Breathe in. Breathe out.

This is a simple reminder that it’s okay to rest.

I know it’s easy to grind-grind-grind, can’t stop won’t stop, if I don’t do it then who will?! But we are also built to rest. So make sure to take a break every now and then.

And with that, I’m taking a week off the newsletter. It’s break time. Catch you in a few!

(… and give yourself a break soon)

Onward and upward, Simon Trask (I’m a small business owner, advisor, and advocate – learn more here)

Simon is author and founder of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.

You’re better than a largemouth bass.

One of my favorite fishing lures is a Kastmaster.

It’s simple and effective. It’s basically just a chunk of metal with holes drilled into each end (one for an eyelet, one for the hook). They are highly polished to a bright shiny finish, and have an asymmetrical design that makes them wobble through the water when being retrieved. It makes them look like a semi-injured bait fish.

Legend has it that Kastmaster was started from a failed earring design.

The earrings represented some poor soul’s hopes and dreams – they had a vision to create the next fashion sensation, and instead couldn’t sell them at all. Demand was nearly zero.

Desperate for a glimmer of success, they tried them as a fishing lure.

It became a hit.

I have caught so many different species of fish on Kastmasters… largemouth bass, rainbow trout, catfish, white bass, drum, crappie, striped bass – it’s the one lure I always have no matter what I’m fishing for.

But you can learn a lesson from those fish: don’t fall prey to Shiny Object Syndrome.

As business owners, we tend to have a creative bent to us. We get excited about new ideas, and big pivots. Chasing the shiny new object.

Sometimes a pivot can be a win (see: Kastmaster). But it’s easy for a pivot to be a distraction.

You can muddy your message with too many products if you’re not careful.

If your business has a bread-and-butter product that everybody knows you for, then tread lightly when offering new products or pivoting. Make sure that it makes real sense for your current audience to buy your new product as well.

Don’t chase the shiny lure.

Onward and upward, Simon Trask (I’m a small business owner, advisor, and advocate – learn more here)

Simon is author and founder of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.

Action wins.

Once you’ve identified a part of your business to change for the better, then it’s time to find the trailhead–the starting point–and get hiking.

At this point, your hike takes whatever it takes.

Be diligent and stay the course.

Remain committed to action more than accomplishment.

When you are hiking, you just need to keep placing one foot in front of the other, even when you don’t want to.

This matters more than anything else on a hike. It’s what gets you there, and what gets you home.

They say we tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in a day, but we completely underestimate what can be done in a year… if we are consistent every day.

If you do this, then accomplishment will take care of itself!

Onward and upward, Simon Trask (I’m a small business owner, advisor, and advocate – learn more here)

Simon is author and founder of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.

Advertising is my jam.

I have been making ads since I was a little kid. One of my favorite hobbies was inventing new brands and then making an ad campaign complete with slogans and spokesmen.

(nerd alert, I know)

I learned a LOT from my years as partner of an ad agency. One of my big takeaways was how much money is wasted on ads, because business owners are careless with the details of their marketing.

Don’t waste money – ask yourself these questions first:

1. Am I spending the right amount on advertising?

2. Am I targeting too broadly or too tightly?

3. Have I experimented with different ad messaging?

4. Is the Call To Action clear and frictionless?

5. Can we quickly service new leads?

6. How much would I pay per lead? How much should I? What is the market rate?

7. Can I report Return On Investment (ROI) from ad spend all the way down to profit?

Spend wisely.

Onward and upward, Simon Trask (I’m a small business owner, advisor, and advocate – learn more here)

Simon is author and founder of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.

The robots can help.

I’m not sure where I first heard this, but it has become one of my core values: “use money, and love people – not the other way around.”

Money is a tool, and it can be a game-changing helper. But like any tool, it makes a terrible lover.

Robots are the same way.

Automation is essentially building a system that does what people used to do, typically with software or hardware (such as robotics).

Don’t turn your back on humanity while hiking this trail.

