Episode 299
Stop Trying to Scale a Business That’s Still Growing [Ep. 299]
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Scaling your business is a hot topic, but let’s face it, most business owners aren’t ready to hop on that train yet.
Today, we’re diving deep into the difference between growth and scaling, and spoiler alert: if your revenue feels like a rollercoaster and client delivery is a bit of a hot mess, you’re still in growth mode, and that’s totally OK!
We’ll break down why trying to scale too early can lead to burnout and could even tank your profits.
Takeaways:
- Scaling too soon can cause more harm than good, leading to business collapse.
- The difference between growth and scaling is crucial for sustainable success in business.
- It's totally okay to be in the growth stage, so don't rush into scaling just yet.
- Predictable revenue and a solid foundation are essential before considering any scaling actions.
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Transcript
Hey, there.
Speaker A:Okay, so today we are diving in and we are talking about one of the most misunderstood concepts in the online business space, and that's scaling.
Speaker A:The word scaling.
Speaker A:Everyone's talking about it, everyone wants it.
Speaker A:Most business owners honestly think it's their.
Speaker A:Their next move, right?
Speaker A:But here's the truth.
Speaker A:Most people that are trying to scale are not even done growing yet, right?
Speaker A:I hear this all the time.
Speaker A:I need to scale to hit consistent 10k months.
Speaker A:I need to scale so I can work less and earn more.
Speaker A:Why can't I scale?
Speaker A:Everyone else seems to be scaling their business.
Speaker A:But here's the thing.
Speaker A:If your revenue is unpredictable, your client delivery is a little messy, and your sales feel like this constant hustle every single month where you're really having to work hard at it, you're not ready to scale, and that's okay.
Speaker A:You're still in the growth stage, right?
Speaker A:And it's not a bad thing, right?
Speaker A:It's exactly where you need to be.
Speaker A:So in today's episode, we're going to break down the real difference between growth and scaling.
Speaker A:So you can stop applying the wrong strategy at the wrong time and in the wrong stage and really finally build the foundation to scale.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:So if you're ready, let's dive in.
Speaker A:All right, so we talked a little bit in that opener about the difference between growth and scaling, right?
Speaker A:And I see it all the time.
Speaker A:And to me, scaling is a buzzword in the online space.
Speaker A:It's a marketing term.
Speaker A:It's something people have started using because it sounds bigger, it sounds better, it sounds fancier, it sounds like people are going to be drawn into it, you know, and so people are using this word consistently, but the reality is, is that people are applying it too early, and it's creating.
Speaker A:It's actually crumbling businesses, right?
Speaker A:Like, I think about this in that same analogy, which we've heard a million times.
Speaker A:People talk about it all the time, you know, but if you try to scale too quickly, it's like building a house without a foundation, right?
Speaker A:Or building a house on, like, a rocks instead of like really making sure your ground is level and pouring a nice concrete pad and whatever that is.
Speaker A:You know what I mean?
Speaker A:Like, that's.
Speaker A:The analogy is so overused, but it's so true, right?
Speaker A:And this is the thing.
Speaker A:You can't just keep scaling up, right?
Speaker A:Think about that.
Speaker A:Like a skyscraper or tall building or a house or anything like that.
Speaker A:You're not going to just keep adding floors.
Speaker A:You're not going to scale it if you don't Have a solid foundation.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And so there's nothing wrong with being in the growth stage.
Speaker A:And I've actually recorded an episode about this a long time ago.
Speaker A:But I want to just really dive a little bit deeper into really the differences.
Speaker A:And I want you, I'm going to give you some action steps and things that you can do and think about and ways that you can kind of look at and see like, am I still in the growth stage or am I ready to scale?
Speaker A:Okay, so let's go textbook definition here, right?
Speaker A:Textbook definition of growth in business is adding revenue and resources to meet the demand.
Speaker A:Meaning that you are bringing in more revenue, but your expenses essentially are, are in comparison, right?
Speaker A:Like, so if you bring in revenue, you're adding an expense.
Speaker A:So more clients or it's like it's costing you more work, it's more time, maybe you need more team members, maybe there's more expenses like you're, you're having to pay for additional users on your software or whatever, right?
Speaker A:Like, so you have this like, balance of when I bring in more revenue, my, my expenses increase as well.
Speaker A:Maybe not always.
Speaker A:Maybe not like one for one, right?
