Addition by Subtraction: Why Most Service Businesses Don’t Need More Ideas

Written By Erik Devash

This clip expands on a simple idea I come back to often: most service businesses don’t get stuck because they lack ideas, they get stuck because too many things are competing for attention.

The post below goes deeper into how subtraction creates clarity, why “busy” is usually a symptom, and what simplifying your business actually looks like in practice.

When a business wants to grow, the instinct is almost always to add:

  • a new service

  • a new offer

  • another tool

  • another marketing channel

  • another idea to “try”

It feels productive. It feels like momentum.

But in most cases, it’s the exact thing that keeps the business stuck.

The real problem usually isn’t effort. It’s interference.

After working with service businesses and founders across different industries, a pattern shows up again and again:

When a business feels chaotic, slow, or harder to run than it should be, it’s rarely because the owner isn’t working hard enough.

It’s because too many things are competing for attention at the same time.

Sales. Operations. Marketing. Hiring. Admin. Customer issues. Follow-ups. Exceptions.

Nothing gets the space it needs to work properly.

Why adding more usually makes things worse

Every new thing you add brings hidden costs:

  • more decisions

  • more context switching

  • more processes to maintain

  • more opportunities for things to break

Those costs compound quietly.

What started as “just one more idea” eventually turns into a business that feels heavy to operate.

And when the business feels heavy, performance drops.
Not because the owner isn’t capable, but because the system is overloaded.

What subtraction actually looks like in a real business

Subtraction doesn’t mean doing less for the sake of doing less.
It means being intentional about what earns the right to stay.

Some real examples I see often:

  • Cutting a service that technically makes money but creates constant friction

  • Pausing marketing channels that drain time without producing quality leads

  • Simplifying an offer instead of endlessly tweaking it

  • Removing steps from a process instead of documenting a broken one

  • Saying no to “good ideas” that pull attention away from the core business

Subtraction isn’t about minimalism.
It’s about creating room for the important things to actually work.

The question I ask before adding anything new

Before adding something, I usually slow people down with one simple question:

What would happen if we removed something first?

That question almost always changes the conversation.

Instead of asking,
“What else should we do?”

We start asking,
“What’s getting in the way?”

That’s where clarity starts to show up.

Why “Busy” Is Usually a Symptom, Not the Problem

A lot of service business owners tell me the same thing:

“I’m just really busy.”

Busy answering calls.
Busy dealing with issues.
Busy putting out fires.
Busy reacting.

But “busy” isn’t the root problem.
It’s a signal.

Busy usually means something isn’t aligned

In most cases, constant busyness points to one (or more) of these:

  • unclear priorities

  • broken processes

  • too many services or exceptions

  • weak systems

  • decisions that haven’t been made yet

Busy is what happens when the business is running through the owner instead of with them.

It’s not a badge of honor.
It’s feedback.

Why service businesses feel this the most

Service businesses are especially vulnerable to this pattern because:

  • every customer request feels urgent

  • every opportunity feels like revenue

  • every exception feels reasonable in the moment

Over time, the business becomes reactive instead of intentional.

And reactivity is exhausting.

Subtraction is often the fastest way to regain control.

The shift that changes everything

When businesses finally simplify, a few things tend to happen quickly:

  • execution improves

  • teams get clearer

  • decisions get easier

  • stress drops

  • growth becomes more predictable

Not because something magical was added.

But because the noise was reduced.

This is usually where real progress actually starts

Most businesses don’t need a full rebuild.
They don’t need a new brand or a total pivot.

They need a clean reset.

They need to decide:

  • what matters

  • what doesn’t

  • and what’s quietly getting in the way

That’s often where I spend time with founders and service business owners.
Not chasing tactics.
Not piling on more ideas.

Just helping them see the business clearly again.

If any part of this feels familiar, you’re not behind.
You’re just carrying more than you need to.

And in a lot of cases, the fastest way forward isn’t adding something new.
It’s finally letting something go.

Want to keep going from here?

If this way of thinking resonates, that’s usually a sign you don’t need more information.
You need clarity.

That’s what these conversations are built around.

Erik Devash