If you’re waiting to “get through” the messy middle of your business, this episode is going to completely reframe how you think about growth. In this episode of The Real Truth About Business podcast, I’m breaking down why the middle is not a phase you escape but the reality of building a sustainable service-based business. This is for service-based entrepreneurs who feel stuck in a revenue plateau, frustrated that things feel inconsistent, messy, or harder than they should. After 9 years of experience, I can tell you the middle is where your real business strategy is built. Inside this episode, I walk you through the different seasons of business growth, how to identify where you are, and what to actually focus on so you can navigate this stage instead of trying to rush past it.

What You'll Learn:

• Why the “messy middle” never actually ends in a service-based business
• The three seasons of business growth and how to identify yours
• How to tell if you’ve outgrown your current business strategy
• Why revenue plateaus often signal a need for strategic change
• How to adjust your pricing strategy, pipeline, and sales process
• Why doing less (not more) is key to sustainable business growth

Episode Highlights:

[00:00] Introduction: Why the middle is the reality of business growth

[03:00] The myth of “getting through” the messy middle

[06:00] The three seasons: growth, smooth sailing, and hard seasons

[10:00] Signs you’ve outgrown your current strategy

[14:00] Why most business owners stay reactive instead of strategic

[18:00] How to evaluate pricing, pipeline, and sales

[21:00] Why doing less creates more revenue growth

Key Takeaways:

The Middle Is the Business

Here’s what I see constantly. Business owners thinking they’re going to “get through” the messy middle and finally arrive at a place where everything feels easy.

After 9 years of working with service-based entrepreneurs, I can tell you that’s not how business works. The middle doesn’t end unless you exit your business.

The middle is the business.

What actually changes are the seasons within it. Sometimes things feel smooth. Sometimes they feel messy. Sometimes they feel really hard. But none of those mean something is wrong.

They mean something is shifting.

There Are Seasons, Not Stages

Not all “messy middle” experiences are the same. You’re either in a growth season, a smooth season, or a hard season.

Growth seasons feel exciting but chaotic. You’re saying yes to opportunities, evolving your offers, and expanding your visibility. This is where a lot of repositioning and strategic planning happens.

Smooth seasons feel stable. Revenue is consistent. Your sales process is working. But this is also where people get complacent and stop building their pipeline.

Hard seasons feel heavy. Sales slow down. Your strategies stop working. This is where most people panic and assume they’re doing something wrong.

You’re not. You’re just in a different season.

Feeling “Messy” Usually Means You’ve Outgrown Your Strategy

If things feel off, it’s not random. It’s data.

Most of the time, that messy feeling is a signal that your current business strategy no longer fits where you are. Your pricing strategy might be outdated. Your lead generation might not be aligned with your next level. Your sales process might need to evolve.

Inside the Focused Visionary Framework, this is where Pricing, Pipeline, and Sales all come back into focus.

You don’t need to burn everything down. You need to adjust.

More Is Not the Solution

This is where most people go wrong. When things feel messy, they add more.

More content. More offers. More tactics.

But if you’re already at capacity or sitting in a revenue plateau, adding more is exactly what keeps you stuck.

The real work at this stage is subtraction. Removing what no longer works. Getting clear on what actually drives revenue growth. Making strategic decisions based on facts, not emotion.

Your Job Is to Navigate, Not Escape

The goal is not to get out of the middle. It’s to get better at navigating it.

That means understanding your numbers. Paying attention to your pipeline. Adjusting your sales process. Making decisions that align with where you’re going, not where you’ve been.

Every new level of business growth brings a new version of the middle.

That’s not failure. That’s how you scale.

Resources Mentioned

• Subscribe to Back Pocket Insights for FREE
• Book a CEO Strategy Call
• Learn more about The Missing Piece Intensive
• Learn more about The Focused Visionary Accelerator
• Download the FREE Lead and Conversion Tracker
• Subscribe to the Sunday Morning Brew Newsletter

About the Host:

Michelle DeNio is a business strategist based in Sarasota, Florida, specializing in helping service-based entrepreneurs break through revenue plateaus using her Focused Visionary Framework. With over 300 podcast episodes and 9 years running her consulting business, she helps coaches, consultants, and service providers scale sustainably through strategic planning, pricing optimization, and sales process development.

