Episode 85: Stop Sweating it Over Scaling Your Business

When you’re growing a business, there’s one thing that you can’t ignore – scale. How exactly are you going to build this business? How will you scale? And while it’s a legit question, it’s one that skips over a lot of business fundamentals. In this episode, we’re talking about why you should STOP sweating it over scaling your business.  

Here’s the scoop from Episode #85:

You started your business to make more money, so you likely are thinking “what the heck are they talking about? Of course I want to scale!”

We do too – but the way scale is revered and regarded as the ONLY way to do things in the online world (and many other circles) is a big problem.  Let’s discuss.

Why this is a Problem:

• Hypergrowth as a focus leads to burnout. We all know this. There are lots of stories about entrepreneurs focusing on growth, growth, growth and eventually, they hit a wall. Whether it is a health crisis, or family or whatever. We have both experienced this to a certain extent.
• Then there is the definition. Scale is misunderstood in terms of what that really means – it’s a buzzword. Everyone uses it – and we mean everyone. It comes and goes but it is certainly buzzing around now. It gets muddled and people use it who have never even done it.
• People say that being an entrepreneur means you don’t have to trade time for dollars if you do it right.  Newsflash – business is all about trading time for dollars.  That is the very definition. Even if it is passive income. So scaling comes with downsides too.
• People get swept into this idea, like a holy grail, without thinking about what they want and WHY they want it
  • Growth isn’t what makes your business work – it’s not – and it’s not a necessity at all times.  
  • It’s not all rainbows and unicorns either.
  • Growing also happens in lots of different ways that don’t involve growing your balance sheet.

This is why what you really need to aim for is sustainability. Sustainability is what it takes to be able to actually scale – and it’s like 90% of what you’ll be doing. Business SHOULD be boring most of the time, because doing the work has enough ups and downs – why create a pressure cooker and kill yourself going after scale.

How Sustainability Works:

Periods of foundation building, followed by a period of growth – this lets you set the foundations in place you need.

You can’t be growing ALL the time – it’s not really healthy as a small business.

For example, if you have a $5k month, the next goal shouldn’t be a $10k month. You want to sustain that revenue for six months and NAIL that before reaching for the $10k month.

Also, think of how you sustain and scale like a staircase. You walk for a while and then you climb. You’re not just running hundreds of flights like a machine.

Your #sayNOvember Homework:

• Figure out what you’re doing and what you need to sustain it.
• Set your objectives based around building a foundation – revenue, pricing, projects structure, etc. that will help you get to the next level.
• Scale happens as a result of being to sustain. Figure out what that will look like and whether you can actually sustain. Otherwise, you’ll crash and burn and there’s no point in building something you hate.
• Watch for when the scale conversation is happening and don’t get sucked in – you’re building something for the long haul.