determine your true personal vision as a business owner before making strategic decisions

• Why the "4% rule" can help define your financial goals and inform business exit strategies

• The six key factors that determine business maturity and owner independence

• How to identify and overcome common growth barriers between $2-10M in revenue

• Why lifestyle businesses aren't a compromise but can be a strategic choice for sustainable success

• The critical trade-offs between aggressive growth and work-life balance in business ownership

Check Out Owner Institute

Want to learn more about building real owner independence and wealth? Check out our programs at ownerinstitute.com.