Connect with Michelle

1. Website
2. Threads
3. Instagram
4. LinkedIn
5. Facebook

Today I want to talk about something I call living in the middle, because here's what nobody is actually telling you is that pretty much all of business is the middle, right?

The middle doesn't just end unless you're exiting your business.

And so the faster that you can accept that, the faster that you can build something sustainable.

And that's what I want to really dive into today, because I think so.

So many people are just waiting for that period of time where, like, the messy middle doesn't feel messy anymore and they just can't wait to get through it.

And I don't know that there is a through it.

However, there are seasons to it.

So that's what we're talking about today.

This one might get a little spicy, but that's what you're here for.

All right, so let's dive in.

Welcome back.

I'm so excited to be here.

This is a conversation that I have been having over and over.

This is really going to become one of my signature positioning statements, my talks.

I've got a couple of key talks planned around this.

I've got an event planned around this topic, which I can't wait to tell you more about.

It's happening in September in Boston, so be on the lookout for that.

Follow me on socials.

I'd be posting it on Instagram and threads and Facebook and in my email.

So if you are interested in attending a live event, definitely go.

Follow me on all the things and then also social media.

Super exciting news.

I made a big change and the Back Pocket Insights private podcast is now completely free.

The podcast itself me in your back pocket twice a week, super short episodes, plus a weekly activation email to remind you to listen to the episodes, but also to get you taking action so that you're not just consuming, you're actually listening and taking action from the episode.

So that is now completely free.

And.

And there is still a paid community component to it.

However, it's more Mastermind style, happening once a month.

There's details in the email about that as well.

But if you have been kind of wanting to listen to Back Pocket Insights, you want more of that strategy in your back pocket, it is now completely free.

Just click the link in the bio and you can have access to it.

I'm super excited about that.

So please, please, please go wrap.

What am I trying to say?

Go sign up.

Subscribe to Back Pocket Insights.

Okay.

All right, so let's talk about the middle.

Okay, so here's what I want you to hear first and foremost.

And I touched on this I think in the last episode.

And it triggered something in me, like I didn't even know I was going to say it.

Which is one of the beautiful things about how my brain works.

But also it's like, holy, that was really fraking good.

What could I. I could dive deeper into that.

So here I am.

But as I have been to events and I've been talking to other people, there is this saying and this feeling of like, oh my gosh, I'm just living in the messy middle right now and I just can't wait to get through it.

But here's the thing about it, okay?

And this is what I want you to really understand is that unless you are brand new startup, pre revenue phase, or you are in your exit strategy, exit planning stage, everything between that is the middle, okay?

So it's not really something.

The middle is not something we get through.

The only way to get through it is to sell your business.

And most of us are not doing that right now.

We're not anywhere clear, like anywhere near that.

So that's why I want to bring this up because I think it's so important because I think people think that like they're going to move through the middle, but it's like when you really think about it, like, it doesn't end, right?

So anyways, here is what does happen though, is that there are pieces and seasons inside of the middle, right, that sometimes are messy and they feel messy.

And then there are some seasons in the middle that are smooth sailing, right?

You're kind of just coasting, you're moving along, things are going really well.

And then there are seasons of the middle that just absolutely fucking suck, right?

Like there are just those periods in business where it's like, holy shit, nothing is working.

I don't freaking know what's going on.

Like, like what in the actual F. Okay?

And so that's what I think is more important to understand is that the middle doesn't end, but it does go through seasons, okay?

And so you may be in one of those seasons.

I was talking to a friend about this and I would say the past year, two years, probably two years had been really kind of messy.

You know, they've been uncomfortable.

They've actually, you know what?

They've actually just effing sucked, right?

Like, I mean, in a sense there have been some really frigging hard parts.

Now I would say I'm in a season of messy because I'm in a serious growth season and it's messy and it feels messy because things are Being revamped, repositioned.

