I had a bit of a business revelation this week.

It was one of those moments that only happens after a period of frustration where nothing feels quite right. I was walking around the grocery store voice-dumping my thoughts into AI, ranting about capitalism, motivation, entrepreneurship — all the usual existential small-business questions. And as I kept talking through it, something suddenly clicked.

I realized that I’ve been missing something important in my business.

Not because the strategy I teach is wrong. But because there’s a step that a lot of people need before they’re ready for the things I’ve been focusing on.

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When I looked through a bunch of applications for the Six Figure Sprint, I noticed the same theme appearing over and over again. People would say some version of: “I know this program would help me, but I don’t have the revenue yet.” They could see the path forward, they wanted the strategy, but they didn’t have enough traction to justify the investment.

And honestly, their hesitation made perfect sense.

Because what most of these entrepreneurs actually need first isn’t a six-figure business strategy. What they need is consistent money coming in.

The Step So Many Entrepreneurs Skip

What I see happening again and again is that people jump straight into trying to build their dream offer.

They want the perfect signature service. They want the unique positioning. They want the offer that feels aligned, meaningful, and scalable. And while they’re trying to design this beautiful, fully formed business model, they’re stuck in a place where there’s little or no money coming in.

I understand why this happens. When you start a business, you naturally want to build the thing you ultimately want to run. But if you’re still trying to figure out how to consistently book clients, that focus can actually become the thing holding you back.

The truth is that when you need cash flow, your priority isn’t designing the perfect business. Your priority is traction.

You need proof that people will pay you.

The $100 Test

If you’re not yet making consistent income in your business, the first thing I want you to focus on is something very simple.

Can you get five people to pay you $100 for something you can deliver in about an hour?

That’s what I’m calling the $100 test.

If you’re a coach or consultant, this might look like a one-hour strategy session. If you’re a service provider, it could be something like a website audit, a design review, a copy critique, or some kind of focused evaluation that gives someone a quick win.

The key here is that the offer is simple, clear, and easy to understand. It’s something people already recognize as valuable and are already used to paying for.

Your goal isn’t to invent something brilliant. Your goal is to validate that you can get people to pay you.

If you can get five people to buy a $100 offer within a month, you’ve just proven something incredibly important: there is demand for what you do.

The Simple Structure That Creates Momentum

From there, you don’t need a complicated funnel or a giant menu of offers. In fact, having too many options often makes things harder.

At this stage, you really only need two offers.

The first is your mini offer, which serves as the entry point. The second is a larger offer that some of those clients continue into if they want deeper help.

For example, if five people book the $100 offer, that’s $500 in revenue. Then imagine that two of those clients decide to continue working with you in a larger package priced around $750.

Now you’ve generated $2,000 in a month.

That’s not just revenue — it’s momentum.

And momentum changes everything.

Why Momentum Matters More Than Perfection

When you start getting clients consistently, something shifts in your business.

You stop guessing what people want because you’re actually working with them. Your messaging gets clearer because you’re having real conversations. Your confidence grows because you’re seeing proof that your work is valuable.

All of that makes it much easier to eventually build a stronger, more refined signature offer.

But trying to design that perfect offer before you have any traction is incredibly difficult. You’re essentially trying to solve a puzzle without having enough pieces yet.

Momentum gives you those pieces.

The Question That Reveals the Real Problem

Whenever someone tells me they’re struggling to get clients, I ask them a very simple question.

If you had to book a new client in the next 24 hours, what would you do?

Every single time, people give the same answer. They would reach out to people they already know and offer something.

That answer is incredibly revealing, because it shows that most people already know what the fastest path to clients is. The real barrier usually isn’t strategy — it’s fear.

Fear of rejection. Fear of bothering people. Fear of looking unprofessional or desperate.

But at some point, if you want momentum, you have to move through that discomfort. Because clients don’t magically appear. They come from offers, conversations, and invitations to work together.

Building the Dream Comes Later

I want to be clear about something: building your dream business absolutely matters.

Creating a signature offer that feels aligned, impactful, and scalable is a wonderful goal. But if you’re currently stuck in a place where you’re not making consistent income, that shouldn’t be the first priority.

The first priority is proving that you can create traction.

That means selling something simple. Working with real clients. Learning what works. Generating consistent revenue.

Once that foundation exists, the bigger vision becomes much easier to build.

Instead of trying to leap straight into a six-figure business model, you’re stacking wins. You go from inconsistent income to $2K months, then to $5K months, and eventually beyond.

And every step along the way, you’re building the evidence, confidence, and experience that makes the next step possible.