From Hustle to Strategy: Inputs Over Outcomes

I’ve been mulling over the problem of overwhelm and burnout that so many small business owners face and really thinking about how to help address this issue with my clients.

Part of that has to do with the mental overload you create for yourself when it comes to keeping it all in your head. (I shared more about that earlier this month, you can read that here: Mental Overload is Sabotaging Your Success: Here’s How to Fix It.)

Another issue that leads to the overwhelm that founders face is that you often don’t have a great way to track your impact or metrics for reaching your milestones. The ones you do create don’t take into account the things you don’t have control over.

Last year was crushing for a lot of business owners and had them running back to the drawing board or scrapping everything. Things shifted in the market and those shifts were rough on revenue and growth.

It left quite a few owners feeling shame, guilt, and burnout. Some of them felt like failures. If you experienced this know that you are not alone.

A large part of that has to do with how you track your metrics and KPIs (key performance indicators) that you create in your business. See you're encouraged to track mostly outcomes such as income, engagement, leads, and profit. These outcomes are things you largely have no control over especially when you have a market shift or correction.

It also leaves a lot of business owners wondering what your teams are doing when they stop seeing the usual results.

Last quarter Jordan Gill shared that she was moving to only having one goal in her business. She was going to be focusing on getting traffic to her email list and creating x number of subscribers per day.

This got me thinking back to when I was blogging.

About 12 years ago, I was part of a networking group of business owners. We were all bloggers, and during one of our calls, the conversation turned to the concept of IPAs (income-producing activities). One of our friends introduced us all to the idea, and naturally, most of us assumed that writing blog posts was the primary activity driving income for our businesses.

After all, wasn’t that the core of what we did?

But my friend dropped a truth bomb: she walked us through her daily routine - not just writing blog posts, but everything she did to drive traffic to her posts and, more importantly, to her products and services.

That was the real magic: tasks like sharing her post links to social media, responding to comments, creating videos that lead to her website, and building her email list. It was a monumental shift for all of us. It was her consistent inputs, the behind-the-scenes actions, that made her outcomes possible.

That conversation had a huge impact on how I thought about the things we focus on when it comes to our daily to-dos. It made me see that the work we don’t always think of as 'big' is often the most impactful.

I’ll be honest: even though I learned about IPAs years ago, I haven’t always kept them top of mind. Like many CEOs, I’ve found myself swept up in the endless to-do lists, trying to tackle a million things at once. Last quarter, I realized how unsustainable that is and not just for me but for anyone leading a business or team.

This month as I was coming back to this thought, after being ill over the holidays, I saw this video shared by Leila Hormozi titled: How to Achieve Anything. (The thumbnail said, “Don’t Focus on Goals.) After watching her share her thoughts on what she shifted in her tracking, it was like a little lightbulb went off. 💡

The more I reflect on what I can actually control, the more I understand the value of focusing on inputs.

I can’t always guarantee specific outcomes, like hitting a revenue goal or landing a big client. But what I can do is show up consistently for the actions that drive results: building relationships, refining my processes, and creating content that aligns with my mission.

This mindset shift is freeing because it takes the pressure off of chasing unrealistic expectations. It’s about working smarter, not harder - giving myself and my team room to breathe, focus, and succeed without burnout.

I truly believe that the toxic hustle culture we see today is killing businesses and their teams. It’s leading to overwork, unrealistic goals, and unhealthy environments for online business owners and small teams.

Here’s an example of what that might look like:

These input-based goals shift the focus from chasing unpredictable outcomes to executing consistent, high-impact actions. Over time, these actions will drive the outcomes we’re aiming for - like more engagement, leads, or brand awareness - but without the constant pressure of chasing vanity metrics.

This approach also benefits the team. It empowers them to focus on what they can control, reduces unnecessary stress, and creates a clear, actionable roadmap for their role. Everyone wins: the team feels productive and valued, and the business moves closer to its goals.

Here’s the thing about running a business - it’s easy to get caught up in chasing big outcomes that feel out of reach or downright impossible some days. But the secret isn’t in obsessing over those outcomes; it’s in focusing on the things you can actually control. I’m talking about your inputs, the actions you can take every single day to keep the wheels turning and your business moving forward. Let me walk you through how to figure out what those are for you.

1. Find What Moves the Needle

First, let’s get clear on what’s really driving your business forward. Ask yourself: What specific actions bring in revenue or create opportunities? I’m not talking about fluff like posting on Instagram just because. I mean the real stuff that lead to sales, new clients, or stronger relationships.

Questions to ask yourself:

For example, if you want more leads, think about the steps that make that happen. Maybe it’s sharing a lead magnet, reaching out to your network, or hopping on calls with potential clients. The key is to focus on actions that actually work, not busywork that just makes you feel productive.

2. Work Backward From the Goal

Now, let’s take those big goals you’re dreaming of and reverse-engineer them. What needs to happen to make them a reality? Break it all the way down into bite-sized actions you can tackle daily or weekly.

Example process:

See how this takes the pressure off? Instead of staring at that big, intimidating goal, you’ve got a list of doable steps to get you there. It’s like baking a cake, you focus on mixing the batter and preheating the oven, not just the finished dessert.

3. Make It Fit You (or Your Team)

Here’s where it gets personal. Your inputs need to make sense for your business, your strengths, and your flow. What works for me might not work for you and that’s okay. Play to your strengths, and if you’ve got a team, it’s time to set them up for success.

The goal is to make these inputs feel natural and manageable. If you dread doing them every day, you’re setting yourself up to fail. Find what works and stick with it.

4. Put It On the To-Do List

Listen, if it’s not written down, it’s not getting done. Take those inputs and make them a part of your daily and weekly plans. This is how you hold yourself—and your team—accountable.

Daily example: Add three IPAs to your to-do list (e.g., ‘Reach out to five leads’ or ‘Pitch two podcasts’).

Weekly example: Track what you’ve done, like the number of calls made, emails sent, or posts published.

5. Check In and Tweak as You Go

Last but not least, don’t forget to evaluate what’s working and what’s not. Businesses evolve, and so do your inputs. Make it a habit to step back, look at the bigger picture, and adjust where needed.

Reflection questions:

The goal here isn’t to make this harder, it’s to make it work better. You’re building a system that fits you and your business like a good pair of boots.

If you need help discoverng what is really moving the needle in your business, book a call and let's review your KPIs.

It’s time to bring a holistic approach to the way you measure results in your business and getting back to knowing what moves the needle forward for yourself and your team members.

You deserve a business that not only supports you, but supports the healthiest most aligned version of you.