Create Bigger Problems by Adding a Zero

Point

Small problems keep shop owners busy. Big problems force progress.

One of the fastest ways to break out of survival mode is simple: add a zero. Add a zero to the revenue goal. Add a zero to the number of cars the shop aims to repair each month. Add a zero to the profit expected from the business.

Small goals create small thinking. They invite patchwork fixes instead of real solutions. Bigger goals expose weak systems, unclear roles, and outdated habits quickly.

This is not about ego or reckless dreaming. It is about choosing problems worth solving. Because when a zero gets added, the game changes—and so do the decisions that shape the shop.

Story

Most shop owners live inside “reasonable” problems.

Questions sound responsible on the surface:

• How can an extra $5,000 be made this month?

• How can one more billed hour be squeezed out of each tech?

• How can the business survive until next season?

Those questions feel practical, but they quietly trap the shop in small thinking. When the problem is small, the solution stays small. The owner discounts. Pushes harder. Personally steps in. Works Saturdays. Grinds a little more. The month ends, the pressure resets, and the pattern repeats.

Now imagine adding a zero.

What would it take to add $50,000 per month?
What would it take to double billed hours?
What would it take for the shop to run without the owner present every day?

Suddenly, duct tape solutions fall apart. No amount of hustle can carry that load. Bigger problems force better thinking. They demand structure: systems, leadership, pricing discipline, and clear standards.

In many growing shops, adding a zero on paper exposes the truth:

• Pricing may be misaligned with reality

• Capacity may already be capped

• Processes may be fragile and overly manual

• The owner’s role may be the primary bottleneck

Small problems hide these issues. Big problems drag them into the light.

That is why shops that stay small often feel exhausted. The team is constantly putting out small fires instead of redesigning the building. Meanwhile, the shops that scale learn to tolerate bigger questions and stop obsessing over tiny ones.

The goal is not reckless growth at any cost. The real goal is clarity. Bigger problems strip away busywork and force focus on what actually moves the needle: pricing, process, people, and the owner’s role.

Lesson

Here is how to use “add a zero” as a productive tool, not a dangerous stunt:

1. Add a zero on paper only
   Treat this as a thinking exercise, not an immediate commitment. Use it to stress-test assumptions and expose blind spots.

2. Ask: what breaks first?
   With that extra zero in place, which part fails first—staffing, scheduling, space, cash flow, leadership? That first failure is the real constraint.

3. Notice what no longer matters
   When the target gets bigger, small inefficiencies start to look irrelevant. Instead, major bottlenecks stand out clearly. Those are the ones worth fixing.

4. Upgrade decisions, not effort
   If the imagined solution is “everyone just works more hours,” the thinking is still too small. Bigger problems should lead to different decisions, not just more strain.

5. Design for the bigger problem
   Build systems that could realistically handle 10× volume, even if the shop never reaches that level. Processes built for scale make today’s workload feel easier and cleaner.

5-Minute Clarity Check

• What goal feels slightly uncomfortable but still realistic?

• What goal feels impossible with the current systems and structure?

• What would have to change—pricing, staffing, processes, leadership—for that “impossible” goal to become doable?

That gap between today’s reality and the “add a zero” version is where real growth lives.

To build the systems and leadership needed for those bigger problems—and bigger results—join gofuelcoaching.com and start designing a shop that can actually handle the extra zero.