Quick Links
- Why Eating the Elephant Feels so Daunting
- The Survival Mode Trap
- Why Most Business Plans Fail
- Why Even Custom Plans Fail
- Break the Loop: What to do Instead
- A Grounding Map Instead of An Elephant Meal
- Here’s What This Looks Like in Real Life
- Why This Works
- Pulling the Threads Together
Why Eating the Elephant Feels So Daunting
You’ve probably heard the old saying: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” It’s meant to be reassuring. A reminder that big, intimidating goals are just a series of smaller steps.
But if you’ve ever tried to grow a business while juggling bills and the pressure of “getting more customers now,” you know even that first bite can feel impossible. For many business owners in survival mode, the elephant is overwhelming and untouchable.
The survival mode trap
Most small business owners I meet are in some version of survival mode. The rent is due. Payroll is looming. Or there’s pressure to bring in a rush of sales this week just to keep the lights on. And I completely get it. Those are real, urgent needs. No one can think long-term when they’re worried about covering this month’s bills.
But that’s exactly why survival mode is such an effective trap. It constantly shifts the goalpost. “I’ll invest in strategy once things stabilize.” “I’ll work on the big picture after this next busy season.”
And yet that stability rarely arrives. There’s always another fire. Another bill. Another change. I hear it all the time:
I had to move spaces because my rent was too high. This new place is in a better location. Hopefully it will bring in more people because I need money now. And as soon as that happens, I’ll be back on track.
It’s heartfelt. It’s hopeful. But it’s also a setup for disappointment. The goalpost keeps moving. They’re solving the wrong problem. Chasing short-term fixes without creating the foundation that would stop the cycle in the first place.
Why Most Business Plans Fail: The wrong tools for the wrong questions
Part of the problem is the tools we’re told to use. Think of the “10 steps to starting a business” checklists from YouTube influencers. On paper or quick clip, they’re clean and reassuring.
In practice though, each bullet point could take three years to fully explore. They’re written in MBA jargon, assuming resources and knowledge most small business owners don’t have. They create the illusion of clarity without addressing the real, messy context business owners live in. They don’t meet people where they are.
Which is why they end up answering the wrong question.
People in survival mode don’t need a sweeping, 10-step path to success. They need something to ground them in the chaos, help them ask better questions, and carve out the smallest possible next step that feels doable.
Side note: I did recently find a tool that gets closer to addressing real needs. It’s called a Business Model Canvas. It’s meant for small business owners who don’t need a business plan because they don’t need outside investment. But, they do still want to get their vision down on paper. Canvanizer is a free interactive online tool that helps you build out your Business Model Canvas. That’s the only free resource I could find. There are others that provide custom build solutions for you, but next let’s dig into why custom-tailored solutions often fail.
Why even custom plans fail
I’ve seen this tension firsthand. Business owners ask me for homework, checklists, or detailed plans. So I create a strategy designed specifically for their needs. They nod along. They’re excited. They see the value.
But then, life gets in the way. The plan sits untouched. And the hard pill I had to swallow was that even the most carefully tailored strategy can feel foreign. If it doesn’t come from the business owner’s own language or habits there’s no incentive to own it. The plan still feels “outside-in.” Like a polished template that looks good, but doesn’t quite fit.
When business owners build the plan themselves, with guidance, it feels like theirs. And that’s what I’m calling “inside-out” planning. They recognize themselves in it. And because of that, they’re far more likely to actually use it.
Break the Loop: What to do Instead
If you’re waiting for life to calm down or “just getting to next week,” you’ll be in this survival loop forever. We explored this topic in a previous post, learning how to break free from this cycle.
The way out is pausing, even briefly, to ask better questions in the middle of the chaos.
Not: “How do I build a thriving business?”
But: “Can this idea live outside of my head?”
Not: “What’s the perfect long-term plan?”
But: “What’s one thing I can make real right now?”
This shift creates a doorway out of survival mode. It doesn’t magically fix everything, but it stops the endless spinning long enough for momentum to begin.
A grounding map instead of an elephant meal
That’s why I created what I call a Grounding Map. It’s a bridge tool. Something you can use to stop the spinning, make sense of one raw idea, and turn it into something tangible.
