Council Post: This Is Why Your Business Has Plateaued And How To Scale It

By Kara Brown, CEO || CRO || Advisor B2B Demand/Lead Gen + Marketing: LeadCoverage.

Like many founders, I started my entrepreneurial journey by building myself a job. I took the plunge because I believed in myself and my unique skill set. I knew what I did better than everyone else, what I could do a lot of and who I could deliver it to and charge a premium. When the amount of work became too much for one person to handle, I hired contractors to manage overflow.

I grew by adding staff and DIYed everything from benefits to payroll. It was hard work, and I spent a lot of time putting out fires, but I trusted in myself enough to figure it out as I went along. It felt great to reach $1 million in revenue, a milestone less than 2% of female founders ever achieve, so I plowed ahead in search of the next level. I figured if we could do $1 million, then why not $2 million or $3 million?

Once there, I found myself in a protective cocoon of sorts. I was working with clients who I liked and who liked me, doing what I loved. All my hard work finally paid off; if I wanted to, I could coast forever. It was comfortable.

Yet that’s precisely why most business owners’ growth never goes beyond that stage. It’s scary to scale. Suddenly, it’s not just about you; the risk is higher because you’re now responsible for your team’s livelihoods; multiple people are counting on you. It’s far easier to stay where you are.

But that won’t help you build an empire; the only way to do so is to leave the cocoon you’ve created. Here’s how.

Shift your mindset.

The key to successfully scaling your business isn’t external; it’s internal. You must shift to a transformational and expanded mindset where you move from “I believe in what I can do as an individual” to “I believe in myself and the company I built, the humans I hired and the processes and tools I created.” It is also important to understand that your role will shift, so you’ll no longer be doing what you did when you first started. For me, that meant moving from someone doing marketing for others to being the person running my business.

Get excited to be a ‘beginner’ again.

You started your business because you’re the best at what you do, or you had an idea and the confidence to execute it. When you’re ready for the next phase, draw on the feeling you had when you first started. Reset your expectations to when you assumed you knew nothing. Be curious. Learn as much as you can, and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Maintain a healthy level of fear and a lot of naive hope that you channel into excitement.

Scaling requires the same level of confidence and energy you had at the beginning of your journey. It harkens back to the first days of your company, where you believed in yourself and what you built. Now is the time to be open-minded and willing to learn, grow and try new things. And more than anything, be ready to invest in yourself again.

Get comfortable being uncomfortable.

The truth is that comfort and scaling can’t coexist.

Coming out of a pandemic, I managed to grow my company by 60%. Would it be easy to stay in my cocoon? Sure. But would it help me build an empire? Not a chance. 

I’m now at the precipice of scale and have to decide if I put my fears aside and take the leap of faith or continue on the safe path. My trigger that it’s time to shake things up is when I get too comfortable, so it’s time for me to leave the cocoon. And if you’re feeling comfortable, that should be your signal as well.

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