Speaker A:Like you can, you can still be in the growth stage and have your profit margin increasing substantially.
Speaker A:But that's really the difference is, but most of the time it's because, and maybe it might not be revenue like expenses.
Speaker A:It could be that it's more work on you, it could be that you're bringing on new team members, right?
Speaker A:So it could just be time as well, as far as growth, like as far as the, the time for dollar type trade essentially.
Speaker A:All right, and then scaling, right?
Speaker A:Let's look at.
Speaker A:The textbook definition of scaling is increasing revenue without increasing resources, right?
Speaker A:So you have more revenue, streamlined systems, automation, efficiency, all of that.
Speaker A:But again, if you haven't gone through the growth stage, you can't automate things that aren't, aren't clearly flushed out, right?
Speaker A:Like that's just the reality of it.
Speaker A:Okay, so like I'm going to give you some examples of growth, right?
Speaker A:So growth would be hiring a BA because you booked five new clients and you need help onboarding them, or you need help managing your social media, or you need help doing some of the administrative tasks.
Speaker A:Because you have to put all your time and attention into dealing with the clients, right?
Speaker A:So you gain new clients, but you hired a pair.
Speaker A:That's growth.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:Scaling would be automating your onboarding so you can handle five more clients without adding extra work or staff.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:This could look like automating the onboarding process.
Speaker A:This could be looking like putting your offer on Evergreen.
Speaker A:This could look like maybe working a group program.
Speaker A:But remember, group program.
Speaker A:Let me just like preface this to say, like, a group program is not necessarily scaling, okay?
Speaker A:Again, if it's going to cost you more time, more work, et cetera, that's just growing, right?
Speaker A:And again, there's nothing wrong with being in the growth stage, okay?
Speaker A:But here's the problems that get created when we start to blur those lines, all right?
Speaker A:And so one of them is burnout.
Speaker A:You're still in this growth stage, right?
Speaker A:You're still trying to figure things out.
Speaker A:You're still trying to like, collect your data, right?
Speaker A:Like, we talk about this all the time inside the focus.
Speaker A:Visionary is like looking at the data, understanding what's working.
Speaker A:Like, if you are not crystal clear on exactly what is driving revenue, exactly where your clients are come from, you know exactly where your profit margin is, your conversion rate, etc.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Like, you are still, you're going to try to scale, but you're going to end up burning out because you don't have all of the data, you don't have the facts, you don't have the answers.
Speaker A:So you're going to put things in place based on information that you have right now.
Speaker A:Based on.
Speaker A:But that information could change, especially if you're still in this kind of trial and error phase, right?
Speaker A:And so by doing that, you could end up costing yourself more work.
Speaker A:If you try to automate a process that's not completely flushed out, all you're going to do is burn out because the automation is going to be wrong.
Speaker A:It's going to need to be changed all the time, right?
Speaker A:So it's, it's not necessarily.
Speaker A:It's going to overwhelm you and it's going to burn you out, okay?
Speaker A:It can also really decrease your profits.
Speaker A:I know that sounds counterintuitive, but people think, oh, when I start scaling, my profit margin is going to increase.
Speaker A:Well, not necessarily, because if you start scaling too soon, that could lead to this over hiring, right?
Speaker A:Hiring before you're ready.
Speaker A:Which I've got a podcast episode coming out on that in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned for that because I know this is what people think is the answer and it's not.
Speaker A:Or it could again, over automating before your revenue can support it.
Speaker A:And I'm going to give you an example of this.
Speaker A:In.
Speaker A: I think it was the end of: Speaker A:I had.
Speaker A:It was probably my best year in business to date.
Speaker A: I think it was: Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A: And so at the end of: Speaker A:I'm, I've hit this revenue number.
Speaker A:I've got these clients, da da da da da.
Speaker A:And so I was like, I need a coo.
Speaker A:I need somebody that can help run the operations.
Speaker A:I just want to be client facing and do all the other things and I need somebody to run the back end.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A: up really costing me because: Speaker A:That's what I'm saying.
Speaker A:Like I was still in this kind of like figure it out stage and yet here I went and like hired a COO as if I was in this place of scaling when in reality I was launching a new offer, completely changed my business model.
Speaker A:It, you know, had to start from scratch.
Speaker A:It was a low ticket offer.
