What a Crash-Out DoorDash Order Taught Me About Business

Every Friday, my wife and I reward ourselves with the same treat: we don’t cook. It’s a simple thing, but if you’re a small business owner, you know just how golden those shortcuts are. So, like clockwork, I ordered from Sonic—my go-to: a double smash burger, crinkle cut fries, a chipotle chicken sandwich, and a medium Starry.

But that night? DoorDash delivered a meal that wasn’t mine.

Instead of my regular order, I opened the bag to find what I can only describe as a crash-out combo: three corn dogs, a pile of ketchup and mustard packets, a loaded tater tot container overflowing with toppings, a peanut butter milkshake, and a large Diet Coke.

DoorDash made it right (shoutout to great customer service), but curiosity got the best of me. I tasted the food. Let’s just say… it wasn’t built for me. I felt bloated, heavy, sick to my stomach. It knocked out my appetite for the rest of the night and well into Saturday.

And right there, in a post-corn-dog fog, I had a realization about business:

Your Secret Sauce Isn’t for Everyone

What works for someone else might not work for you—and that doesn’t make either of you wrong. It just means you have a different “diet,” a different rhythm, a different stage of growth.

I’m all about efficiency, systems, automations. I love finding ways to streamline a business so the founder can get out of the weeds. But none of that should ever be divorced from the human being doing the work.

Optimize for the People, Not Just the Process

I’ve had leaders who believed in squeezing every ounce of output from a system, and I’ve had leaders who knew how to build with the team, not just around them. Guess which ones I remember?

Optimization is important. But if it makes your team sick, stressed, or exhausted—it’s not optimal. It’s just harsh.

That’s leadership. That’s humanity. And that’s what a lot of “efficiency experts” miss. You’re not running your business in a vacuum. You’re running it in a body. And that body has limits.

Your Business Needs a Taste Test, Too

That DoorDash meal taught me another thing: don’t assume something is good for you just because it looks filling. Some tools, systems, and business strategies sound great—until you try to digest them.

You’ll hear endless advice from consultants, gurus, YouTubers, and influencers. They’ll say “do it this way,” “build it that way,” or “just copy this system.” But what works for someone running a digital product empire might absolutely wreck a small service-based solopreneur. Don’t take every suggestion as gospel.

Run a taste test.
Try it. Document the outcome. Ask yourself if it fits. If it strengthens your workflow. If it frees you up to do what you do best.

And if it doesn’t? You’re allowed to spit it out.

Respect Where You Are, While Building for Where You’re Going

That DoorDash order probably works just fine for whoever placed it. They’re used to it. Their body knows how to handle it. It’s familiar.

Same goes for your systems right now. Maybe they’re not perfect. Maybe they’re even a little sloppy. But they’re getting the job done, and that’s something. The goal isn’t to shame what’s working—the goal is to refine it so you don’t burn out trying to keep it alive.

Your current systems are a reflection of where you’ve been. What you build next should reflect where you’re going.

The takeaway? Don’t eat blindly. Don’t build blindly.

And remember: just because it fills you doesn’t mean it fuels you.

Comment your craziest fast food order. Or share the most insane order you've heard of.