The Shiny Object Trap: When "More" Is Actually Hurting Your Business
A new service line can feel like the answer when business gets hard. Will, Alex, and Ian talk through why new offers look shiniest during a rough month, how they decided when to add bookkeeping, and the questions they ask before saying yes.
The Short Answer
A new service, product, or location is real growth when you choose it from a stable place: it makes your main business better, you have the people and processes to run it, and you can test it in small steps first. It's a shiny object when it's a reaction to fear, boredom, or a cash crunch, a quick fix for a problem you haven't solved in the business you already have. Before you say yes, ask whether it's a band-aid or a blueprint, whether you'd be willing to do it for years, and what small test could prove it right or wrong.
Why New Offers Look Best When Things Are Hard
Will has noticed that the shiny object gets shiniest when the existing business is struggling. Revenue is down this month, profit is down, and there's that new service over there you could go sell. A quick launch might bring in cash and ease the immediate pain. It doesn't touch the real question: why does the current business feel so hard?
There's a skill trap in this too. Most owners are natural sellers and visionaries. Going out and selling something new feels safe because it's what you're good at. Fixing the operational problems you've been avoiding does not. So the new thing becomes a way to buy time instead of doing the harder work.
In the episode, the guys named three feelings that usually sit behind the urge:
Fear
Ian sees owners in fear skip the small experiment and "burn the ships," going all in on the new thing instead of looking honestly at what's happening in the current one.
Boredom
Things feel stagnant, or you've finally bought back some time and feel guilty enjoying it. For Alex, boredom shows up as spotting a new problem and thinking, "I'll bet we could solve that."
A Cash Crunch
Acute cash flow pain pushes owners toward drastic, fast action. That's exactly when a new revenue stream feels like a rescue.
Band-Aid or Blueprint?
"I feel like it comes down to the difference between is this a band-aid or a blueprint?"
Alex Engar, co-founder of CEO Finance AcademyA band-aid is something you do to cover a gap in what you're already doing. A blueprint is something you've thought through on purpose. Alex is clear that band-aids aren't always wrong. If cash is really tight, pulling from a line of credit can be the right call. But you can't keep stacking band-aids and call it a structure to build on.
Signs it's a band-aid
- It's meant to cover a profit or cash gap in the main business
- It's driven by fear, boredom, or a bad month
- It comes with a sense of urgency and nervous energy
- It's more of the thing that isn't working, like a new location when the first one is struggling
Signs it's a blueprint
- It makes your main business better, not just bigger
- You have the people and processes to run it
- It lines up with what you actually want long term
- The business is fine either way, so there's no pressure for it to work right this second
The location example is a common one. If the current location or product line isn't working and you expand to fix it, you'll likely run the new one with the same lack of focus. You end up with more of the problem.
Questions to Ask Before You Say Yes
None of the hosts pitched a formal framework, but between them they use a handful of questions every time something new shows up. Run your idea through these before you commit time, money, or people.
1. Is This Coming From Want or Fear?
This is the first thing Ian asks himself. Is it something you truly want, or a way to get away from a feeling you don't want right now?
2. Would I Be Willing to Do This Forever?
You don't have to commit forever. But if you already know you'll be sick of it in three years, why start? If the honest answer is "for three years, then something else," that's fine. Just be clear on what it's for, and make sure you aren't rebuilding your last business under a different label.
3. Does It Make the Main Thing Better?
The green light, for Alex, is when the new thing doesn't pull focus from the core business but makes it better, more enjoyable, or more effective. It also helps to check it against what you value most. For us, that's asking whether it deepens our relationships with clients.
4. Who Is Going to Run It?
Do you have the people and the processes? Is there someone who would actually love leading it? If it lands on your shoulders and you don't care about it, it'll end up on the back burner.
5. What Is One Small Step That Would Prove It Right or Wrong?
Before you put half your time, energy, attention, and money into it, find a simple test. Ian's gut check: if you're not willing to sit for an hour and figure out what that test looks like, is it really worth pursuing?
6. Where Is the Urgency Coming From?
Ian often watches owners set hard deadlines for something they've never done before. Alex treats the feeling of "we just have to do this now" as a signal to stop. He calls the wrong hire at the wrong time one of the most expensive mistakes a business can make, far more than a few missed sales.