Speaker A:There was just a lot that went on and honestly I was not ready to hire CEO and so it ended up costing me all my profit because any revenue that I was bringing in or any profit that I was bringing in, I was paying back out to her.
Speaker A:And I really didn't need to, right?
Speaker A:Like I was not in a position where I needed a full time CEO, maybe a va, but I did not need a coo.
Speaker A:And so I overhired, right?
Speaker A:I over hired based off of like a couple, one year of like hitting it, right?
Speaker A:Like feeling like things were going well, but I really wasn't in that place where I was even ready to do that.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And also it can lead to this shiny object syndrome, right?
Speaker A:Like jumping into like, oh, you're ready to scale.
Speaker A:Start automating, buy this software.
Speaker A:I can honestly tell you, and I'm not trying to throw hate right now, but the amount of people that ask me if I am using go high level or some white labeled version of it, because it's the be all end all.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:This is how you scale.
Speaker A:It's an all in one platform.
Speaker A:Most people aren't ready for that, right?
Speaker A:Like most people are not ready for this all in one platform.
Speaker A:And so they switch to it and now they've got a, a pretty hefty price tag that goes with it because usually you're buying it through some type of agency and so there's a fee that involved, is involved with that.
Speaker A:And I'm not saying it's not a good program, quite honestly.
Speaker A:I've never even dove into it fully.
Speaker A:I' only seen a little bit of it and it Feels very overwhelming.
Speaker A:So I don't do it.
Speaker A:And I've heard that it's very overwhelming.
Speaker A:And so this is what I mean by like shiny object syndrome.
Speaker A:Just because everybody's using go high level right now doesn't mean it's for you.
Speaker A:It doesn't mean it's the right fit.
Speaker A:It doesn't mean you should jump ship and do this because it's not going to actually help you scale your business or grow your business if A, you don't know how to run it, if B, you don't really need it circumstances, C, it's costing you too much and D, you don't have the clientele to support it, right?
Speaker A:So like you're.
Speaker A:If you're still in the growth stage, you don't necessarily need an all in one.
Speaker A:And yes, I know that, like, if you set it up correctly from the beginning and it has all these features, then you don't have to do it again.
Speaker A:But again, if you're still in this growth trial and error stage, like, why set something up, set up to scale when you don't even know what you're trying to scale yet, Right?
Speaker A:Like, that's my whole point is, like, you have no idea what you're trying to scale.
Speaker A:You're still, you're still testing things.
Speaker A:You're still trying to get your finger on the pulse.
Speaker A:And even if you're making six figures or plus, it doesn't mean you're ready to scale, Right?
Speaker A:Like, just because you hit $100,000 or 200 or $150,000 does not mean you're ready to scale.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:There are so many other factors that go into scaling beyond just a revenue number.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:But that's what we're told.
Speaker A:This is what we're programmed, this is what we are taught.
Speaker A:And I'm telling you, this is why people are actually moving backwards instead of forwards, because they are jumping into these advanced strategies before they even have the basics figured out.
Speaker A:And they're not ready.
Speaker A:They are not ready.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:So those are just like, I'm telling you, if you are in this place, like, and you're feeling this, I guarantee there's some of you listening to this that are kind of feeling this.
Speaker A:They're like, man, you're right, Michelle, I jumped into this.
Speaker A:I've got these things I've hired too soon.
Speaker A:It's okay.
Speaker A:We've all been there.
Speaker A:We've all been there.
Speaker A:We've all done that, right?
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And there's just so much emotional baggage that goes behind.
Speaker A:And like, there's just so much emotion that creates so much confusion of like, am I growing or am I scaling?
Speaker A:Or like, if you're growing, you're not moving fast enough, right?
Speaker A:You feel this like insane, insane pressure to go bigger and move faster and have this six figure launch.
Speaker A:And so whatever.
Speaker A:And it's like you sit there thinking, like getting frustrated like, because maybe your revenue is not growing that fast, maybe your workload is not growing at that, you know, or whatever.
Speaker A:Like there's just so much emotion that goes behind it.
Speaker A:And so people jump into this like, oh, I gotta scale, I gotta scale, I gotta scale.
Speaker A:And it's like, no, no, no, no.
Speaker A:Okay, so here's the thing for scaling, right?
Speaker A:If you can't check all of these boxes, you are still in the growth stage and I want you to feel good about it.
Speaker A:Like even myself, I'm eight years into this business and there are parts of my business that I am ready to scale and am scaling and there are parts of it that are not ready.
