Trying to scale but still stuck in the day-to-day? That is the messy middle. Revenue may be growing, but without operational leadership installed, the owner bottleneck can get heavier. Expansion creates opportunity, but it also increases the need for structure and distributed leadership.

In this episode of Self-Made Is a Myth, Coach Tim Campsall sits down with Chad Abel, owner of Hello Garage of Indianapolis and Hello Garage of Cincinnati, to unpack what expansion looks like in real time. As Chad opened a second market, he created new growth potential and expanded his footprint. At the same time, he recognized that the next level would require installing operational leadership so decisions do not continue routing back to him.

Chad shares both the wins and the work. Expanding into a second city increased revenue opportunity and team capacity. It also revealed the need for clearer role definition, distributed decision-making, and stronger operational structure. Rather than ignore it, he is actively building the leadership layer that will allow the business to grow beyond the owner.

This is the messy middle. Growth increases complexity. Installing structure before pushing further is what turns expansion into scale.

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What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why opening a second market increases both opportunity and operational complexity
• How growth can quietly increase owner dependency if leadership is not installed
• The difference between expansion and true scale
• Why installing an operations manager changes the growth trajectory
• How distributed decision-making strengthens team capability
• The leadership mindset required to build beyond yourself

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Looking To Scale Your Business:

Did you know that only 9% of businesses make it to $1,000,000 in revenue and less than 1% reach $10,000,000. The hustle and grind that got you to $1,000,000 will not get you beyond it. To scale past the Messy Middle, you need stronger systems, clearer structure, and disciplined execution. Book a Discovery Call to see how our ActionCOACH Business Operating System (ABoS) and coaching help you get unstuck and move toward sustainable scaling so you can achieve your personal dreams and business goals.

https://tbcactioncoach.com/discovery-zoom-call/

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Timestamps:

(00:00) The real growth killer
(00:59) Expanding into a second market
(04:04) The instinct to solve every problem
(07:08) The personal cost of staying tactical
(08:42) Recognizing the operations manager gap
(10:45) What it costs if leadership is not installed
(14:11) Learning to step back
(24:38) Flattening the learning curve
(27:34) Building structure before scale

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Chad Abel was born and raised in Greenwood, Indiana. He currently lives in Fishers with his girlfriend Mindy and her two daughters. He has lived in Fishers for over 30 years where he raised his three children: Truman, Garrett and Toria. He has been in the fire service for 37 years and served as paramedic for 31 years. Chad currently serves as a Captain on a ladder truck. He is an entrepreneur at heart starting his first business at the age of 22.

In 2017, Abel Group was born when Chad began building decks and screen porches with consumer grade tools and using no money to start. He transformed the business in 2023 by purchasing a Hello Garage franchise, providing concrete floor coating and garage storage and organization. After building the location from the ground up in Indianapolis to 7th in the network, Chad expanded to Cincinnati in April of 2025 when he purchased an existing franchise location.

Trying to scale but still stuck in the day-to-day? That is the messy middle. Revenue may be growing, but unclear roles, weak systems, and decision bottlenecks turn the owner into the bottleneck. Without defined structure and stronger team accountability, the business cannot move from messy middle to scale and profit stays constrained.

In this episode of Self-Made Is a Myth, Coach Tim Campsall sits down with Richard Worsham, owner of Janus Motorcycles, to unpack what happens when delegation breaks down and role clarity disappears. As the company grew from a small passionate team into a larger manufacturing operation, undefined roles and decision escalation created friction, confusion, and hidden bottlenecks.

Richard shares how over-delegation without structure and management decision hoarding at the same time trained the team to escalate problems instead of solving them. When the only person making decisions is the owner, the team waits, systems stall, and the business stays stuck in the day-to-day.

This is the messy middle. What worked in the hustle and grind stage does not work at scale. Goodwill and enthusiasm are not systems. Titles matter. Defined authority matters. Clear org charts matter. Moving from messy middle to scale requires repeatable systems, empowered leaders, and a team that can solve problems without routing everything back to the owner. Without that shift, the bottleneck remains and profit potential is delayed.

Richard also shares the lesson he wishes he had learned sooner: you do not have to reinvent the wheel. Generations of leadership, lean manufacturing, and operational systems already exist. Bringing in outside perspective accelerated clarity, strengthened habits, improved structure, and created a foundation to move beyond the messy middle and toward scale.

