Let’s talk about slow business growth for a second

If you’ve been following us for a while, you’ll know I like to keep it real and share the highs and the lows of running a business. At the end of last year, I felt like I’d hit my stride - probably my best business era yet. The work was flowing, I had a good rhythm with work/life balance, and our small but mighty team of collaborators was growing. We were finally able to outsource more, invest in our new website, refine our social strategy, and plan a proper brand photoshoot. Everything felt aligned, and I genuinely thought the momentum would carry us forward.

The thing is, when business is good, it’s so easy to believe it’ll stay that way. You forget all the dark days and the moments where you seriously consider throwing in the towel. I’ve had plenty of those. And then, when you’re in the thick of a tough season, it feels like you’ll never come out the other side - like you’re stuck, and the light at the end of the tunnel is just… off.

Then January 2025 hit. And honestly? It felt like a series of unfortunate events, none of which I could control. Long-standing clients and retainers were going through internal shake-ups, restructures, and pauses that directly impacted our workload. One of our favourite designers - someone we loved collaborating with - decided to pivot their career for personal reasons. It was one hit after another. I found myself crying in the gym (true story), wondering, how am I going to bounce back from this?

What frustrated me most was this thought: How, after five years, do I feel like I’m back at square one? Surely by now, things should be thriving, right?

But I was so wrong in thinking that. That kind of thinking completely erased everything that had come before — the late nights, the lessons learned, the projects delivered, the relationships built. It’s easy to discount your own progress when you're only measuring success by how “busy” you are or how much money is coming in right now.

Around this time, I had a conversation with a friend that shifted something in me. I was venting (again) about how things felt like they were falling apart, and he said, “But it’s kind of amazing that you’re still going.” At first, I laughed - it sounded like a backhanded compliment. Like, cool, thanks for the bare minimum pep talk. But then he followed it up with something that really stuck: Most small businesses don’t make it past two years. And here I was, five years in. Still going. Still showing up. Still adapting. That really hit me. I’d been so focused on what I didn’t have - the big contracts, the smooth-sailing start to the year - that I forgot to appreciate what I’d already built.

That one comment gave me a new perspective. It wasn’t about failure. It was about resilience. Longevity. The ability to keep moving even when things are hard, confusing, or totally uncertain. I started to look at this stage not as a setback, but as part of the natural rhythm of growth. And if you zoom out, that rhythm always includes plateaus, pauses, and pivot points. This realisation helped take the pressure off. I stopped spiralling about how things “should” be and instead gave myself permission to sit in the quiet. To reflect. To breathe.

After a few emotional wobbles (menty b’s, as I like to call them), I realised this slower season could actually be a gift - a time to pause, reflect, and reset. People often ask, “So what’s next? Don’t you want to grow bigger, hire a team, turn it into a full agency, make more money?” And honestly, sometimes I feel a bit ‘less than’ when I reply, “Actually… no, not really.” I like that our business is small. I like that it’s mostly me. I have no current desire to build a huge team or step into a full-on management role. That would pull me away from the creative work I love most.

That’s not to say we don’t have ambitions - we do. We want to keep improving, offering great services, and building something meaningful. But we’re dreaming of growth in a sustainable, intentional, and slow way. Growing our impact, not necessarily our size.

And let’s be honest - the highlight reels we see online can be disheartening when you’re in a rough patch. It’s easy to forget that behind every polished post is someone else’s version of struggle, doubt, or messiness. So if you’re in a slow season, feeling like you’re not where you “should” be - I hope this gives you a little relief. A reminder that growth doesn’t always mean going bigger, faster, or louder. Sometimes, slow is exactly what we need.

22/04/2025