If you want to reach the next level, you must scale your business. This isn’t a secret, so why do so many business owners freeze when that time they are working toward finally comes? The idea around scaling requires a significant change in how you run your business, which is why so many people experience fear – it requires an emotional and mental shift. To overcome the fear, you must find a disciplined mindset to move forward into scaling your business, or you will continually move backward instead of pushing forward into the growth you desire.
To Grow, You Have to Scale
If you want to grow your authority, you must scale at some point. In working with hundreds of entrepreneurs, I have found that when this time comes, there is a hesitation that works like a push against you. Typically, you recognize what needs to happen, you create the plan to scale, you put strategies in place, and everything you need to do to grow your business is happening – this is precisely what you wanted – and then the day comes when you need to put money down to take that step into scaling and making it happen – and you stop. This critical point is where way too many entrepreneurs pause the process and never reach that next level.
You Can’t Replicate Yourself
You cannot scale yourself; you can’t be replicated. Scaling means that you find other people to do many things you have been doing. So, the best place to start is to understand who you are and what you do. Looking at your business in terms of everything you are doing allows you to see the areas where you need to scale so you can be more effective and efficient. I think of it as placing everything you do into different categories or buckets. You may have a bucket for sales, marketing, writing – whatever it is that you are currently doing – and then fill it up with how you do things. For example, if you are writing, you will fill that bucket with everything you do in this category: emails, personal correspondence, blogs, articles, social media, and everything you do that involves communication.
When you look at each category of things you are doing in this way, you can easily see the areas where you need someone to be part of the process and free up time to accomplish other pieces of your strategy so you can grow. You cannot replicate yourself, but you can find great people who can do the tasks you are doing that will allow you to grow.
Expect Mental Resistance
The time is here to take the next step. This should be an exciting time – things are working as planned, and you are ready to level up! You planned for it. You manifested what you said you would do in this quarter, and here it is! This is your amazing opportunity – but it will cost you money – and you quickly shift from excitement to fear. Can you afford it? Do you have enough cash flow? What if something happens? Every negative thought and feeling pops into your mind, trying desperately to pull you back to where you were – back to your safety zone. This is what fear of scaling looks like.
In your subconscious, your brain is volunteering tons of thoughts and scenarios of every single thing that can go wrong. This is based on past experiences – not this experience, because this one is new – but based on every single thing that has ever gone wrong in the past. You need to expect mental resistance from your brain before you begin this process because it will happen. Your brain is wired for safety, and new experiences rarely feel safe. To overcome this fear of scaling, you must prepare yourself for the mental resistance.
Exercise Discipline
It takes a disciplined mindset to overcome these thoughts, but you win the thought battle by recognizing the negative thoughts and fears and then pausing and telling yourself that your goal is to get to the next level, and this opportunity is how you get there. Remind yourself that this is a normal response, but you can recognize it, manage it, and overcome the fear of scaling. Now is not the time to freak out and move backward. Now is the time to be disciplined and move forward toward growth.
At the Growth Architect, my goal is to help you develop a business strategy that will give you the tools you need to scale your business. Yes, scaling can create feelings of fear, but you can learn to overcome these fears and reach the next level of your business. To understand more about overcoming the fear of scaling, what my video.
Let’s grow!
Beate
Beate Chelette is The Growth Architect & Founder of The Women’s Code, a training company specialized in providing companies an ROI on Balanced Leadership. She has been named one of 50 must-follow women entrepreneurs by the Huffington Post. A first-generation immigrant who found herself $135,000 in debt as a single parent, she bootstrapped her passion for photography into a highly successful global business and eventually sold it to Bill Gates in a multimillion-dollar deal.
Beate works with business leaders and supports organizations by developing and providing training the training, tools, and expertise to create and maintain a balanced, equal, and inclusive work environment that fosters creativity, employee engagement, and corporate growth.
Recent clients include Merck, Women’s Legislative Caucus of California, Cal State University Dominguez Hills, Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), NFTE, CreativeLive, the Association of Corporate Growth, and TracyLocke.
Beate is the author of the #1 International Amazon Bestseller “Happy Woman Happy World – How to Go From Overwhelmed to Awesome” a book that corporate trainer and best-selling author Brian Tracy calls “a handbook for every woman who wants health, success and a fulfilling career.
To book Beate to speak or train please connect here. Your Time Is Valuable!