You're working 70-hour weeks. Revenue is up. Profit is flat. Sound familiar?

Here's what nobody tells you: The reason you haven't documented your systems isn't because you don't know how. It's because you don't see what it's costing you.

In this episode, I walk you through the exact math showing why missing systems are bleeding $50,000 to $150,000 from your business annually. Not "potential revenue if you got better at marketing." Actual profit leaking out because you're trapped being the answer person instead of the CEO.

You'll discover:

• The "$200,000 Question" that kills business deals (and what it reveals about YOUR business health)
• The Hidden Profit Leak Formula that calculates your exact cost of chaos
• The 5 Non-Negotiable Profit Guards that reclaim 10-20 hours weekly without hiring anyone
• Why most SOPs fail (and the 3 Standard Saboteurs keeping yours broken)
• The 30-Day Implementation Roadmap to go from firefighting to freedom

The transformation isn't "I documented some processes." The transformation is "I'm no longer the business. I'm the CEO who owns an asset that generates profit predictably."

If you're working too hard for too little profit, this episode shows you exactly where your money is leaking and which systems to build first.

Ready to find your hidden $100K? Book your free Pathway to Profit diagnostic at mediaaceadvisors.com/pathway-to-profit

Ryan Herrst is a Certified Profit Advisor helping service businesses earning $250K-$5M discover six-figure profit opportunities without spending more on marketing. Based in Grand Ledge, Michigan.

Most business owners hire coaches who've already "arrived." Seven-figure success stories. The expert who summited the mountain 100 times. The guru with all the answers.

But here's what Ryan Herrst learned watching his father die from smoking: the guide's value isn't that they've personally overcome your exact struggle. It's that they can see what you can't see in yourself.

Ryan's father had severe vascular disease, CHF, emphysema, and diabetes—all connected to two packs a day and nothing but coffee and Mountain Dew. Ryan could SEE the multi-system failure his father couldn't acknowledge. He could SEE that stopping smoking wouldn't immediately reverse decades of damage, but it was the one thing his father could control. He could offer accountability, ask "did you smoke today?" and "can you commit to quitting tomorrow?"

But he couldn't save his father. Because caring isn't carrying.

In this episode, Ryan unpacks why the best guides are systematic diagnosticians, not success story gurus. Why "all because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD" applies to choosing who you climb the mountain with. And why the coach who's still in the middle of their own difficult transformation might be exactly who you need—because they're asking the hard questions of themselves that they'll ask of you.

If you're an overwhelmed business owner stuck between $250K and $5M, working 60-70 hours a week for razor-thin margins, and wondering if there's a guide who won't just sell you another marketing tactic—this one's for you.

Key Topics:

• The guide paradox: why personal achievement doesn't equal coaching ability
• Care but don't carry: Andrea's wisdom on healthy coaching boundaries
• Why business problems are life problems in disguise
• The difference between reactive and proactive business owners
• How to find one thing to fix when everything's on fire

Are you truly "customer-focused," or are you just people-pleasing your way into a profit leak?

In this episode, we pull back the curtain on a pattern observed across hundreds of service-based businesses: the "automatic yes" that leads to scope creep, underpricing, and 70-hour work weeks. If you find yourself texting clients at 9 PM or giving discounts before they even ask, you aren't just being "nice"—you’re operating in a "Reward Loop" that is keeping your business stuck.

What we cover in this episode:

• The $150K Leak: The literal math behind how people-pleasing behaviors break your unit economics and stall your growth.

• The 5 Types of Business People Pleasers: From the "Discount Dealer" to the "Bad Client Keeper," identify which pattern is draining your energy.

• The Profitable Boundaries Framework™: A three-part system to help you shift from an overwhelmed technician to a strategic business operator.

• The 24-Hour Rule: One simple tactical shift that eliminates 80% of poor strategic decisions.

Your "no" actually makes your "yes" more valuable. It’s time to stop "collecting liabilities" and start building a business that serves your life instead of consuming it.

Ready to find your hidden profit? If you’re a service business owner ready to stop leaving six figures on the table, I’m currently conducting strategy interviews for the second edition of my book. Schedule your 45-minute Pathway to Profit Diagnostic to analyze your numbers and reclaim your time: https://mediaaceadvisors.com/contact/