How Do you Scale a Business (Behind the Scenes Part 2)

Last week on the blog we dug into what planning for a launch actually looks like. If you haven’t read that post yet, stop now and read it here first because it is actually a 3-part series we are doing on pulling back the cover behind the scenes. This week, I am digging into what scaling really means and diving into the question:

How do you scale a business? 

The reason I wanted to chat about this is because I have a client who has an amazing product. Like it is gold. She came to me and said, "Holly I have this idea, its all ready to go and I want to launch it next week."

My first response was, what is your schedule like next week? (we cover this more in last week's post). Launching is more than just throwing your product out there and hoping someone buys it. If you actually have a strategy behind it, it can be successful and not stressful.  

My second question was, what is your capacity? And this is where we start to talk about scaling but in a way that you might not think. Scaling and growing are a mix of tactical steps, (which we covered last week) and mental, mindset, and personal steps, which we are going to talk about this week. 

So, what is your capacity?

Launching (which is our example) is as much a mental game as it is a physical one. How do you feel when people don’t purchase? How are you going to handle when more people than you expect do? You have to have the capacity carved out to both mentally and physically launch successfully. 

Do you have the capacity to scale and grow?

Or are you stuck because there literally is ZERO whitespace in your schedule and you are just going through the motions? 

The next question is, how are you dealing with your doubts and fears? Because let's face it, we all have them. When you put yourself out there especially during a launch, they tend to come up more. How are you keeping yourself motivated? Who is the squad that is cheering you on? (You need one). What are you doing to keep your energy levels up? 

And finally, what boundaries are you setting? Again, you might be thinking wow, I didn’t expect all this to help me scale, but I honestly feel likes scaling is more mental than tactical. What are your working hours (you know I love this question)? How are you planning your post-launch? (i.e. life goes on outside Instagram). Do you have a healthy relationship with social media? 

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I am going to pause for a second and recap some of these questions because as you start to launch or scale or just take the next step in your business, these are REALLY important. The mental game makes a HUGE difference. When diving into how do you scale a business, this piece is crucial.  

So if you are taking notes, here you go: 

1. How are you managing your business around your schedule? Not your schedule around your business? 
2. Do you have the mental and physical capacity to grow and scale the way you want to? Why or why not?
3. How are you dealing with your doubts and fears? We all have them. Who is your hype squad? 
4. What boundaries are you setting? Social media. Work. Life. Create them to help you scale your way. 

Finally, I will end with I think it is important to have an equal mix of a dreamer vs. doer attitude. I am definitely more of a doer. I feel more comfortable when I am just working through the tasks. BUT, every entrepreneur needs to dream, and brainstorm and think much bigger than just a week or a month. So make sure that in your launch plan or business plan, you give yourself a mix of dreamer vs. doer tasks. 

As an example, I try to brainstorm in the mornings when my mind is fresh. Or schedule walks to just let my brain go any direction it wants to. These are dreamer activities. Doer activities are when you are scheduling time and getting to work.  

Give yourself time to work through the cobwebs. Have the difficult conversations about what is working and what isn’t and make sure that you are mentally prepared to take the next step. 

Lastly, feeling uncomfortable is a pretty normal feeling as a solopreneur. And something I am still not used to. I think in corporate everything is planned and you sort of have this safety net. In your own business, you can plan all the things, but you really don’t know what is going to happen. This is why those 4 questions, making sure you have the capacity, the mental fortitude, and the space to work through your doubts and fears are so important. 

I hope this inspires you to take the next step in your business and remember it isn’t all tactical. Give yourself some space to be inspired and supported. 

Looking for more on this topic? Check out the Strategy Lab in the Crush the Rush Club!