Dashboard: Why Chasing Growth So Often Backfires

For most business owners, growth is the goal. More customers. More revenue. Bigger numbers. Bigger opportunities. And often, more pressure. But what if the way most of us think about growth is actually setting us up for trouble? Economist Gary Kunkle has spent years studying what really drives business performance. Not in headlines or case studies—but in large sets of real-world data. And what he’s found is that fast, aggressive growth often creates risks that owners don’t see until it’s too late.One reason is this: His research indicates that in most companies, about 20 percent of customers generate almost all of the profit. Most of the rest barely break even. And a surprising number quietly lose money. So when you chase growth, you’re often just adding more of the wrong customers—more complexity, more strain, more work, and less margin. In this conversation, Gary explains why steady, disciplined growth tends to outperform flashy expansion—and how understanding your own numbers can help you avoid the traps that derail so many otherwise strong businesses. Want to learn more? You can go to Gary’s website or email him directly: gmkunkle@yahoo.com.