Speaker A:And I'm going to, I'm going to be super real and super transparent with you guys because after, um, I got so much feedback on that peeling the curtain back on the Q1 episode.
Speaker A:If you haven't listened to it, go back one episode and listen to the episode, okay?
Speaker A:Because honestly, transparency is what is I'm here for.
Speaker A:It's the real truth, real transparency and, you know, vulnerability.
Speaker A:And I'm going to share a couple things with you about like where I have scaled a little bit too soon and where I'm not quite ready for it, but I'm, I'm working through it, okay?
Speaker A:So anyways, back to this, what scaling actually requires, right?
Speaker A:If you can't check all four of these boxes, right, then you are likely still in the growth stage, all right?
Speaker A:Consistent.
Speaker A:Consistent and predictable revenue.
Speaker A:Notice that second word there.
Speaker A:Predictable revenue, okay?
Speaker A:If you cannot forecast your next month or two, three months, ideally, if you can't forecast those, that sale or that revenue number, then you are still in growth mode, right?
Speaker A:Reoccurring revenue leads in your pipeline, deposits booked, right?
Speaker A:Like this is what I'm saying.
Speaker A:Like if you have, like I was at a conference and this woman was like, I've already got, I don't know, she does corporate contracts.
Speaker A:So she.
Speaker A:So don't take this number and be like, holy shit, how'd you do that?
Speaker A:I think she had like $50,000 already accounted for for 20, 26.
Speaker A:6.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Like she's scaling, okay?
Speaker A:Because she has deposits book.
Speaker A: e's, she's booked out through: Speaker A:Like that is consistent.
Speaker A:It is predictable revenue.
Speaker A:Now granted, doesn't mean something can't change.
Speaker A:But like that's what I'm talking about.
Speaker A:But even if you're, let's talk smaller.
Speaker A:Your solo business owner, let's.
Speaker A:Do you have reoccurring revenue where it's like, it's very consistent, you know, at the very least like your base number is this.
Speaker A:And with that base reoccurring revenue you're operating at a certain profit margin, things are running smoothly like, and you can see this consistency for the next three, four months, right?
Speaker A:Like you have leads in your pipeline ready to convert.
Speaker A:You have deposits for upcoming start dates for projects.
Speaker A:If you are a project based business, right?
Speaker A:And that doesn't necessarily mean you.
Speaker A:Everybody has to have reoccurring revenue, right?
Speaker A:Like this is what I'm trying to say.
Speaker A:Like hopefully you guys are hearing what I am saying is that again, it doesn't look the same for everybody.
Speaker A:So stop letting people tell you it does because that's all just a bunch of freaking horseshit bullshit.
Speaker A:Oh my gosh.
Speaker A:Tool side note, my mom sent me this like image.
Speaker A:I'm going to try, I'll try to post it.
Speaker A:It was like all the different, like all the different types of shit.
Speaker A:It was like horseshit versus bullshit versus apeshit.
Speaker A:Whatever.
Speaker A:Anyways, it was funny.
Speaker A:My point is, is people telling you that there's only one way to school scale is absolute horseshit.
Speaker A:If you are a project based business owner, your definition of scaling is going to look different.
Speaker A:Your idea of consistent and predictable revenue is going to look different than somebody who has a group program, a reoccurring revenue model, a membership, etc.
Speaker A:Okay, but the point here is that consistent and predictable revenue, if you cannot forecast that for the next several months, then you are still growing.
Speaker A:You are still growing.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:If you have a very clear and refined offer and process to go along with that offer, right?
Speaker A:Are your delivery systems ready to handle more without crumbling, right?
Speaker A:Like is your onboarding set up?
Speaker A:Do you, is it very easy?
Speaker A:Do you have all these tech in place?
Speaker A:Do you have your automations in place?
Speaker A:Do you only have a couple of offers?
Speaker A:We've talked about this a million times, right?
Speaker A:Like if you're constantly in this stage of creating new offers, which there is a time and a place for that, right?
Speaker A:There is a time and a place for that.
Speaker A:Trying to figure out, I mean for the first time I am eight years into my business and I've said this multiple times on this podcast.
Speaker A:Eight years and I finally have a signature offer.
Speaker A:That's it.
Speaker A:It's taken me eight years to build the focus Visionary and feel like I have a signature offer.
