top of page
Welcome to
The Growth Lab
Where small businesses learn how to be seen, remembered, and chosen.
In today’s digital world, being the best-kept secret won’t grow your business. Here in The Growth Lab, we share simple, practical strategies that help you:
-
Show up where your customers are searching
-
Build familiarity and trust with your community
-
Turn online visibility into real growth
Every post is designed with one goal in mind: to make your business easier to find and harder to ignore.
Take a look around, explore the latest articles, and discover how your business can stand out online without the overwhelm.
All Posts
The Agentic Trap: Why Your Digital Commerce Architecture Will Fail in 2026
The operating environment for the Digital Systems Architect in December 2025 is defined by a profound and widening bifurcation. We are witnessing the simultaneous acceleration of high-velocity, automated commerce in the North American market and a structural deceleration, verging on systemic failure, across critical nodes of the European retail infrastructure. For the architect responsible for designing, maintaining, and optimising the digital stack, the data from the past te
Steven Vodli
5 days ago5 min read
The Architect’s Dilemma: How Ethical Business Alignment Saved My Business
I recently did some deep self-reflection on my past and present, and I made a discovery that changed everything. For years, I thought I was not good at sales. I assumed I lacked the "hustle" gene or the extroverted charisma required to close deals. But as it turns out, I didn't have a skill problem. I had an Ethical Business Alignment problem. As I am in a transition from being an e-commerce business owner to focusing on helping other businesses, I have had to face an entire
Steven Vodli
Nov 306 min read
The Architectural Fallacy: Why Scaling 'Inputs' Will Collapse Your Digital Infrastructure
The digital ecosystem is currently gripped by a dangerous delusion. We are witnessing a bifurcation in the market that is as fascinating as it is destructive. On one side, we have the "Inputs"—the tools, tactics, and technologies used to pour fuel on the fire. These are accelerating at a terrifying pace. On the other side, we have the "Outcomes"—profitability, customer retention, and sustainable growth. These are stalling, or worse, declining. As we move through late 2025, th
Steven Vodli
Nov 256 min read
Solving Your Business Growth Plateau: Why Your AI Strategy is Failing (and What to Do About It)
If you’re the owner of an established business, "stuck" is a particularly frustrating place to be. You’ve navigated the chaos of start-up. You have a proven product, a great team, and a solid customer base. But now, you’ve hit a wall. That familiar, upward-sloping line of your growth chart has gone flat. This is the "growth plateau." It’s that painful, frustrating stage where all the things that used to work—referrals, your original marketing channels, your sheer force of wi
Steven Vodli
Nov 106 min read
The 95-5 Rule: Why Your Small Business Marketing Strategy Is Failing (And How to Fix It)
Does this feel familiar? You spend a few hundred dollars on Meta or Google ads. You get a few sales, and you feel a brief moment of relief. But next month, you have to do it all over again. And the month after that, it seems like your "cost per click" has gone up. And the month after that, your "cost per acquisition" is even higher. You feel like you're on a marketing hamster wheel, spending more and more money just to stay in the same place. I see this all the time. You're f
Steven Vodli
Nov 78 min read
The AI Paradox: Why Chasing Tools Will Hurt Your Business (And a Simple Small Business AI Strategy That Helps)
As a small business owner, you are probably exhausted. You’re being told from every direction—by Google, by Meta, by every marketing guru—that a revolution is here. You’re told that Artificial Intelligence is the new, non-negotiable frontier and that if you don't adopt it right now , you will be left behind. I see this. I see the flood of new tools, the breathless announcements, and the pressure to innovate. But as a systems thinker and a marketer who believes business must s
Steven Vodli
Nov 37 min read
The End of Cheap Clicks: How a Full-Funnel Meta Ads Strategy Drives Sustainable Customer Acquisition
The New Economics of Customer Acquisition: Why the Old Model is Broken The digital advertising landscape is undergoing a fundamental...
Steven Vodli
Oct 120 min read
Visibility Beats Perfection: Why Familiarity Wins More Clients Than Being the Best
Could this be your business? The Perfection Trap I’ve met so many business owners who put their whole heart into their work. They offer...
Steven Vodli
Sep 254 min read
Stop Chasing Buyers: Why Awareness Campaigns Work Better for Local Businesses
The Problem with “Buy Now” Ads Many local businesses run ads only when they need more customers, a quick promotion, a seasonal push, or a...
Steven Vodli
Sep 184 min read
Why Being Visible Locally Wins More Business Than Being the Best
Business Owner Looking at Business Performance Introduction: The Hidden Reason Great Businesses Struggle Every local community has hidden...
Steven Vodli
Sep 93 min read
How to Make Your Business Visible Online (Start with Your Google Business Profile)
Google Business Profile is important for any local business You might be the very best at what you do. But here’s the hard truth: if...
Steven Vodli
Aug 302 min read
bottom of page