Have The Courage To Outgrow Your Own Company, with Colson Steber

Dec 24, 2025

Colson Steber, co-CEO of Clarity/Ag Access and a market research entrepreneur, shares his transformative journey from burnout to thriving leadership. He reveals how he overcame early career challenges by committing to a bigger future and establishing effective structures within his company. Colson discusses the importance of joining the Strategic Coach community, embracing routines, and focusing on his Unique Ability. His insights into cultivating a growth-oriented team culture and achieving rapid success during the pandemic are both inspiring and actionable.

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ANECDOTE

Buying And Reinventing A Struggling Business

Colson bought his father's struggling market research business at 26 and had to rapidly learn how to make it relevant again.
He leaned into sales, relationships, and intense study to survive near-bankruptcy and reinvent the company.

ANECDOTE

Hitting Rock Bottom And Choosing Change

Colson describes a brutal early phase of 70–80 hour weeks, alcoholism, and guilt about failing as a father and leader.
That low point triggered his commitment to leadership learning, meditation, community, and sobriety.

ADVICE

Join Community And Commit To Routines

Join communities and study tools that expand your leadership and thinking, like Strategic Coach and EO.
Commit to routines, hire support, and set clear goals for free days and financial freedom.

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When your business success turns into a personal trap, what’s the way out? In this episode, market research entrepreneur Colson Steber shares how committing to a bigger future, installing the right structure, and transforming his leadership turned an overworked owner into a focused, confident entrepreneur with a thriving, growth-focused team.

Here’s some of what you’ll learn in this episode:

What made Colson realize he’s always been an entrepreneur.
How Colson was stuck in a loop early in his career.
How Colson got into a positive, healthy routine.
What an entrepreneur gains from joining the Strategic Coach^® community.

Show Notes:

Every successful entrepreneur creates a powerful story about who they are and the future they’re committed to.

Real entrepreneurial growth starts when you commit to a bigger result long before you have the capability to achieve it.

Courage is the bridge between commitment and capability, and it often lasts longer and feels harder than you expect.

If you insist on being the central problem solver for everything, your successful company quickly becomes a trap.

Installing a proven operating system like EOS^® gives your company structure so you can stop doing everything yourself.

The right structure turns a grinding, 70-hour-a-week survival business into a Self-Managing Company^® that supports your life.

Your Unique Ability^® gains value as you narrow your focus and design the rest of the company around supporting it.

Intense preparation and consistent routines let you show up exactly right in the rare moments where you create 50 percent of the value.

Culture becomes an asset when your team members are gaining confidence, growing their skills, and actually enjoying their work.

Healthy exits—where people move on to bigger futures with your support—are a sign your company is set up for freedom, not dependence.

Entrepreneurial timelines are always aggressive, but beating the market still counts as winning even when it feels “too slow.”

Every entrepreneur’s story is unique.

Strategic Coach gets you thinking about the right things at the right time.

Resources:

The 4 C’s Formula by Dan Sullivan

EOS^®

The Self-Managing Company by Dan Sullivan

What Free Days^™ Are And How To Know When You Need Them

Unique Ability^®