Courage & Clarity – Episode 178: Why Hustle Fills Your Calendar, Not Your Bank Account

Host: Steph Crowder
Date: February 9, 2026

Episode Overview

In this solo episode, Steph Crowder dives into a trap that many entrepreneurs, especially women and parents, experience: constantly hustling and filling up their calendars—without seeing a corresponding growth in their bank accounts. Using personal anecdotes and advice from working with thousands of business owners, Steph addresses the deeper patterns behind “busy but broke” syndrome. She also introduces her upcoming Sold Out Sales System Summit and shares tangible strategies to create a more predictable, sustainable business, emphasizing the importance of intentional, strategic action over random activity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Problem with "Hustle" as a Business Strategy

• Many entrepreneurs equate being busy—having calendars packed with tasks—with being productive or profitable.

• Steph shares her own realization: being maxed out on effort but unable to double her results simply by working harder.
  Quote:

  “I want to double my business, but I absolutely cannot double my effort. It’s not going to be possible, right?” — Steph Crowder [15:44]

• She points out the common feeling:

  “Who can relate to that, right? You feel busy... every moment is accounted for... and yet you don’t necessarily have a bank account to match your calendar.” [11:50]

2. Introducing the Sold Out Sales System Summit

• Steph shares details about her upcoming 5-day live training summit (March 16-20), designed to help entrepreneurs create predictable, reliable businesses.
• Each week’s podcast will deep dive into a different day of the summit, starting with today’s focus: identifying why hustle doesn’t translate into income.

Predictability over Panic

• Main theme of the summit: building a predictable business—predictable plan, content, launches, audience growth, and sales systems.
• The summit includes live auditing and interactive feedback.

3. Why Full Calendars ≠ Growing Bank Accounts

• The crux of today’s episode: Most entrepreneurs aren’t suffering from a lack of effort, but a lack of focused action on “Money Making Activities” (MMAs).
• Busywork and random activity are mistaken for progress.
• Steph’s analogy:

  “This is... the busy but broke syndrome. Maybe you’re not broke. Maybe you’re busy but doing okay. But... you have to address the reality that you’re probably doing a lot of stuff randomly, okay? And not necessarily... what I call money making activities, MMAs.” [15:00]

4. Personal Story: The Hustle Trap

• Steph describes her own journey as a mom entrepreneur, feeling perpetually maxed out, convinced there was no extra time, and struggling with launching fatigue:

  “Every single launch that I would do would feel like starting from scratch. It would feel like a boulder was sitting at the bottom of a new mountain...” [21:00]

• The cycle: working as hard as possible, but results never feeling predictable or sustainable.

5. The Power of a Predictable Plan

• Having a proven, repeatable game plan sharply reduces decision fatigue and stress—especially when life (kids, illness, unexpected events) gets in the way.
• Instead of improvising daily, you can just “go into execution mode”:

  “You don’t want to be using your strategic brain and your execution brain at the exact same time. When you have difficult stuff happening... you want to be able to focus on executing your plan.” [26:15]

6. Practical Exercise: The Time Tracking Challenge

• Steph challenges listeners to track their time with total honesty for a week using a tool like Toggl.

• Purpose: separate fact from feeling, and discover where time really goes.

• Steph’s own hesitancies and surprises emerge here:

  “I typically have something like 25 to 30 workable hours... and I was really, really convinced that I was using all my time... I worked 15 hours. It’s like I had been telling myself this story—‘I don’t have any extra time’... there’s 10 hours that are going God knows where.” [32:40]

• Advice:

  • Don’t try to change habits yet—just observe objectively.
  • Approach your calendar as you would a friend’s, with curiosity rather than judgment.

Memorable Moment:

“Many of you tell me, ‘I just wish I had more time. If I could create more time, all my problems would be solved.’ I just created more time. Do you see that?... my dreams are coming true. I have 10 hours that I didn’t know I had.” [35:23]

7. Shifting Your Relationship with Time

• Tracking leads to empowered, resourceful actions:

  “Just the act of looking at your calendar and being fully honest with yourself will start to shift your relationship to time.” [36:31]

• Real-life example: managing multiple business projects and parenting duties, yet staying on plan by sticking to the “predictable plan.”

• When life throws curveballs, a predictable, proven plan helps you adapt without starting over.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the real issue:

  “It’s going to feel to you like time is your issue... but actually, that is what I’m going to tell you. But hear me out, okay? The truth is... the issue is that you are doing a lot of random activities.” [14:50]

• On letting go of being busy for busy’s sake:

  “Stop showing up randomly, stop doing random things and prioritize the things that are going to make the difference in terms of your results.” [44:20]

• On self-kindness:

  “Don’t be like, ‘Oh my God, I know what...’ Don’t even worry about that, okay? Just observe, be curious, be interested. Act like you’re looking at a friend’s calendar or a client’s calendar.” [37:40]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [11:50] – Definition and experience of the “busy but broke” syndrome
• [14:50] – Debunking the myth that “time” is the primary problem
• [21:00] – Steph’s story: feeling maxed out and the Sisyphus launch analogy
• [26:15] – The value of a predictable, proven plan in business
• [32:40] – The time tracking challenge and Steph’s own surprising results
• [35:23] – Realizing “hidden” available hours
• [36:31] – How honest observation shifts your relationship with time
• [44:20] – The ultimate advice: prioritizing what truly moves the needle

Action Steps and Takeaways

1. Audit Your Time:
   • Track every working minute with a free tool like Toggl for a week. Don’t judge; just observe.
2. Look for Patterns, Not Perfection:
   • Use your time log to identify where your effort is random vs. strategic.
3. Prioritize Money-Making Activities:
   • Shift focus towards actions that directly affect revenue, rather than filling empty hours with tasks.
4. Develop and Rely on a Predictable Plan:
   • Don’t reinvent the wheel with every new project or launch.
5. Join the Summit:
   • For hands-on auditing, feedback, and step-by-step systems, sign up for the Sold Out Sales System Summit (details at stephcrowder.com/summit).

In Steph’s Own Words

"When you can start to shift your relationship with time, when you start to understand your predictable plan, all you have to do is look at your plan and be like…okay, let me just figure out how to actually execute. You can even turn your brain off and go into execution mode." [39:12]

Summary

This episode busts the myth that more hustle leads to more money. Steph Crowder compassionately guides listeners through seeing the difference between busywork and true progress, offering practical time auditing steps and a preview of deeper work to come in her summit. Her core message: Create a business (and life) you can rely on—with intention, data, and a predictable plan as your new best friends.

For more actionable advice and direct support from Steph, join the Sold Out Sales System Summit March 16–20.