Treat automation as a way to bless your employees with more bandwidth, not to replace them with AI.

If you can remove the robot-like tasks from your team, they will be given the freedom to flourish as only humans can: with creativity and “organic” intelligence.

Let humans be less robotic, and more human.

Onward and upward, Simon Trask (I’m a small business owner, advisor, and advocate – learn more here)

Simon is author and founder of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.

Frodo gets the headlines, but Samwise is the real hero.

If you want to get a picture of true friendship, revisit the Lord of the Rings series.

The Hobbits stick together through thick and thin, on a wild and death-defying adventure to save Middle Earth from oppression. We are entertained by their light-hearted fun, hilarious observations, and endearing relationship.

Even though Frodo Baggins has been called to an impossible mission and has to bear the weight of the ring (and all of the risks of the trail), his best friend Samwise Gamgee sticks by his side. When the going gets tough, Samwise doesn’t give up on Frodo.

"I made a promise, Mr Frodo. A promise. ‘Don't you leave him Samwise Gamgee.’ And I don't mean to."

What would it look like if everyone made promises to themselves, and actually kept them?

(there wouldn’t be an annual Quitter’s Day, that’s for sure)

Profit Hikers don’t break their promises.

Hiking requires a promise made and a promise kept from yourself, to yourself.

Once you decide to take a journey in your business, there will be times when you will need to use your commitment as a binding contract to stay on course.

That’s how you should treat all promises made, but especially the hard ones that you’ve only made to yourself. If your Commitment is truly authentic, it will breed discipline.

Make yourself a promise, and see it through.

Onward and upward, Simon Trask (I’m a small business owner, advisor, and advocate – learn more here)

Simon is author and founder of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.

One of the easiest trails to uncover hidden profit is to reduce costs – this starts with your supply chain.

Step 1: Find competing bids for your suppliers.

This process has several benefits. First, you’ll see where you’re at in the market, and how much opportunity there is to improve. You may have had it good already, but you won’t know until you shop around.

Second, it’s often best to have more horses in the stable, and it’s wise to be aware of what supplier options there are for you. And finally, you can gain some leverage for the conversations you’ll have with your existing suppliers, if you think there’s room to improve your costs.

Step 2: Negotiate with current suppliers.

Then you’ll want to approach your current and most expensive third-party suppliers.

Honesty is the best policy in this process; let them know that you’ve shopped around, but that you’ve appreciated working with them (if that is the case). Make sure they know that you want to continue this partnership for a long time, and simply ask if there is anything they can do with the price.

Step 3: Take a look at your lease.

If you have an office or building lease and it is up in the next six to twelve months, it’s time to shop around now.

Typically, it’s better for everybody if you can stay in your location unless you’ve outgrown it, but you need to know how the market stands.

You also need plenty of time for negotiation. Finding middle ground on a lease renewal can be a slow process, and time is on your landlord’s side, not yours. Make sure you know well in advance what the going rate is for your type of space.

It almost never hurts to explore what other options may be available. Depending on your industry, there may be new options or innovations since you last checked.

A little work goes a long way on this trail.

Onward and upward, Simon Trask (I’m a small business owner, advisor, and advocate – learn more here)

Simon is author and founder of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.

Are you leading or chasing?

It’s tempting to let the market dictate your pricing. But that does NOT have to be the case. As I mention in my book, there are several antidotes to a commodity war, such as strong branding or excellent customer service.

The bottom line is…

Don’t let competitors set your prices. Let your value set your prices.

If they’re priced lower than you:

• Don’t panic.

• Ask, “Are they cutting corners I refuse to cut?”

• Are you delivering a better experience, more reliability, or stronger results?

• Then highlight it. Own it. Make it easy for your customers to see why you’re worth more. Communicate the value that they are getting.

If they’re priced higher than you:

• That could be your opportunity. What do they know that you don’t?

• Are they branding differently? Packaging smarter? Framing their value more clearly?

