You're sitting in your car, avoiding going inside. Just five more minutes where nobody needs anything from you. You used to love this business. Now it feels like a machine that feeds on you.

Here's what nobody tells burned out business owners: rest won't fix this. Taking a vacation from a broken business is like taking a vacation from a house that's on fire. The fire will still be there when you get back, probably worse.

In this episode, I break down why business owner burnout isn't a wellness problem, it's a business model problem. And you can't rest your way out of a broken machine.

What You'll Discover:

The 5 specific signs you're burned out (not just tired). If you score 3 or higher on this quick assessment, rest isn't your answer.

Why your brain physically can't make good decisions when you're burned out. Chronic stress affects your prefrontal cortex, the part responsible for strategic thinking. This is why "just think your way out" doesn't work.

The real reason vacations don't help. If your business model requires 60-hour weeks to function, if you ARE the bottleneck, if every "yes" over the years created obligations you can't escape, rest is just a temporary escape from the same broken system.

The difference between exhaustion and burnout. Exhaustion is solved by rest. Burnout is solved by change. If you've rested and still feel depleted, you don't have an exhaustion problem.

The seven profit levers most burned out owners ignore. Most business owners obsess over ONE lever (leads) and grind themselves into the ground trying to get more customers instead of getting more value from the customers they already have.

This isn't about working less. It's about working on the RIGHT things. Imagine checking your phone on Saturday and feeling nothing. No dread. No pile of fires waiting. Just a business that ran without you and didn't fall apart.

I'm Ryan Herrst, Certified Profit Advisor and author of "Profit Foundation." I spent years as a registered nurse before building my advisory practice, so I've seen burnout from both sides: the clinical reality of what chronic stress does to the human body, and the business reality of what causes it.

If you're sitting in the driveway longer each night, if rest doesn't restore you anymore, if small problems feel catastrophic, this episode is for you.

Stop resting from a machine that keeps burning you out. Start fixing the machine.

Book Interview Opportunity:

I'm currently interviewing service business owners for the second edition of "Profit Foundation." These 45-minute conversations walk through the 7-Step Pathway to Profit and help you see which lever has the biggest opportunity for relief. It's a research conversation, not a sales pitch. If you'd like to participate and receive a free copy of the book when published, visit https://mediaaceadvisors.com/contact/

Connect with Ryan:

Website: https://www.mediaaceadvisors.com

Email: ryan@mediaaceadvisors.com

Phone: 517-955-2154

`