Speaker A:Okay, so if you don't have like a really clearly refined, definitive offers with the processes behind them so that this is kind of like a wash, rinse, repeat, then you're still growing, and that's okay.
Speaker A:That means you're still testing things.
Speaker A:It means you're still trying to figure out what works and what doesn't.
Speaker A:It means you're still trying to figure out what lights you up, what doesn't, what's resonating, where to get to a place where you can show up every single day and feel excited and not feel like you're doing something just because somebody told you you had to.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Efficient operations, right?
Speaker A:Like, do you actually know where time and money are leaking in your business right now?
Speaker A:Do you know where you are spending too much time?
Speaker A:Do you know how you can fix it?
Speaker A:If you don't know what the fix is, then you can't scale it, right?
Speaker A:So if you only know, like, shit, I'm losing time and money.
Speaker A:Like, I know I'm wasting my time and money, but I have no idea how to fix it.
Speaker A:You're still in the growth stage and that's okay.
Speaker A:That's okay, right?
Speaker A:And then profitability, is your business actually keeping money or are you just bringing in money and spending money just as fast?
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Like, is it this direct?
Speaker A:Like, I bring in money, I spend money and bring in money, I spend money.
Speaker A:And your profit margin is not increasing or at least remaining steady, and essentially you want to be running.
Speaker A:I mean, everybody's profit margin looks different.
Speaker A:Again, depending on your tax bracket.
Speaker A:The different if you're an S corp versus an LLC versus a sole proprietor, et cetera.
Speaker A:So I can't even speak and say, like, what your profitability number should be.
Speaker A:But essentially you want to make sure that you're running profitably and profitably multiple months in a row or over the course of a year, et cetera.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A: d I'll tell you what, back in: Speaker A:2023, I made that huge change, hired the CEO, moved my business model, changed my business filing and my profitability taint.
Speaker A:I mean, tanked.
Speaker A:Like, I went from.
Speaker A:I can't even remember profitably.
Speaker A:Like, I think.
Speaker A: e, I ended up losing money in: Speaker A:So, again, this is what I'm saying.
Speaker A:If you scale too quickly, I've been there, I've done it.
Speaker A:That's why I'm so passionate about this and why I'm trying to avoid all of you from going down that road.
Speaker A:Because it is defeating.
Speaker A:It's defeating when you come off one of your best years or feeling like, ah, I'm killing it, I'm doing my thing, Things are finally freaking working, right?
Speaker A:Like, we've all been on this roller coaster of entrepreneurship where it's like, you think, man, does this ever just get consistent?
Speaker A:Does it ever just get easier?
Speaker A:And then you have that year, and then all of a sudden you're like, yes, this is working.
Speaker A:I'm doing it.
Speaker A:Everything's going.
Speaker A:And then you change everything and you like, oh, it's time to scale.
Speaker A:And the next month you end up freaking tanking yourself or the year you up tanking it.
Speaker A:That is so defeating.
Speaker A:I've been there.
Speaker A:I have been there, and I'm telling you, it does not work.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:So, I mean, I think.
Speaker A:I mean, there's an episode back if you wanted to go back on that.
Speaker A:But I.
Speaker A:I shared all of the details on that of, like, how badly that sucked, and I still took me two years to dig out of that hole.
Speaker A:Like, it's just not fun, right?
Speaker A:Like, so do not scale before you're ready and stay in the growth stage.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:So I want you.
Speaker A:Here are a few things that you can do if you're listening to this.
Speaker A:And, like, hey, just give me some action steps.
Speaker A:Here's your action steps, okay?
Speaker A:I want you to audit your business, and I want you to look at your last three months.
Speaker A:Are you consistently bringing in the same amount of revenue with the same amount of profit?
Speaker A:Even three months I don't think is enough time, if I'm being truly honest.
Speaker A:Like, I know people say 90 days.
Speaker A:I don't.
Speaker A:I just don't think it's enough.
Speaker A:I say the past year, I think you need 12 months even sometimes 18 months.
Speaker A:But the point here is, are you consistently bringing in revenue or is it feast or famine?
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Is it up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down?
Speaker A:Where are you feeling overworked?
Speaker A:And are you feeling overworked because you've got your hands in too many freaking things, because you're jumping ship, because you're trying to do everything, because you're saying yes to too many things, or is it a result of, like, inefficient processes and a lack of structure, right?