• Are you really the price-saving alternative, or are you just behind the pricing curve?

• Are they actually overpriced, and missing sales?

• Maybe your prices are due for a lift—and you don’t even have to change a thing.

Remember: in business (as in all relationships), perception is often reality. Matching price isn’t your only option. Sometimes, standing confidently behind your price–and the value you bring–is exactly what builds trust.

Is it time for a change (for the better)?

Onward and upward, Simon Trask (I’m a small business owner, advisor, and advocate – learn more here)

Simon is author and founder of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.

The shortest path to growth.

Acquiring another business in your industry can be a powerful way to grow without reinventing the wheel. But it can be a tricky trail…

Even if you already have a business in mind, don’t hike this trail alone. This is where a business broker becomes your Sherpa. They don’t just find listings—they walk you through every twist in the trail: from determining the right valuation, to navigating due diligence, to helping you secure the financing that makes it possible.

Here’s what a good broker does:

• Valuation clarity: They help you avoid overpaying and recognize hidden potential.

• Negotiation support: Emotions can run high. Brokers stay cool-headed to get deals done.

• Financing access: They often have connections with lenders and know what paperwork to prep.

• Deal structure: Not all acquisitions are cash-up-front. Brokers help craft creative solutions that work for both sides.

Horizontal integration is a Summit-level trail. It takes vision, bravery, and serious planning—but the elevation gain can be transformative. Imagine doubling your customer base, extending your footprint, or acquiring a killer team that’s already trained.

If you’ve thought about buying a competitor, or joining forces with a like-minded business, this might be your moment.

To gain massive elevation, don’t hike alone.

Onward and upward, Simon Trask (I’m a small business owner, advisor, and advocate – learn more here)

Simon is author and founder of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.

A little help goes a long way.

I heard a story about a Chick-fil-A franchise owner in Georgia that pooled money from the entire team and bought one of his employees a new minivan. She is a single mom who was taking a taxi to work every day. He asked if she was having car trouble and learned that she didn’t have a car at all. The team all pitched in, which was full of heart, but that alone wouldn’t buy an entire new car…

The business is what carried most of that financial burden.

The owner had been responsible with the financial health of the business along with his own personal finances.

This margin put him in the position to bless that woman in a huge way at just the right time.⁵

Whether you are investing your time as a board member or investing your money through sponsorships and charitable giving, the local community is relying on your business to continue to be healthy.

If you have a generous heart, as many community business owners do, then it is your responsibility to make sure that your business is financially healthy and profitable so that you are always ready and able to be generous when the opportunity arises.

The same goes for your time.

If you have a service business that does pro bono work, then your duty is to make sure you have margin in your billable hours. If your schedule is booked solid, then you couldn’t donate your time even if you wanted to.

Community matters. It is well worth the investment.

Onward and upward, Simon Trask (I’m a small business owner, advisor, and advocate – learn more here)

Simon is author and founder of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.

It’s tempting, but don’t do it.

Once you have identified a way to turn your business around, be careful not to let it consume you.

As they say in Texas, “dance with the one that brought you” – don’t ignore the main part of your business.

It’s tempting to fall prey to “Shiny Object Syndrome”, but let new ventures be what it they are: a side quest.

New ideas and initiatives can often bring you renewed energy as a business owner. When there is a new playing field, you may be itching to explore it.

But each trail in the Profit Hiker program should be one more small trail you take to hike a little further up the mountain.

Let the main part of your business finance your side quests, and keep it going – don’t let it die.

Keep the main thing the main thing,

Onward and upward, Simon Trask (I’m a small business owner, advisor, and advocate – learn more here)

Simon is author and founder of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.

Rocket speed leads right into profit.

I once had a team of very talented graphic designers that produced fantastic work at an impressive pace.

One up-and-coming star designer was having difficulty with his computer. It was slowing him down, which was costing us real money. It was an older machine, likely the oldest and slowest on the team, maybe even in the entire office.