There's new messaging, you know, being explored, and just new audiences getting in new rooms.

Like, so it all feels a little bit messy right now.

It feels like I'm kind of all over the place.

But again, that's just a season.

It's not.

It's not gonna last.

But this happens every single time you level up, right?

And so I was talking to this friend about it, and she was like, yes, Michelle, I love this.

This resonates so much.

And I was like, yeah, because we are literally living in the middle right now.

And she's like, we definitely are.

And it's messy.

And both of us are in that messy stage because we are, like, leveling up to that next stage in our business.

And it's just.

It's.

It's just one of those seasons where it's like, you just gotta do it, right?

You just gotta get through it.

And so every time you kind of cry, go through this, like, leveling up, you're entering a new middle, right?

And so that's so important to remember.

That's really, truly.

Like, I could end this episode right now.

And I want you to just really remember that.

That the middle is not a problem to solve, okay?

It doesn't like, it doesn't get solved.

It's just the actual work.

And so a lot of times when things start to feel messy, that's a sign, right?

That's your business.

Saying, something's up, something's going on, and we need to give it a little bit more attention.

But the problem is, is most of us just don't.

We just kind of keep going through the motions.

You just keep being in that state of reactivity, and you're not ever, like, proactively or sitting down and reflecting and going, okay, what is actually frigging going on right now that is making this feel so hard?

Okay?

So I. I want you to sit with and ask yourself, like, if you're in this, like, are you frustrated?

Are you with the middle, like, the actual middle itself, or are you running a strategy that no longer fits where you are?

Right?

Because there's a difference there, Right?

And it also.

The other question to ask yourself is like, what season of the Middle are you in right now?

Are you in one of those growth, messy stages?

Are you in this smooth sailing?

Like, I'm good.

Like, things are good.

I'm selling my offers.

I'm not changing anything.

I've got the audience.

I'm just selling, working it.

You know what I mean?

I'm not Saying it's easy.

I'm not saying it's not easy to do.

It's.

It's still hard work, but it's smoother sailing.

Right?

And what I mean by that.

Or are you in a season where it's just, like, it freaking sucks, right?

It's just one of those, like, it just freaking sucks.

Okay?

So if you're in a growth season, if you ask yourself that question, you're like, well, I don't really know what the different seasons look like, right?

Growth is more like revenue is climbing, new opportunities are coming, things are feeling possible, right?

But you're kind of in this, like, saying yes to everything, momentum.

And that's when things start to get a little bit messy, right?

Because it's like, oh, my gosh, I'm doing all of these things.

That's what I was just saying to you.

Like, earlier in this episode was like, I'm in that place because I've said yes to a lot of things.

I'm planning two events.

I'm launching a second podcast.

I change Back Pocket Insights, the whole community there.

I revamp my offer suite.

I'm redoing my positioning, right?

Like, it's all.

All the middle, and it's all growth, and it's all messy, and there's a lot of different variables in it, right?

And it's like a lot of moving pieces all at the same time.

But I still have to, like, I still have to do it because it's all still leading to my end goal, which was to be my own best client, which to increase visibility, to increase my authority and increase revenue, right?

So it's all leading me there, but there's just a lot of variables going on right now.

And energy is high.

There's moments where I'm like, I don't know what the freak to do.

You know what I mean?

But you really are just living in it, but you're making the decisions.

I think that is what is so important.

I wrote about this in the Sunday Morning Brew a couple weeks ago, is like.

Or maybe it was just this past week of, like, your business is requiring you to make a decision.

And if you're living in that messy middle, if things feel messy and you're in that growth stage, 90% of the time, it is messy because you've outgrown your strategy, and it is requiring you to make a decision that you are not, not making, right?

It means that you have to change your pricing, change your offers, do something, change your schedule up a little bit.

I see that all the time of, like, just over committing and our schedules are absolutely freaking bonkers.

Right.

So really understanding that this is a season and you will get through it.

Right.

Once I get all of these offers, like, things are already starting to feel a little bit calmer because all of the, like, initial moving pieces are kind of starting to fall into place.

So it does, right?

It does smooth itself out.

