​Headline Realities Facing Mid-Market Businesses
​
Payroll Pressure: Job losses hit mid-sized firms hardest, affecting agility and morale.
​
Supply Chain Disruptions: Tariffs and global instability drive up costs and delays (Reuters, Dec 2025).
​
Margin Squeeze: Mid-markets can’t absorb price hikes like the giants, making efficiency and margin protection urgent.
​
Tighter Credit: Banks are pulling back on business lending (Wall Street Journal, Dec 2025).
​
Why Act Now?
(PAY CLOSE ATTENTION - Most Businesses Get This Exactly Backward)
The Case for Scaling Your Growth in Weird Times
It’s tempting to wait out the storm. But history—and recent research—shows companies that invest in growth during downturns often outperform those that delay. McKinsey found that during the last major recession, the top 10% of companies that acted early grew their earnings by 10% while laggards shrank by 15% (McKinsey & Company).
​
Scaling Is More Than Marketing—It’s a Profitability Play
Growth in turbulent times isn’t just about more outreach—it’s about building a smarter, more resilient business. Here’s how scaling now delivers real economic benefits, with supporting evidence:
Align Company-Wide for Profitable Growth:
​
When your whole team is unified behind a clear growth plan, you eliminate friction, reduce wasted effort, and accelerate execution. According to Harvard Business Review, companies with strong internal alignment are 72% more profitable than their peers (Harvard Business Review, 2020). Alignment leads to faster sales cycles, higher win rates, and more predictable revenue—key drivers of profitability in any economy.
Optimize Processes for Efficiency and Margins:
Now is the time to identify bottlenecks, automate repetitive tasks, and re-engineer workflows. McKinsey research shows that companies investing in operational improvements during downturns see a 10-20% increase in profit margins post-recovery (McKinsey & Company, 2022). Streamlining operations now creates a lasting cost advantage.
Sharpen Value Propositions and Innovate to Lead:
Uncertain times are perfect for competitive analyses and innovation. Bain & Company found that companies who innovate and refresh their value proposition during recessions grow 14% faster and are 3x more likely to become market leaders when the economy rebounds (Bain & Company, 2020). Proactive innovation attracts clients seeking fresh ideas and positions you to capture market share.
Make Marketing Work Harder with Data-Driven Decisions:
Don’t just diversify channels—double down on what works by analyzing your target audience and channel metrics. Forrester reports that B2B organizations using data-driven marketing see 15–20% higher ROI and 30% more qualified leads (Forrester, 2021). Focusing on high-ROI activities makes every dollar count.
The ROI of Acting Now
The gut instinct during 'weird' or uncertain times is to pull in and essentially do nothing in terms of business growth. But this is exactly the wrong position to take, especially when there are gains to be made and greater margins to be enjoyed without a lot of added expense or risk. This is exactly the time to be taking advantage of your competitors who are pulling in the reins.
​
Every downturn produces winners and laggards. Companies that align, optimize, innovate, and market smarter aren’t just surviving—they’re building a foundation for outsized profitability and growth. The best time to scale is when others are standing still. Don’t wait to play catch-up—take action now and set your business up to lead.
​
​
Ready to See How a Growth System Would Work for Your Business?
If you’re thinking of pulling back during uncertain times we should explore other alternatives. I invite you to grab 30 minutes on my calendar.
No pitch. No pressure. Just a focused working session about where you are, what’s possible, and how a whole-business growth system could work for you.