I’ve done a few computer repairs in the past, so, together, we took it apart and cleaned off the heat sink, motherboard, fan, and air ducts.

This took a little less than an hour, and he was up and running again.

It was also a good teaching moment to help him diagnose and fix a computer problem, but the best thing to do in that scenario would be to simply get a new computer.

While thousands of dollars in capital expense wasn’t realistic at that moment in time, a lease would have been an easy decision.

In this day and age, it does not make business sense to allow a slow computer to slow down your talented team – especially if they are part of your actual production.

What can you speed up today?

Onward and upward, Simon Trask (I’m a small business owner, advisor, and advocate – learn more here)

Simon is author and founder of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.

Everybody wants to live out their purpose.

But how do you live in your purpose?

You have to create margin in your life.

The most practical and tactical way to live daily in your purpose as an owner is to make your business more profitable.

If your business has breathing room, then you can actually set out to accomplish your purpose.

When you have margin then you can concern yourself with more than just making payroll. You can actually live your purpose out – and when you are living in your purpose, it changes your perspective on everything.

Profit Hiker exists to help you make your business more profitable so you can live in your purpose.

That’s my purpose – to help you find yours.

Onward and upward, Simon Trask (I’m a small business owner, advisor, and advocate – learn more here)

Simon is author and founder of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.

Moving and shaking starts with a checklist.

Growth by acquiring or forming other companies can be a great way to see immediate growth, if it’s planned and executed well.

This is “big risk, big reward” territory.

In terms of trails, it’s the skinny little goat trail with a thousand-foot drop and loose rocks, but at the end is the most spectacular summit you could ever imagine.

Here’s the trailhead:

Begin by making a list of all of your biggest suppliers (including your landlord). Then make a list of all of your best customers.

Identify the businesses on each list that are most realistic to buy, or start a competing business.

You can do an online search for businesses for sale as well. People buy and sell businesses every day on sites like BizBuySell.com. Then it can become a new suppliers or customer for the business that you have now.

Give it some thought!

Onward and upward, Simon Trask (I’m a small business owner, advisor, and advocate – learn more here)

Simon is author and founder of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.

Big effort, big change.

Alex Hormozi has built quite a name for himself as an investor and business thought leader, but it hasn’t always been that way.

He started his career as an entrepreneur with workout gyms. Alex was good at the gym business, but it’s a grind. This became even more so when he expanded to 5 locations.

He started Gym Launch as a way to help other gym owners grow their own business.

And was finding that he was good at it.

Eventually he sold his gyms and focused on Gym Launch.

The consulting business eventually birthed a playbook, which then became a program that gym owners could follow to find success.

After growing to thousands of program members nationwide, Alex sold his company for tens of millions of dollars.

He pivoted from being a gym owner to being an advocate for all gym owners, and experienced a radical change in profitability.

Is there a big pivot in your future?

Onward and upward, Simon Trask (I’m a small business owner, advisor, and advocate – learn more here)

Simon is author and founder of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.

Find your own Active Creative Meditation.

I have talked about “Active Creative Meditation” before – if you establish a playground for your creativity, then your brain is free to connect dots that you may not have even known were there.

And this can really reinvent your business.

So what you need to do is quiet yourself on a regular basis and then give your creativity permission to go wild. This is a simple yet powerful tool for your business, and as a small business owner it’s your responsibility to make space in your life for creativity and the reimagining of your future.

Cycling on a stationary bike is a fantastic environment for Active Creative Meditation.

The repetition of the activity combined with an elevated heart rate can push creative thinking into overdrive.

Compare that to bombing down a steep mountain bike trail, navigating ruts, rocks, and trees while adrenaline is coursing through every vein. I love downhill mountain biking (just check my medical records). It’s exciting, mind-bending, and borderline addictive–but it’s not even close to being a fertile environment for creative thinking.

But stationary cycling in a garage or gym absolutely is.

Build yourself a mental playground, and let your imagination create a new future for your business.