Speaker A:So there's something there you've got to look at.
Speaker A:Like what is causing this feeling of overwork.
Speaker A:If it's simply because like you're bringing clients on faster than you can keep up with, then that may be, that may be an opportunity to scale.
Speaker A:But if it's simply just because you're doing too much shit, then that's not, that doesn't mean you're ready to scale.
Speaker A:So be super honest with yourself, okay?
Speaker A:And then pinpoint, like really looking at what stage am I in?
Speaker A:If you're still doing most things yourself and your revenue is inconsistent, you're in the growth stage, okay?
Speaker A:And inconsistency again, this doesn't mean I'm talking.
Speaker A:You might have a month that you're making 10, 15k, 10 12k.
Speaker A:But then maybe you have a month that you're bringing in like 5k or less, right?
Speaker A:Especially if you are in that launch model.
Speaker A:So you may have a big launch that creates a big revenue month, but then the next couple months, and if your launches aren't consistent, then that you're not ready, right?
Speaker A:So like if you operate off of a launch model and you launch two or three model two or three times a year, all three of those times need to bring in the same consistent amount of revenue before I would even remotely tell you you're running to scale.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:And if you have solid systems and this steady stream of clients, then yeah, you're probably ready to start looking into scaling.
Speaker A:I want to talk about that a little bit.
Speaker A:Remember I told you I was going to share with you where I scaled a little bit too quickly?
Speaker A:So the FBA is set up as Evergreen.
Speaker A:Evergreen.
Speaker A:Anytime you bring or you create something that ever is evergreen, it allows you to scale also.
Speaker A:It's a group program.
Speaker A:Everybody compares.
Speaker A:Everybody thinks that the FBA is a member, a membership.
Speaker A:And I do call people like the clients inside of the focus visionary.
Speaker A:I do call them members.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:It is a kind of a membership, but it's not because it's a very structured program.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And it's evergreen, meaning that you could sign up today and you're going to get the same exact structure of program.
Speaker A:You're going to go through the exact same eight steps.
Speaker A:But remember, even though you're going through the exact same framework and steps, how you apply it to your business is different.
Speaker A:And if you want examples of that, I can give you examples of that.
Speaker A:Like vastly, vastly different.
Speaker A:I mean we're talking, we've got a, a dog trainer And a Facebook ad strategist in there.
Speaker A:They're how they are applying.
Speaker A:This framework looks so different, right?
Speaker A:So that's what I'm trying to say.
Speaker A:This is not like a cookie cutter program.
Speaker A:But here's my point.
Speaker A:When you run a group program of this type or a membership or anything like this, something evergreen in order for it to scale.
Speaker A:So it's set up to scale because the calls are the same.
Speaker A:I have a weekly call that is optional for people.
Speaker A:Like it's a weekly group coaching call.
Speaker A:And it's like not me just showing up talking about whatever I want.
Speaker A:It's everybody bringing their questions and me answering them, right.
Speaker A:And so creating open conversation.
Speaker A:We have workshops, et cetera.
Speaker A:So like the calendar is pretty specific.
Speaker A:So whether there's 10 people in the group or 50 people in the group, I'm still only showing up once a week for group calls.
Speaker A:Now the time may end up going from like an hour to two hours or whatever to make sure I get everybody in and answer all their questions.
Speaker A:And so yes, I am spending more time but.
Speaker A:And I may have to hire a va, right?
Speaker A:So this is what I'm saying.
Speaker A:It is still in the growth stage even though it is still set up to scale.
Speaker A:You see what I'm saying?
Speaker A:Like this is set up to scale because I.
Speaker A:It's evergreen.
Speaker A:People can enroll anytime.
Speaker A:The automation, the onboarding is automated and it's working, right?
Speaker A:Like we've tested it, it works.
Speaker A:And so it's a very streamlined process.
Speaker A:And so that's all set.
Speaker A:Here's where there's a slight gap in me from going growth to scaling.
Speaker A:When you have an offer like this, the biggest thing that you need is an audience, right?
Speaker A:Like it's a game of numbers in a sense.
Speaker A:Because in order to scale an offer like this, you need quantity.
Speaker A:You mean more people in.
Speaker A:It's not like a one to one offer where you might, where I'm charging $5,000, right?
Speaker A:Like a $5,000 one to one.
Speaker A:That's not what I'm doing here.
Speaker A:This is a $3,000 six month program.
