Are You Greasing the Bearings or Losing the Wheel? A Lesson in Startups and Scaling

For those I haven’t caught up with recently—we did a thing. Now that I’m my own boss, I’ve taken my work (and life) on the road! My husband and I bought a 45ft fifth wheel, spent the fall navigating the steep RV learning curve (with a few humbling lessons along the way), and since October, we’ve been fulltime RVers —7,000 miles and counting! From visiting customers and potential ones to exploring national parks, this journey has been nothing short of invigorating!

The very first time we drove our RV, we noticed something alarming—the wheels were smoking, and we smelled burned rubber. Not exactly the confidence boost you want when hauling your home down the highway!

Luckily, my husband is super handy, so he pulled off every wheel, regreased the bearings, and tightened everything up. Problem solved, right?

Well… not quite.

On our next journey, we hit a pothole, and in an instant, two wheel studs snapped, and one of our RV tires went flying past us down the highway at 60mph. Yes, you read that right—our tire literally overtook us. Thank the Lord, no one was hurt, but seeing your own wheel speeding ahead is not an experience I’d recommend.

The Business Lesson: Preventative Maintenance vs. Reactive Fire Drills

What happened? We had done the maintenance. We thought everything was set. But sometimes, overcorrecting, applying too much pressure, or missing small warning signs can create an even bigger problem down the road.

Startups and scaling businesses go through the same thing.

1. Greasing the Wheels: You’ve identified friction in your sales, marketing, or customer journey, so you’re making adjustments. You refine your go-to-market strategy, optimize conversion paths, and tighten up messaging. You’re proactive—keeping everything running smoothly.

2. Over-Tightening the Bearings: But sometimes, in an effort to prevent failure, businesses can over-correct. They slow down decision-making, overcomplicate their processes, or become too rigid with their strategy. Just like overtightening wheel bearings, this can create stress fractures that show up when you hit unexpected bumps.

3. Losing the Tire (and Customers Along with It): If you’re too focused on tweaking internal mechanics without looking at the bigger picture—customer needs, shifting market conditions, and unexpected disruptions—you risk a full-blown failure. In startups, this looks like losing a major customer, having a critical team member quit, or finding out that your well-greased strategy isn’t built for real-world conditions.
   
   

How to Keep Your Business Rolling Smoothly

✔ Check for Heat Before It’s a Fire: If things feel like they’re burning up (too much friction in customer interactions, declining engagement, or sales plateaus), don’t ignore it. Small tweaks now prevent massive breakdowns later.

✔ Don’t Over-Tighten the Process: While structure is necessary, too many layers slow you down. If you’re bogged down in approvals, waiting too long to launch, or adding unnecessary steps, you might be setting yourself up for an unexpected failure.

✔ Be Ready for Potholes: The market will throw surprises your way. How resilient is your commercial strategy? Are you relying too much on one customer, one channel, or one internal superstar? Build in buffers—both in business and in your wheel bearings.

✔ When You Lose a Tire, Regroup and Keep Going: Losing a deal, a client, or a campaign that flops doesn’t mean failure—it means adjust, re-secure, and hit the road again. We had to find a repair shop and get new wheel studs before continuing our trip, but guess what? We’re still on the road. Your business should be too.

Final Thought: Momentum is Everything

Startups, just like RV travel, depend on momentum. If you let small issues stack up, you’ll eventually break down. If you’re too cautious, you’ll never pick up speed. The key is finding the balance—greasing the wheels without over-tightening, keeping things running without unnecessary slowdowns, and building resilience for when the inevitable potholes hit.

Need help keeping your commercial engine running smoothly? Let’s chat. Preferably before your business wheel goes flying past you on the highway.