Onward and upward, Simon Trask (I’m a small business owner, advisor, and advocate – learn more here)

Simon is author and founder of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.

Dad says “son, hand me that pack, I’m going to guide you on a hike.”

The son replies: “Sure, pa.”

(once again, zero apologies for dad jokes)

Sherpas have become world-renowned hiking guides in the Himalayas, being absolutely crucial to Mount Everest expeditions every single year. They help carry the insane amount of gear, and they know every step of the trail. If you are trying to summit Everest, you must have a sherpa.

In your business life, you’ll need sherpas from time to time. Some of them might be unexpected…

Like when you’re trying to grow without getting new customers.

Consider this:

If your audience already knows you and trusts you, chances are that you can sell them more products or services than you are now, with very little friction.

Think about the relationship that your brand has with its audience. They are living their life, and then they interact with your brand and then go back to living their life – what happens immediately before and after that interaction?

And more importantly, how can you discover that info?

Now back to sherpas.

Getting honest and helpful insight from your best and most trusted customers can change the way you look at your business.

Your best customers can be your sherpas.

Ask them for help.

Onward and upward, Simon Trask (I’m a small business owner, advisor, and advocate – learn more here)

Simon is author and founder of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.

Fusion can lead to confusion.

You may have another audience who would absolutely love what you have to offer, but don’t know that you even exist.

It may even be possible to offer the exact same product catalog or suite of services, with the same employees, from the same location – just to a new audience.

The caution sign on this trail is to be careful about your brand.

It can be tempting to try and become everything to everyone, but not even Walmart can do that (shoutout to Target Nation).

No single brand can serve everyone.

So don’t dilute your brand by going too generic on your messaging. If you sense that you are spreading too thin and losing your sense of purpose (and thus your impact), you may consider creating another brand to serve that new audience.

You can even do this under the same company with the exact same product, service and team – just a separate brand with different marketing communications.

Whatever you do, make sure you do not confuse.

As one of my favorite communicators Donald Miller says, “if you confuse, you lose.”

Onward and upward, Simon Trask (I’m a small business owner, advisor, and advocate – learn more here)

Simon is author and founder of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.

Blind spots are like eyebrows.

We all have them, and need to check them from time to time to make sure nothing is going haywire.

Every person has blind spots, and so of course every business has blind spots.

We have areas of our life that we cannot even see, by choice or not. Sometimes it just takes a trusted friend to point something out (“hey you left part of that taco in your beard… again…”).

But it can be hard to find blind spots in your business. It takes a cunning eye, some deep thought, perhaps wisdom from a mentor or a peer, and then it’s time to uncover that area.

More than likely, essential data is hiding somewhere in your business that would change your decision-making if you could see it in real time.

Building a “dashboard” or “command center” can be a pivotal improvement to your business, and one that pays off every day, week, month, and year following.

Is it time to uncover your blind spots?

Onward and upward, Simon Trask (I’m a small business owner, advisor, and advocate – learn more here)

Simon is author and founder of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.

Plan, and then do.

Once you have a trail in the Profit Hiker Program identified to tackle, it’s time to make a plan.

Remember - a plan is more than just having the trail map. Take the time to lay out a detailed plan of action.

Don’t oversimplify or overcomplicate it.

Break it down into a few milestones that you can measure up to. Then create the tasks that you will need to accomplish those.

This is important: use your existing frameworks to help you accomplish the plan.

That means if you’re a Post-It Note user, then use Post-It Notes. If you set alarms or use notes on your phone, do that. If you use a project management system to tackle your day, put your tasks into the system.

You do not need a new system, you just need to leverage what you’re already used to and good at.

However you tend to get things done now, leverage that same method to help you hike your trail.

You can do it!

Onward and upward, Simon Trask (I’m a small business owner, advisor, and advocate – learn more here)

Simon is author and founder of Profit Hiker: 11 Trails to gain lasting elevation in your business. Find the book right here and the program over there.