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Your revenue is down. Sales have slowed. And every time you log into social media, you're hit with another wave of news that makes you want to throw your entire business plan out the window and start over.

But here's what most business owners don't realize: when things slow down, the problem is rarely everything. It's usually just one or two key levers that need your attention. The CEOs who come out stronger on the other side? They're the ones who can diagnose the real issue instead of burning it all down in a panic.

In this episode, I'm walking you through the exact framework I use with my CEO Collective clients to figure out what actually needs fixing in your business. We're talking about the four levers that directly impact your revenue, how to identify which one is causing your slowdown, and why changing everything at once is the worst move you can make right now.

This isn't about working harder or doing more. It's about working smarter and focusing your energy where it will actually move the needle. Because sales slowdowns don't mean your business is broken. They mean it's time to make a strategic CEO-level decision.

On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

• The leaky bucket problem - Why you might be bringing in new clients but still losing revenue (and the one metric that will tell you if this is happening in your business)
  
  
• Product-market fit in uncertain times - The three scenarios where adjusting your offers makes sense, and when a "bite-sized" entry point could be the bridge between hesitant buyers and long-term clients
  
  
• The messaging shift nobody's talking about - Why aspirational content stops converting when the economy gets shaky, and what your audience is actually searching for right now
  
  
• The visibility dilemma - How to stay visible when you're burned out on social media, plus the "Follow-Up Friday" strategy that's working for service-based business owners right now
  
  
• The science experiment approach - Why changing one variable at a time is the only way to actually know what's working (and what's not) in your business
  
  
• Client retention as your secret weapon - The case study of a CEO Collective member whose revenue dropped even though new client numbers stayed the same, and what we discovered when we looked under the hood

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

Subscribe & Review:

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!

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You know that feeling when you open your closet and somehow have nothing to wear—even though it's packed full? That's what running your business feels like right now. Not because you lack options, but because you have too many of them.

Fresh off our CEO Retreats, I've been hearing the same thing from small business owners across the country: they're stuck. Not on client work—they're confident there. But on the CEO-level decisions that could make or break their next year. The ones about pricing, team, strategy. The decisions they keep putting off because "what if I'm wrong?"

Here's what nobody talks about: this isn't a confidence problem. It's not an effort problem. It's decision fatigue, and it's eating up your cognitive capacity before you even get to the decisions that matter. Every morning you're starting with a tank of mental fuel, and by the time you need to make the big call, you're running on empty.

In this episode, I'm breaking down why wait-and-see mode is costing you more than you realize, what Steve Jobs and Barack Obama understood about preserving brain power, and the one tool that's going to help you cut through the noise: your CEO decision matrix. If you've been spinning your wheels on a decision you know you need to make, this one's for you.

In This Episode:

• Why small business owners feel economic shifts first—and what that reality means for the decisions sitting on your desk right now that you've been avoiding
• The cognitive capacity trap: I'm breaking down how your morning routine, chronic illness, or last night's sleep actually determines how much decision-making power you have today (and why this changes everything)
• What prolific leaders do differently when it comes to preserving mental energy for strategic decisions—it's not about working harder, and the examples might surprise you
• The real cost of "wait and see" mode—I'm sharing what I've witnessed happen when small business owners delay tough conversations about team, pricing, or strategy, and why your options shrink instead of expand
• How too many options create paralysis—your packed closet explains exactly what's happening in your business, and once you see this pattern, you can't unsee it
• The CEO Decision Matrix framework: I'm walking you through the filtering system that uses your vision and values to help you make tough calls faster and with more confidence

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

Subscribe & Review:

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!

Send us a text

You know that sinking feeling when a client asks for "that document we worked on last month" and you have absolutely no idea where you saved it? Or when you're paying your team to sit idle while you frantically search through folders trying to find the resources they need?

If you've ever felt like the organized, professional front you present to the world is hiding a complete digital disaster behind the scenes, this episode is for you. Tracy Hoth, professional organizer turned business coach, reveals why most entrepreneurs struggle with organization (hint: it's not because you're "naturally messy") and shares her surprisingly simple system that works whether you're a solopreneur or managing a team.

This isn't about buying fancy software or overhauling your entire business overnight. Tracy breaks down the exact five-folder system she uses with clients to eliminate the constant search-and-rescue missions that are quietly draining your productivity and confidence. She also shares the "wonderful one" concept that could save you hours every week and the maintenance habit that takes less than five minutes but keeps everything running smoothly.

Ready to stop being the bottleneck in your own business? Tracy's practical approach might just be the missing piece that transforms your behind-the-scenes chaos into a well-oiled machine.

In This Episode:

• The "Monica's Closet" phenomenon — Why most business owners look perfectly organized on the outside while drowning in digital chaos behind the scenes

• Tracy's five essential business folders — The stupidly simple filing system that works for Google Drive, Canva, email, and every other platform you use daily

• The hidden cost of disorganization — How being unable to find files is masquerading as "bad time management" and costing you money in team productivity

• The "wonderful one" rule — Why choosing a single hub for everything eliminates decision fatigue and stops files from multiplying across devices

• SPASM method revealed — Tracy's 17-year-old organizing process that works for physical spaces, digital files, and even overwhelmed brains

• The maintenance secret — The simple habit-stacking technique that keeps your system running without constant overhauls (spoiler: it ties to something you already do)

Connect with Me:

• Instagram: @racheal.cook
• TikTok: @rachealcookmba
• LinkedIn: @rachealcook
• YouTube: @the_ceo_collective
• Website: The CEO Collective

Subscribe & Review:

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

🎤 Thanks for listening! I'll see you next week!