The map uses four simple prompts:
- The Spark — What jolted this idea or challenge into your mind? What’s pulling your attention right now?
- The Tangle — What feels messy, heavy, or uncertain about it?
- The Thread — What’s one piece of this that feels clear or doable?
- The Signal — What would tell you this was worth continuing? Or that it’s time to shift? What’s one way you’ll acknowledge a win?
The point of these questions is to get the swirling chaos out of your head and into a form you can see and respond to. Let’s look at a couple of examples of this in action.
Here’s what this looks like in real life.
Scenario 1: Balancing the Books and the Beat.
A musician constantly juggles creative projects with the realities of day-to-day finances. He struggles to know whether certain projects are financially viable. This is because he doesn’t have a clear picture of the full cost versus the income he earns from his day job. He set a rule to review his finances weekly, but exhaustion often gets in the way, creating a cycle of stress and inaction.
The Spark: “I want to know if pursuing this project is worth the time and money.”
The Tangle: “I keep trying to check my finances weekly, but I’m too tired and behind, so nothing changes.”
The Thread: “If I move my financial review to once a month instead of weekly, I can set aside a solid block of time and mental energy to really dig in.”
The Signal: “If I can stick to this monthly plan for three months, I’ll know this format better aligns with my needs. If it’s still too daunting, it might be time to hire a bookkeeper.”
Notice how this reframes the situation. It gets you out of the “Forest of Shoulds” and into a form you can take action on. If looking at your finances every single week is too daunting, do it once a month.
Or realize that this might be worth spending the money to outsource. If this is the logjam holding you back, spending a couple hundred bucks a month for someone else to manage your books is worth it. By offloading this task, you’re getting back 15+ hours. The 1 hour you’re physically sitting down at the computer looking at the excel. Plus the additional 14 hours of mental energy your spending trying to avoid the task.
You are in control to make this journey fit you and you don’t have to do everything yourself. Instead of waiting for stability to magically arrive, he now has a specific, small action tied to a deadline.
Scenario 2: The “brilliant” app idea.
Someone comes to me excited about building an app. The idea is big, maybe even brilliant. But they haven’t thought through the logistics: development, funding, user adoption.
- The Spark: “I had this idea for an app that would connect local freelancers with quick projects.”
- The Tangle: “I don’t know how apps are built, I don’t have funding, and I’m not sure who would even use it first.”
- The Thread: “I could test the concept manually and cheaply by connecting freelancers and clients in a private group chat for one month.”
- The Signal: “If at least five projects get matched successfully, I’ll know the demand is real before I invest further.”
Again, the grounding map transforms the elephant-sized idea into one small, testable bite. And one that doesn’t cost a ton of money.
Why this works
The Grounding Map powerful in it’s simplicity and the ownership. You’re not filling in someone else’s template. You’re building in your own words. And anchoring the plan in the reality of your life and business.
And because the answers are yours, they feel lived-in. They match your mental shortcuts. They’re phrased in the language you already use. That makes them far stickier than a polished checklist handed to you from the outside.
Equally important: this isn’t a one-time exercise. The four prompts are reusable. Every time you feel yourself spinning, you can come back to them.
- The Spark helps you remember why this idea matters now, not six months ago or six months from now.
- The Tangle surfaces the real friction so you stop pretending it’s something else.
- The Thread reminds you there’s always one small, doable step within reach.
- The Signal gives you a marker to know when it’s time to keep going or let go.
Think of it like a ritual. A way to hit pause and reconnect with what’s actually within your control. Each time you return, the process gets faster. The questions become familiar. And the answers — your answers — give you just enough clarity to take the next step.
Pulling the Threads Together
So maybe the real question isn’t “How do you eat an elephant?” Maybe it’s: “How do I name the one bite that actually matters right now?”
You don’t need another 10-step checklist. And you can’t wait until life calms down because you can’t keep shifting the goalpost into the future.
What you need is a way to pause, claim ownership, and make one small piece real. The Grounding Map does exactly that. Not by solving the entire elephant, but by making the next bite your own.
And once you can name that bite, you’ve already started eating.