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What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why unclear roles quietly create an owner bottleneck
• How escalation culture keeps teams stuck in the day-to-day
• The difference between delegation and structured authority
• Why defined systems are required before scale
• How reinventing the wheel costs time and profit
• The leadership shift required to move beyond the messy middle

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Looking To Scale Your Business:

Did you know that only 9% of businesses make it to $1,000,000 in revenue and less than 1% reach $10,000,000. The hustle and grind that got you to $1,000,000 will not get you beyond it. To scale past the Messy Middle, you need stronger systems, clearer structure, and disciplined execution. Book a Discovery Call to see how our ActionCOACH Business Operating System (ABoS) and coaching help you get unstuck and move toward sustainable scaling so you can achieve your personal dreams and business goals.

https://tbcactioncoach.com/discovery-zoom-call/

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Timestamps:

(00:00) The real growth killer: unclear roles
(03:00) Hustle and grind vs the messy middle
(06:00) Over-delegation and decision hoarding
(09:00) How escalation creates a bottleneck
(12:00) The power of defined roles and org charts
(16:00) Changing habits and building structure
(21:00) Stop reinventing the wheel
(24:00) Bringing in outside leadership and experience

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Janus Motorcycles creates a new category of iconic, hand-built production motorcycles that do more than take the rider from point A to point B. Manufactured in downtown Goshen, Indiana since 2011, each highly personalized Janus strives to capture the reason motorcyclists choose to ride in the first place, ignoring the distractions of horsepower, noise, weight, and tech gadgetry to distill the best of motorcycling: extraordinary aesthetics, a rich brand story, a thrilling riding experience, and easy reliable performance and maintenance.

Scaling in the messy middle feels heavier than it should. You are trying to scale, but you are still stuck in the day-to-day. Revenue may be growing, but weak culture, overcomplicated systems, and emotional decision-making quietly turn the owner into the bottleneck.

In this episode of Self-Made Is a Myth, Coach Tim Campsall sits down with Debbie Lovett, owner of Plan B Cleaning, to unpack what really stalled growth in her business. It was not marketing. It was not effort. It was culture without boundaries, systems that became too complex, and decisions made from emotion instead of numbers. Like many owner-led businesses in the messy middle, the company worked, but it still depended too much on the owner.

Debbie shares how trying to “love employees well” without structure created chaos. Weak boundaries allowed the wrong people to stay too long. Processes multiplied but clarity decreased. As revenue grew, churn quietly increased. Only when KPIs exposed client loss did the real issue become clear. The problem was not cleaning quality. It was professionalism, communication, and cultural consistency. Tracking numbers removed emotion and revealed the constraint.

This is the messy middle. Growth increases complexity. Without stronger systems, clearer guardrails, and a team that can own outcomes, scaling slows and stress rises. Breaking the owner bottleneck required documented training, simplified systems, stronger boundaries, and leadership maturity.

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What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why culture without boundaries creates chaos that stalls growth
• How being stuck in the day-to-day reinforces the owner bottleneck
• Why overbuilt systems increase mistakes, stress, and rework
• How tracking numbers exposes hidden client churn
• The leadership shift from “be a cleaner” to “be a professional”
• How outside perspective helps untangle messy middle complexity

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Looking To Scale Your Business:

Did you know that only 9% of businesses make it to $1,000,000 in revenue and less than 1% reach $10,000,000. The hustle and grind that got you to $1,000,000 will not get you beyond it. To scale past the Messy Middle, you need stronger systems, clearer structure, and disciplined execution. Book a Discovery Call to see how our ActionCOACH Business Operating System (ABoS) and coaching help you get unstuck and move toward sustainable scaling so you can achieve your personal dreams and business goals. https://tbcactioncoach.com/discovery-zoom-call/

Sign up for our weekly business tips https://tbcactioncoach.com/resources/email-signup/

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Timestamps:

(00:01) The real growth constraint: culture
(04:45) Loving employees without boundaries
(06:38) Hiring HR to hold the line
(07:53) The personal cost of messy growth
(10:23) Process gaps pulling the owner back in
(14:02) 80 percent systems and decision guardrails
(17:02) Breaking the “only I can do this” belief
(25:31) You can’t read the label from inside the jar
(29:12) KPIs expose client churn
(31:04) From cleaner to professional culture

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Plan: B Cleaning is a residential cleaning company based in Central Indiana, serving busy people who want more than just a clean home. Founded by Debbie Lovett, the company exists to help clients reclaim time, peace, and mental space through reliable, professional home care. Plan: B is built on the belief that exceptional service starts with intentional culture — where professionalism, clear communication, and consistency are taught, modeled, and expected.