And then that's what I'm saying.

You kind of get into that more smooth sailing where you're in this rhythm, clients are flowing, revenue is steady, you're feeling good about it, you're happy.

Right.

But where you can get into a trap with this is that you kind of are just coasting and you're not really investing further into your pipeline.

You're not growing your pipeline, you're not relooking at your strategy.

You're kind of just going through the motions.

And that's wonderful, and it's powerful.

And I highly encourage certain clients to live in that during certain times.

Like, just do what you want to do.

Like, I have a client right now who's in this.

Like, I don't.

I don't want to create anything new.

I want to kind of just live in this smooth sailing zone.

And I'm like, you absolutely should.

She had a really tough year the year before things are finally settled out, and it's like, yeah, absolutely.

Just ride the wave right now.

Right.

That's the thing.

When there's.

When there are seasons where it's smooth sailing and that's okay.

Okay.

But you do still have to be planning for that next transition.

Right.

You have to still be working and looking at, how am I growing my pipeline, what am I doing to increase authority, what am I doing to continue to build my pipeline?

Right.

Like, there's all of those things that you need to still kind of be looking at.

Because when you're kind of in that smooth sailing space, eventually you're going to outgrow that.

Eventually you're going to get, you know, something's going to stir up, something's going to change, a client's going to drop off, you're going to get kind of burnt out by it.

Something's going to happen where it's going to trigger that season of like, okay, now I need to go into growth mode.

And it's like, you want to make sure that you still have a pipeline there waiting for you.

Right.

Like, that's the thing about it.

You want to make sure that you still have opportunities to come back to when those seasons hit.

So you you can, you know, let it be a little bit boring, let it be a little bit easy, but.

But also knowing that, like, you want to continue planning for that growth and scaling season, all right?

And then there's just the season that, like, there are just seasons that absolutely fucking suck, right?

They are low energy, there's high friction, Everything freaking feels hard.

That that is where people start to spiral, right?

It's like, I'm working so hard, I'm making less money.

My strategies that used to work, they don't.

I'm in decision fatigue.

You know, you're just kind of like throwing spaghetti at the wall because it's like, I don't know what the hell.

I don't know what end is up.

I don't know what's right from.

I'm just kind of going through the motions, reactive, just kind of half, like dealing with whatever is coming your way, you know, in the trap of this is thinking like that you are doing something wrong.

Like, why is this happening to me, right?

Instead of just being able to say like, no, this is just a season, right?

I'm not doing anything wrong.

Nothing is like fundamentally broken.

I hate to say that because now I feel like I sound like Chat GPT.

You're not wrong, you're not broken, right?

But what I mean is, like, it's easy to spiral when you're in those seasons and feel like, I need to burn everything to the ground and just freaking start over.

And you don't necessarily.

You really don't need to burn everything to the ground.

But what you do need to do is take that pause, right?

You've got to take that pause and go, okay, what do I need to be looking at here?

All right?

Because that's what keeps that cycle going is that inability to pause and reflect and be self aware and really understand how.

Here's my point.

With all of these seasons, whether it's growth, whether it's smooth sailing, or whether it's those seasons that are just freaking.

That suck, right?

They're all momentum, right?

They are all this constant stage of momentum.

You're building, you're growing, you're scaling, you're building, you're growing, you're scaling, right?

Like you.

That's the whole point.

If you think about like these tall, super sky, you know, skyscraper type buildings, that's what it is.

It's like they all have a foundation.

Then they get built, you know, and then they add like the flooring to it, and then they build up on it.

Then they do a foundation, they add the Floor, they build, build up.

So that's kind of what happens, right?

Like, every new level, every new height that you're.

You're seeking and every, like, stage that you're growing to, you're going to kind of just repeat these cycles.

And so that's what I mean by, like, living in the middle, right?

The middle doesn't end.

But also this can be where it's the hardest to navigate because a lot is changing.

There's things going on.

And, like, this is exactly why I created the Focus Visionary Accelerator, right?

I have the.

Because I know that navigating the middle can be really freaking hard.

And it's.

