Yeah, I know. Probably not the headline you’d expect when talking to a bunch of “Comfort Advisors” whose goal is to make other people cozy, but stick with me. While listening to a podcast recently I learned about how our own self comfort could keep us happily existing in a self-destructive cycle. Let me explain.
There’s a psychological condition that affects a shockingly high number of us, and identifying it has the potential to change your life and business more than any canned marketing tip ever could. It’s called the Region Beta Paradox, and it’s the reason why comfort and complacency, more than anything else, might be the thing holding you back from tremendous success.
Here’s how it works. When the situation you’re in is really rough – you’re truly miserable and uncomfortable – you’re much more likely to do something to change your circumstance as quickly as possible. If your job is unbearable – long hours, low pay, your boss is a jerk, and you hate waking up and clocking in each day – you’d likely quit, wouldn’t you? If your business was collapsing quickly with an outside threat VISIBLY stealing your market share and you know soon it will be hard to keep the doors open, or the doctor tells you you’ll have a heart attack within the next 3 months if you don’t change your eating, chances are, you’d jump into action, right? If you see a constant reminder in front of you that action MUST be taken and taken NOW or your situation is just going to get worse, you’re much more motivated to do things you might have been putting off for years. Desperation is a great motivator.
But when things are just "okay" in life – not great, not awful – and we look around at others who seem just as satisfied with the rut of mediocrity as we are, we tend to stay put. Don’t rock the boat, and hope every day is as uneventfully sleepy as today was. The aggressive competitor is still likely coming our way. And we know that passing on a few Big Macs could extend our lives, but the drive through is just so convenient… Those worries are for later because right now everything is fine. We coast, and that, my “Comfort Advisor” friends, is where dreams go to die – or at least, to sleep.
“Fine” is Poisonous
Did you know, according to a Pew Research study in 2023, 68% of people say that they don’t have a passion for what they do, and they just “fell into it?” Just a job… That’s sad, really. But even worse is that they found a trend among those people that the Wall Street Journal coined, “Quiet Quitting.” These were people who didn’t want to quit their jobs, but slowly giving less and less to it because they found no joy in what they were doing. Unhappy enough to know this wouldn’t get their best, but happy enough to keep them from leaving. This is the Region Beta Paradox, and it’s the definition of being trapped by your own lack of motivation.
My point in this is not to make you all leave the home services industry. If you have no passion for it you might want to, but here’s what I’m driving at. Small businesses are probably the worst offenders of this psychological condition, and as we know, small businesses reflect their leadership.
When small businesses are in crisis, they innovate like crazy. They’re much more nimble and mobile than large corporations, so this is when they can really do some damage. They take risks, find more effective ways of doing normal procedures that would take big guys years to change, and they fight to survive. Think about 2020 and how basically every standard operating procedure was out the window. Discomfort and uncertainty drove urgency and sacrifice. But… when sales are steady and things feel stable and in a groove, many business owners get complacent. They stop pushing forward because there’s no immediate pain (or the pain isn’t painful ENOUGH) to make them change.
For some of you to relate this to your business all I have to say is two words – phone calls. You’re fine when the phone is ringing and the Summer / Winter dispatch sheet is full. Then, when calls go silent during the shoulder season, you circle the wagons and survive until the weather changes again. Just uncomfortable enough to think this is how the contracting business has to be, ALMOST jumping into action and making a change, but just in the nick of time things started to improve again. Go with the flow and let the weather drive the ship, just like always. Well, I’m presenting a thought to you. That "kind of uncomfortable, but not uncomfortable enough to act" feeling you get during the ups and downs is actually worse than being completely miserable – because miserable wakes us up.
This is how companies die. Not in a fiery crash, but in a slow, quiet fade into irrelevance. “We lost a few customers this year, no big deal.” And it’s usually not, until you’re 5-7 years into a steady slide. Blockbuster wasn’t panicking when Netflix first appeared. They were comfortable and thought they were untouchable. By the time they realized they were in trouble, it was too late, and they were done. The same story plays out over and over all around us. Comfort lulls companies to sleep, while the hungry ones – those facing adversity – push ahead and take over.
Safety is an Illusion
One of the largest lies that feeds this condition is people thinking they’re “playing it safe” by keeping the status quo. People love "safe" choices: safe jobs, safe business strategies, safe investments. But playing it safe is often the riskiest move you can make in the business world. While you’re comfortable, someone else is out there grinding. While you’re maintaining, someone else is innovating and coming after you.
Look around our industry. Are there businesses you once considered competitors that aren’t around anymore? Are many of them the long-standing, established contractors who used to proudly display “Serving you for 75 years” on their signs? Or are they the smaller upstarts who come into this industry with no preconceived notions other than, “I’m going to do what it takes?” Chances are, the ones who don’t exist anymore didn’t fail because of one catastrophic event either. They faded away because they stayed comfortable and set in their ways while the world changed around them and passed them by.
There are no completely safe methods to success in a highly competitive market, but the riskiest thing you could ever do is believe the lie that your returns will be the same, year after year without you being willing to step out of your box.
Breaking Out of Comfort Before It’s Too Late
So, how do you avoid this trap? Create urgency before life does it for you.
Start by setting aggressive goals that push you beyond what’s easy, and never settle for “This is just the way it is in this industry” type statements. Sure, there are constants, but challenge every one of them until you know it’s immovable. If your business is "fine" in some area, just ask yourself what it would take to make it excellent. If your routines are "comfortable," shake them up. Comfort is the silent killer of ambition. It feels good in the moment, but it robs you of urgency, growth, and, ultimately, long-term success. The ones who win are the ones who refuse to settle – who keep pushing, keep evolving, and keep moving. Not just when they’re forced to, but because they’re passionate about being the best.
We want you to be passionate about serving your customer base. We want to help you innovate along the way and equip you to dominate your market. If you feel like you’re facing the same issues year after year and just smiling through them without fixing them and advancing, we can help! Give me a call at (800) 489-9099 or click this link to schedule a one-on-one call with your Marketing Coach.