Why Less is More: The $5.99 Buffet That Taught Me a Million-Dollar Business Lesson

Let me take y’all back for a sec.

When I was a kid, my family would sometimes hit up this spot called Sadie’s Buffet off of State Road 84. It was one of those $5.99 “all you can eat” joints — fried chicken, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, ice cream… basically a southern carb explosion.

My dad? Loved it. Dude would throw down like he had a tapeworm. My brothers and I? We were right there with him. Ice cream in one hand, apple pie in the other. Heaven.

But my mom? She hated it.

I remember asking her once, “Why don’t you like this place? It’s cheap. It’s got everything.”

She goes: “Because I don’t need ‘everything.’ I just eat roast beef and rice. That’s all I want. So why am I paying to eat all this other junk?”

Now as a kid I didn’t get it.

But now? I realize… she was right.

The Buffet Mentality in Business

Fast forward to grown-up Greg, now running multiple businesses.

I own this beautiful mountain house up in Blue Ridge, Georgia. My wife and I go a few times a year. I bring my clients up for retreats. It’s peaceful, it’s gorgeous, and I wanted to offset the costs by renting it out when we weren’t using it.

So what’d I do? I went full buffet mode.

I listed the property everywhere: Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com — hoping to get it booked as much as possible. More platforms = more bookings = more money, right?

Wrong.

I was getting bookings, sure… but barely making anything. And when I hired a property manager, it got better — but I was still thinking like a buffet: offer everything to everyone, load it up with amenities, max out the bedrooms, and they’ll come.

Until one day I asked my new property manager, Bruce, “What’s the one thing you’d change to get more bookings?”

You know what he said?

“List it as a two-bedroom, not three.”

😳

Bro, I thought he was crazy. “Why would I market less than what I actually have?”

He explained: “Because three-bedroom cabins attract bigger groups, and big groups come with big demands. Families, reunions, parties — they want everything and the kitchen sink. But couples? Or two friends doing a weekend trip? They don’t need all that. They want cozy, simple, and quiet. And they book way more often.”

He was right.

We dropped the listing to two bedrooms… and the bookings shot up.

Why?

Because people don’t want “more.” They want what they actually need.

What This Means for You

Whether you’re a PT, an OT, a dietitian, or some other healthcare pro trying to grow a business…

Whether you're still in the clinic or building something online...

You're probably trying to give people the buffet.

✅ Every certification
✅ Every treatment style
✅ Every type of client
✅ Every social platform
✅ Every offer, every tool, every feature

More, more, more.

But here’s the truth: more isn’t more.

It’s just overwhelming.

It’s not about doing “everything.” It’s about doing the right things that speak to the right people.

Let your offer breathe. Let your business get clear. Let your message land.

You don’t need to be the buffet.

You need to be the perfect roast beef and rice to the person who’s actually looking for that.

Final Word

If I could go back to PT school and add one class to the curriculum, it wouldn’t be another treatment technique or diagnostic system.

It’d be this:

“How to create real value in the marketplace — and stop trying to be everything to everyone.”

That’s the class nobody teaches.

But it’s the one that’ll make your career, your business, and your LIFE so much more fulfilling.

Less is more, y’all.

Choose wisely.

Much Love,
Greg Todd

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