It's those seasons, because it's challenging you, it's pushing you, it's moving to growth.

It's like, okay, now what?

Where do I go from here?

What's next?

Right?

Is all of these questions and you having to make those decisions, but sometimes not knowing what decision to make, right?

And how do I know when I've outgrown my strategy and then when I've outgrown it, then what.

What do I do?

What do I do with it?

Right?

And that's exactly what the Focus Visionary Accelerator was created for.

That's what the framework was created for.

It was created as that foundation like we talked about in the skyscrapers.

It's like, okay, you're ready to add on another level.

Great.

Go back to your foundations, look at it through that lens, and then add in your flooring, and then you can build up.

And I put it in a group format because we're all living in the middle.

That is my whole point.

We're all living in the middle.

And when you can go through it and experience it with others, I'm telling you, it changes everything.

You've got me in there with as your strategic consultant, that business strategist, the one that's going to look at it and diagnose it and be like, this is what's going on.

This is what's happened.

This is where you're missing out, or this is where what is actually working.

One of the things I love to do is actually focus on what is working.

And that helps get you through the middle, too, because you're not always worrying about what's broken or what's not working.

We're actually flipping the script and saying, okay, but what is actually working here?

What is going well and how can we double down on that?

Because that's how you're going to get through that season quicker.

So if you feel like you have outgrown your strategy and you feel like you are living in the middle.

This is exactly the right time for you to jump into the f. To jump into fea.

This is exactly the right time.

This is exactly why it is created.

This is exactly where people get the most results from this.

So if you have questions about it, send me a dm.

But the link is also in the show notes.

I highly recommend you check it out if you are feeling like, yes, this is me.

I am living in this stage.

Okay?

And then I want to just give you some questions and things to ask yourself of, like, how do you know if you've outgrown your strategy?

Meaning how do you know if it's time to, like, move to a different season in the middle?

Right?

Because you've outgrown it.

That's usually what it is.

When it starts to feel messy, it is a sign that you've outgrown your current strategy and you need to change things up.

So, of course, I always come back to my three core fundamentals.

Pricing, Are you still charging what you charged two years ago?

But your expertise has doubled, your audience has changed, your goals have changed, your revenue has changed.

Right.

Your expenses have changed.

And so if you're in that season where you're like, things are feeling messy, I don't really know what's happening.

I know I need to make some changes, but I'm not sure.

Look at your pricing, first and foremost.

Second, look at your pipeline.

Like, are you relying on the same lead sources that got you here to this current level?

Even though they're kind of drying up, you feel like you've outgrown them.

Maybe you're moving into a different phase and they're not.

And you're kind of still like, working that same old pipeline.

Does your pipeline need to be cleaned up?

Does it need to be.

Do you need to get yourself into new rooms?

Do you need to work a new audience?

Right?

Like, really looking at that?

Because there, that's a good sign.

Your pipeline is often a really good sign of outgrowing your current audience, right?

Like, of being an outgrowing your current strategy.

Because you can sometimes look at it and go, you know what?

These are no longer a right fit for my.

For my offers, for my business model, for where I'm trying to go.

And then your sales and offers, like, have your offers changed?

Had the way you close clients changed?

Are you, Are you not selling?

I have several clients in the month of April that were feeling like they were living in this kind of messy middle and sales were Down.

But it was like, because they're not selling because things feel messy, right?

It's very hard to sell when you're in that and you can't.

And things don't feel like they're really working well together.

It's like, are you just not selling?

Right.

So we've got to look at that whole entire sales pipeline and, like, the sales focus and really see, like, what are we selling, how are we selling it, who are we selling it to, and are we selling it in the same way?

And it's not working anymore.

And if it's not working, why?

Right?

That's what you want to really look at.

So the thing about this is that when you ask yourself the question, the one thing I do not want you to do and I do not encourage you to do is that you add more to your plate.

More does not solve this problem.

The easiest way to move through the seasons of the middle is actually to do less, to get hyper focused, to be very specific in what is moving the needle and what is not and eliminating all of the things that are just wasting your time and getting extremely strategic on what needs to change to get through to that next level.

