Smarter Solopreneurs

Smarter Solopreneurs

Smarter Strategy

Spot Business Plateaus

The 4 reasons great solopreneurs get stuck.

Maya Say's avatar
Maya Say
Sep 29, 2025
∙ Paid

If you are:

  • Stuck making the same income month after month, and have no idea how to grow your solo business.

  • Tired of a fluctuating income, clients that come and go, and platforms that pull the rug from under you…

The problem is bigger than you think.

Despite the solopreneur economy booming, only 20% of solopreneurs achieve income over $100K per year. This means the vast majority are trapped in what I call “the invisible ceiling”—working hard, but not growing.

Here’s what makes this problem so insidious: business stagnation is often a side effect of the business leader reaching a personal plateau. When you lose your own growth mindset, your business loses momentum—but it happens so gradually you don’t notice until months have passed.

You exhaust the growth experience available, stagnate, and start phoning it in while thinking you’re just “staying consistent.”

Most solopreneurs hit plateaus without even realizing it.

By the time they notice, they’ve already lost months of potential growth.

Today, I’m sharing 4 critical warning signs that reveal when you’re plateauing, plus the exact frameworks I use to catch them early and break through to the next level.

Let’s dive in.

In this newsletter:

  • The 4 reasons great solopreneurs get stuck

  • A powerful AI prompt to help you find new problems to solve for existing clients

Next week: a free newsletter about mindset shifts that turn stagnant periods into growth opportunities.

The “same customers, same problems” trap

This is the most dangerous plateau because it feels comfortable. You’re serving the same type of clients, solving the same problems, using the same methods.

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