Speaker A:And so in order to hit that same amount of money, you need more people, right?
Speaker A:And so my audience was not.
Speaker A:Is not necessarily as big as I need it to be for it to scale.
Speaker A:Therefore I am still very much in the growth stage.
Speaker A:So even though I am eight years in business, even though I have an evergreen offer, even though my systems are in place and my, my, my onboarding is streamlined and I can do it right, basically as a party of one I have no team members right now.
Speaker A:I'm still in the growth stage.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Because there are parts of it that are not ready to scale.
Speaker A:There just aren't.
Speaker A:So if and when I am ready, how will I scale it?
Speaker A:Running, potentially running Facebook ads to it.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Like, there are ways that I can scale this, but right now it's not ready.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:So that's where I'm saying that's a very clear differentiator.
Speaker A:And hopefully you picking up on that is that it is a little bit different.
Speaker A:Is like, everybody thinks, oh, she's scaling, she's scaling.
Speaker A:No, I'm not.
Speaker A:I am still very much in the growth stage.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:So if you feel like, man, I really thought I was ready to scale, but now, Michelle, I'm thinking I'm not.
Speaker A:Here's a couple of things that you can do to work on if you really.
Speaker A:If you feel like this is where I'm kind of like, there's some gaps here.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:The biggest gap I can honestly tell you, if you want to scale, is you've got to simplify your offers.
Speaker A:You have got to simplify your offers.
Speaker A:You've got to make sure they are in alignment with your financial goals.
Speaker A:You have to make sure that they are in alignment with your clients.
Speaker A:You have to make sure they are positioned correctly.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Like, everything's got to be in alignment.
Speaker A:We do a lot of this inside the focus visionary.
Speaker A:This is like step two.
Speaker A:Inside the focus visionary is like streamlining and simplifying your offers, but also the bigger piece here is making sure that your offers are in alignment to hit your financial goals.
Speaker A:Because there's so many people that have.
Speaker A:They just pick pricing out of clear blue sky.
Speaker A:And it doesn't.
Speaker A:It's not even.
Speaker A:It's not even set up to grow.
Speaker A:It's not even let alone scale.
Speaker A:It's not even set up to hit your numbers.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:So simplify your offers.
Speaker A:If you.
Speaker A:I'm telling you, if you need help with that, again, Focus Visionary, I cover all of this.
Speaker A:Streamlining your client delivery.
Speaker A:That is that you have to have that.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:And so.
Speaker A:But again, if you don't know what your offers are and you're still kind of testing some of them, then don't get.
Speaker A:Don't spend too much time and energy and money streamlining because you're going to end up changing it.
Speaker A:You are.
Speaker A:You are going to end up changing it.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Creating a rinse and repeat marketing and sales system.
Speaker A:The way you can create this rinse and repeat marketing and sales system is essentially because your Offer is the same, but you can't have a rinse and repeat marketing and sales system and structure if your offers are all over the place, if you're changing your mind all the time, if you're jumping from one thing to the next, if you've got shiny object syndrome, you can't do that, right?
Speaker A:And so if you are in that place, you've got to fix that before and then create this rinse, repeat marketing and sales system.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:So again, like, what does that look like if you don't know, like we talk about pipeline again, there's a difference because how are you getting people from I never knew you existed to I really honestly, like never.
Speaker A:I'm going to leave your world because I love you so much.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Like that loyal, like that's the entire client cycle.
Speaker A:But like, how are you doing that?
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:And that's the other thing is how are you working on retention and increasing your client lifetime value?
Speaker A:This is not about one time.
Speaker A:Even if you are a project based business, you can have a lifetime value, meaning somebody come back to you repeatedly because they need a new project, they thinking of you, they're referring you, they're sharing, they sign up as an affiliate, right?
Speaker A:So until you have those growth gaps fixed, you're not ready to scale.
Speaker A:But I also, again, I just want you to understand that like the growth stage is honestly the best stage.
Speaker A:And the people that sit in the growth stage are the ones that really, truly build sustainable and scalable businesses.
Speaker A:The ones that don't sit in the growth stage and immediately just jump to scaling.
Speaker A:I'm telling you what, a lot of times they end up crumbling and they end up having to rebuild and start over and end up right back in that growth stage.
Speaker A:So don't rush it.
Speaker A:Like, what's the freaking point?
Speaker A:It's not a race.
