If Your Business Is Stuck, Don’t Make This Mistake

In this episode of the Ecomm Breakthrough Podcast, host Josh Hadley draws from his decade-long ecommerce experience to explore the critical role of perseverance in entrepreneurial success. Using relatable analogies like video game bosses and concrete walls, Josh candidly shares his own struggles with business growth while emphasizing that persistent challenges signal worthwhile problems, not failure. He encourages entrepreneurs to combine patience with strategic focus, make incremental daily improvements, and resist the temptation to abandon their current business when growth stalls. Ultimately, Josh frames long-term success as the result of consistent effort, smart decision-making, and unwavering faith in the process.

Bullet Points:

• Importance of perseverance in entrepreneurship, particularly in ecommerce.
• Challenges and constraints faced by entrepreneurs during business growth.
• Comparison of entrepreneurial challenges to "boss levels" in video games.
• Value of slow, steady growth over quick success.
• Misconceptions about rapid, overnight success in business.
• Concept of "intelligent perseverance" and flexible goal achievement.
• Need for a clear business strategy focusing on impactful constraints.
• Balancing business growth with personal life and relationships.
• The significance of incremental improvements and resilience during tough times.
• Encouragement to persist through challenges and maintain consistent effort.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Introduction to Perseverance
The host introduces himself and the episode's theme: why perseverance is a crucial trait for entrepreneurial success in ecommerce.

00:01:04 The Power of a Daily Message
The host shares how a short inspirational video on perseverance helped him overcome a personal funk and business-related frustrations.

00:02:07 Defining Perseverance
The host defines perseverance as the steady effort to achieve a goal, even when it's hard or takes a long time.

00:03:13 The Video Game Analogy
Business growth is compared to a video game, where entrepreneurs must defeat progressively harder "bosses" or constraints to level up.

00:06:32 The Challenge of Omnichannel
Transitioning from an Amazon-only brand to an omnichannel presence is presented as a massive, multi-year challenge, like a thick concrete wall.

00:08:43 The Reality of Success
The host reassures listeners that slow, steady growth is more common than the overnight success stories often seen on social media.

00:11:13 The 40-Year "Overnight" Success
The story of Portillo's is used as an example of a business that took 40 years to become a major success.

00:12:28 Balancing Growth and Lifestyle
The host discusses sacrificing rapid growth for a more sustainable pace that allows for family time and a balanced lifestyle.

00:15:15 Intelligent Perseverance and Strategy
Perseverance must be paired with a good strategy, which involves recognizing patterns and focusing limited resources on the right opportunities.

00:17:49 The Uncomfortable Middle
The host describes the challenging phase after hiring new talent, where progress isn't immediately visible and patience is required.

00:20:20 The Real Test of an Entrepreneur
True perseverance is tested not when things are going well, but when facing negative feedback, missed targets, and setbacks.

00:22:36 The Danger of Diversifying Too Soon
Entrepreneurs often jump to new ventures when they hit a constraint, instead of persevering through the challenges of their current business.

00:24:50 The Breakthrough is a Process, Not an Event
Success is not one giant breakthrough but the result of making slightly better decisions consistently over a long period of time.

00:27:09 The Goal is to Handle Hardship
The ultimate goal isn't to eliminate challenges, but to become someone who can operate effectively and move forward when things are hard.

Links and Mentions:

Business Examples:
"Portillo's": "00:12:28"

Books/Concepts:
"Intelligent Perseverance": "00:15:12"

Quotes:
"Intelligent perseverance is remaining committed to the destination while being unattached to the route that gets you there.": "00:15:12"

Transcript:

Josh Hadley 00:00:00  What if the reason why you're still struggling with the same problem in your business isn't because you're failing, but it's actually because the problem you are facing is actually worth solving? Welcome to the Ecomm Breakthrough Podcast, I'm Josh Hadley. I've scaled my own ecommerce brand from 0 to 8 figures, and I'm actively building towards nine figures in sales. This podcast is where I document that journey and share the systems, the strategies, and the lessons learned in real time so that you can learn what actually matters and scale your own business. My name is Josh Hadley. First and foremost, I'm a man of faith. I'm a husband to a beautiful wife and the father of four children. I've been selling in the e-commerce space for over a decade, doing over $20 million in annual revenue and doing multi-millionaires on channels such as Amazon, TikTok, shop and Shopify. And I am also the host of the number one business strategy podcast for ecommerce entrepreneurs. And that is E-com breakthrough. Today, I want to share with you why perseverance is one of the most important traits that you can acquire as an entrepreneur to set yourself up for success in the future.

Josh Hadley 00:01:04  And the reason why I'm talking about this today is because, to be honest with you, I'm going through hard stuff in the business right now. And, you know, I always start my day with kind of a daily meditation or a devotional with God. Whenever I drop off the kids from sc