What would you recommend to people who can't get their business past a certain size?

I would always carry out market research and analyse my performance within that market, primarily search engine optimization performance.

If there was still room for organic traffic improvements then focus on that. If not, or if I was already doing very well , then I would look at CRO (Conversion Rate Optimisation) to squeeze the maximum out of existing traffic.

At the end of that if I was still not growing, I would have to ask myself if targeting that market is worth it. You have to chose carefully where to fight your battles, and don't bother choosing trying to start a battle you are not confident you will win. So investigate other but related markets to leverage what you have learnt from the market you did not quite succeed in, for example a related niche or micro niche.

Other answers by Dan Lawrence:

• What are the biggest business administration tips for scaling your business from $100 to $1,000 a day? in category Startups
• What is your motivation for traveling? in category Travel
• Where do you think search engine optimization is headed? in category Search engine optimization
• How do you think tax laws will react as more and more people choose the digital nomad lifestyle? in category Philosophy & politics of digital nomadism
• What was it like to scale an e-commerce store in the early two thousands? in category Startups

Other answers in the category Startups:

• How do you get rid of the fear that people will screw you over when first hiring people in an online business?
• What's your usual daily work and life schedule?
• Opportunity looks a lot like hard work. What is the hardest part of building a successful business?
• What was it like to scale an e-commerce store in the early two thousands?
• What are the biggest business administration tips for scaling your business from $100 to $1,000 a day?

Some random answers on our wiki :

• What is a surprising professional benefit you have developed from being a digital nomad? by Andrea Valeria in category Remote work
• How do you handle work burnouts along the road? by Thibault Lemaitre in category Remote work
• What learning platforms did you use in order to become a digital nomad? by Thibault Lemaitre in category Freelancing
• Where do digital nomads get their medical check-ups done? by Saba Bosuener in category General
• How do you choose travel destinations as a remote worker? by Saba Bosuener in category Travel
• How did people, who transitioned to the digital nomad lifestyle, overcome their desire to own materialistic things? by Andrea Valeria in category General
• If you had to work a non-remote job, what would you prefer to do? by Jacob Laukaitis in category General
• How do you go on long motorbike trips to places with no internet without your clients getting mad at you? by Jacob Laukaitis in category Freelancing
• How do you make friends while traveling solo? by Andrea Valeria in category Travel
• As a freelancer, do you think voice will be the next big thing in social media marketing? by Thibault Lemaitre in category Affiliate marketing