Speaker A:It really is not a race.
Speaker A:And it's not a badge of honor to be like, oh, I'm at a point of scaling my business, who gives a shit?
Speaker A:Like, have you ever felt like, wow, that's really impressive, she's scaling, right?
Speaker A:Like nobody gives a flying F at all.
Speaker A:I'm sorry to tell you that.
Speaker A:But like it's not a badge of honor to be like, I'm at a place of scaling.
Speaker A:So like just get like, get that out of your head.
Speaker A:And I don't mean like it's not a level of success.
Speaker A:Like if you are there, like that's amazing and I love that and I'm, I'm here for it.
Speaker A:Like I said, I am Getting.
Speaker A:I am in that mid range right now between growth and scaling.
Speaker A:And that's obviously everybody that I work with is kind of there.
Speaker A:But what I'm really just want people to understand is that there's so much power and really solidifying yourself in that growth stage before jumping to scaling.
Speaker A:Because at the end of the day, nobody really cares.
Speaker A:Like, it's not like you have to go around telling everybody where you're at or what you're doing, right?
Speaker A:Like, you build momentum and build your business based off the actions that you're taking, not the labels you're putting on it.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:You hear me?
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:So anyway, if this is hitting home and you're realizing, like, I think I've been trying to scale and I'm still in growth mode, then this is exactly, exactly what we work through inside of the Focus Visionary Accelerator.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:It's all about helping business owners like you in that growth to scaling stage build that solid foundation so that scaling doesn't just look good on paper.
Speaker A:And it's not just something, oh, I'm scaling, you're saying, right?
Speaker A:Like it actually works in your business and it doesn't crumble your business.
Speaker A:All right, I'm telling you, the Focus Visionary Accelerator is the missing piece.
Speaker A:It is truly.
Speaker A:It's the gap, right?
Speaker A:It covers all the gaps.
Speaker A:It's going to fill all the holes in your bucket that are actually costing you that you're scaling.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:So if you're ready to fill the holes, I'm telling you, I invite you to check out the Focus Visionary Accelerator.
Speaker A:But if you don't want to just sign up and you want to talk about it, let's have a call.
Speaker A:In the show notes, there is a link to my free discovery Clarity call.
Speaker A:All right?
Speaker A:It's called the Clarity in Action call.
Speaker A:It's completely free, no commitment.
Speaker A:You know, I don't run that bullshit.
Speaker A:I'm going to tell you like it is.
Speaker A:I'm going to look at your business.
Speaker A:I'm going to look and see where I'm seeing a gap.
Speaker A:We're going to at least come up with one way that you can fill one of those gaps.
Speaker A:And then we're going to talk about whether or not the Focus Visionary Accelerator is the right fit for you.
Speaker A:If you're not ready for it, trust me, I will tell you that.
Speaker A:I promise I will tell you that.
Speaker A:So I know some of you listening are probably like, man, I don't know.
Speaker A:I think so.
Speaker A:But it is an investment.
Speaker A:Yeah, it is.
Speaker A:The Focus Visionary Accelerator is an investment.
Speaker A:100%.
Speaker A:So jump on the free call, have a conversation with me and I promise you, Pinky promise you, if it is not a good fit, I will not tell you it is.
Speaker A:But I will promise you that I will give you an action step that you can take to fill that gap.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:All right, so you know what to do.
Speaker A:Go take action.
Speaker A:Schedule the call.
Speaker A:Follow me on Substack.
Speaker A:All the things, all the links are in the show notes.
Speaker A:All right?
Speaker A:I love you, I believe in you and I will talk to you soon.
Speaker A:Thanks so much for listening today, but remember, now it's time to take action.
Speaker A:My goal is to get you results.
Speaker A:So what is one action you can commit to taking this week?
Speaker A:Feel free to share it with me in my DMs or tag me on your socials.
Speaker A:Not sure what action to take?
Speaker A:Grab the link in the show notes and schedule a strategic power hour.
Speaker A:We can talk through it together and get you a strategic plan of action in just 60 short minutes.
Speaker A:Oh, and one last favor.
Speaker A:As with every podcast, reviews and ratings are what helps us continue to show up and grow.
Speaker A:So if you wouldn't mind, please take a quick minute to leave a five star review on Apple or Spotify and share this episode with a friend.
Speaker A:Thanks.
Speaker A:Talk soon.