If the idea means hiring or new overhead, it's also worth running the numbers first. Our guide on whether your business can handle growth walks through the questions to ask.
How We Decided When to Add Bookkeeping
For about four years, paying clients kept asking us whether we did bookkeeping. Demand wasn't the issue. Alex sums up why we waited in one word: focus.
In our early years we were good at launching lots of different offers, and they mostly worked. Then we went the other way: pick one thing and go deep until it runs on repeat, gets results consistently, and doesn't depend on one person. CFO services came next because they were the more natural fit. Bookkeeping came only after that was dialed in.
Will adds some humility to this. Back then, we barely knew how to run the business we had. Bolting on a second kind of service would have made it harder, not easier.
When we did start, it was a slow rollout. Ian ran it internally as a test to see what we liked and what it needed to look like. Then we found someone on the team who loves the work and wanted to lead it. Now it's profitable, it's systematized, and it's low stress, mainly because we never needed it to fill a gap. It was a supplement, not a rescue.
What a Sudden Launch Does to Your Team
When it's just you, you can change direction overnight and nobody notices. Once you have a team, they're watching you. Will has seen that when a normally calm owner suddenly shifts into high speed on a new offer, the team reads it as panic. Is the business in trouble? Should I be worried about my job?
Ian's fix is simple. Before you announce "we're launching this," share the context first: here's what I'm noticing, here's what I'm feeling, here's what I'm thinking. Then ask for feedback and mean it. A good team will push back and ask whether this is really the best way to fix the problem. That's slower than deciding alone. It's also how owners avoid the leadership ceiling where the business can only grow as far as their own gut decisions.
Build a Business Where You're Good Either Way
The best protection against shiny objects is not needing them. A few things the guys have found help:
- Keep reserves from good months. Will credits being disciplined in good times with cutting down the moments where it felt like we had to launch something, change pricing, or do something drastic next month. A 13-week cash flow forecast helps you see a tight stretch coming.
- Look at your business model honestly. If every customer relationship is short, all the pressure sits on finding new customers every month. That pressure feeds the urge to grab something new. Sometimes the real fix is changing the model.
- Notice when steady growth feels like failure. Ian finds that for a lot of owners, steady growth feels like death, so they don't even see that they're growing.
- Ask whether more is actually better. Alex's question: could you be okay with a smaller, more profitable business? Or are you chasing a carrot on a stick that moves every time you get close?
Ian's version: what would a position look like where you're good either way? If the business is stable without the new thing, you get to choose it because it's a real opportunity, not because you're scared.
Want Help Deciding If Your Next Idea Is Worth It?
We help owners look at the numbers behind a new service, location, or hire before they commit, so growth comes from a plan instead of a rough month. Let's look at where your business stands today.
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Start by asking why you want it. If it comes from real interest and it makes your main business better, that's a good sign. If it's mainly a way to cover a cash or profit gap, it's probably a band-aid. Also check that you have the people and processes to run it, and that you can test it in a small step before going all in.
Not always, but be careful. A cash crunch is when a new offer looks most appealing, and it can ease short-term pain while leaving the real problem untouched. Short-term fixes, like drawing on a line of credit, are sometimes necessary. Just be honest that it's a band-aid, and keep working on why the main business is struggling.
Look for one small step that would prove the idea right or wrong before you commit a big share of your time, money, and people. If you aren't willing to spend an hour figuring out what that test looks like, that tells you something. Avoid setting hard deadlines for something you've never done, and let it grow at a pace the business can handle.
Usually it's fear, boredom, or cash pressure. Many owners are natural sellers, so launching something new feels easier than fixing operational problems they've been avoiding. Steady growth can also feel like standing still, which pushes owners to look for the next big thing. Noticing which of these is driving you is the first step to making a better decision.
Share the context before the decision. Tell them what you're noticing, feeling, and thinking, then ask for honest feedback. If a normally calm owner suddenly goes full speed on something new without explaining why, the team often reads it as panic and wonders whether the business is in trouble. A team that can push back will help you avoid bad bets.