Okay.

I think that is what is most important is it is not about adding more.

Because here's what I want you to remember.

I'm coming back to the beginning.

You don't outgrow the middle, right?

You outgrow certain seasons of it.

You outgrow your strategy.

You grow through different levels of it.

You're going to continue to level up, level up, add those new layers.

Every new layer is a new middle, right?

But it doesn't.

You don't want to just keep adding more, right?

Especially if you've outgrown your current strategy.

You can't add more without eliminating something else because something else guaranteed needs to be retired.

Something else needs to be looked at before you can just add something on top of it, especially if you're at capacity.

One of the biggest things I see when people feel like they're kind of stuck in this messy middle is that their revenue plateau, they're at capacity.

Adding more is not an option.

They literally cannot add more to their plate, right?

So you can't just add more.

This is the time you double down on strategy.

This is when you start to get really, really dialed in on facts versus emotion.

What is actually happening, what is not.

Again, these are all of the things that I work through with my clients inside of the Focus Visionary accelerator.

So if this is feeling very much like, oh, my God, I'm living in the middle.

I want to help you get through it.

Because, again, well, not get through it.

I want to help you navigate it is really what I wanted to say.

Because you don't get through it.

We navigate it.

We navigate every different level of it.

That's why I have a biz bestie that is navigating these new levels of middle together.

Her and I are navigating it.

It's so much easier to live through and navigate when you have other people in your back pocket, when you have those people that can, like, help you to see what you cannot see.

That's.

That's the beautiful thing about that, is that there's so many lessons, too, to be learned in the middle.

There's so many glorious things that happen in the middle, and I don't want to see people rush through it.

I don't want to see people feel like, I just got to get through this.

No, there's so many beautiful things that happen in the middle.

There's so much growth that happens.

There's so much success.

There's so much to be celebrated.

Right.

The fact that you've outgrown something and it now feels messy is like, you freaking hell.

Yeah.

That means you've.

You are.

You should be celebrating because that means things are growing, you're scaling, you're moving to this next stage.

Like, that is worth celebrating.

And so many people just want to bypass through it and barrel through it.

And it's like, no, let's sit in it.

Let's really understand it.

Let's look at it.

Let's relish in it for a minute.

Because there's so many lessons.

There are so many things that you can learn by just acknowledging that.

That it's the middle, and I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere, and I'm going to just really embrace this season because, again, you're in it.

Unless you're trying to exit out, you're going to be in it.

So embrace it.

Right?

So, anyway, I'm going to end this episode there.

I hope that this reframe helped you.

Right.

That the middle is not a holding pattern until, like, you make it through.

Right.

The middle is the work.

The middle is.

Is the growth.

The middle is the business.

Right.

But every new level brings a new middle, and that's not failure.

Right.

That is not meaning something is fundamentally broken in your business.

That's growth, and that's exciting.

But your job as the CEO is to help is to get better at navigating the middle, not trying to escape it.

Right?

That's the difference is that you navigate it.

We don't escape it.

We don't try to avoid it.

We don't try to deny it.

We just navigate it.

We navigate the seasons that come.

All right?

So stop waiting to feel like you've got it all figured out.

Because as soon as you figure it out, you're going to want to level up.

Right.

And start building the systems that will work for you in this current season that you're in, knowing that they are going to evolve and that the more you can normalize this mess, right, that you're calling the messy middle, instead of fighting it more sustainably, you'll be able to build your business.

So all of the business is the middle.

I love you.

I believe in you, and I will talk to you soon.

And if you have any questions or need help navigating your middle, please, please, please book a free strategy session with me.

Hit me up in the dms.

Take a look at the FDA sales page.

Sign up for Back Pocket Insights.

I know I'm not supposed to give you multiple call to actions at the end of an episode, but here I am.

Because at this point, what I want is for you to find the path that works for you.

I want to support you in the best way that I absolutely can.

And in doing so, I have all of these different paths where you can enter in.

So please take any of the paths, but please let me help you navigate the middle, because it's so much fun when you are navigating it.

Okay, I'll talk to you soon.