Hero to Architect: The Leadership Shift You Must Make to Scale

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We all like growth, but really in a business it's not just growing, it's you should call it scaling.
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Yes.
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It has nothing to do with fish.
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No, it has nothing to do with weights.
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No, not not usually at least.
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Growth.
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Yeah.
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Growth.
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You've done a lot of that.
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Yeah.
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Positive kind.
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Good.
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Most of the time.
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Good.
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I always like to say I'm a growing boy.
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It's just horizontally instead of vertically.
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Oh, Lord.
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We'll be right back.
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She's the CEO.
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He's the marketing and operations guy.
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If it's broken, you need the business fix.
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It's springtime ish.
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I love that you think it's springtime.
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Springtime adjacent ish.
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The calendar says it's springtime.
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It's getting there.
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Yeah.
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Um, with spring comes new things.
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Yeah.
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And because of what you do.
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Yeah.
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With every podcast.
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Yes, I decided that I needed to go find something.
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Oh, dear.
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What did you get?
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I have a present for you.
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Are these letter people magnets?
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That is letter people magnets.
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I'm so excited.
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I told you I was gonna get you the letter people.
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And I always said that facetiously.
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Josh.
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And then I went online and looked at letter people.
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I found them.
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They do?
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They were on eBay for like eighty five dollars each.
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And I'm like, Chrissy's not getting letter people.
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Oh no letter people.
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It's fine.
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I wouldn't spend eighty five dollars each.
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Each.
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Right.
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I'm like, this is.
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I am not a kindergarten teacher.
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I do not need the letter people.
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Right, right.
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I mean, Chrissy needs letter people.
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She does not need sixteen hundred dollars of letter people.
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So then I saw the letter people refrigerator magnets, and I thought, oh, yes, yes, I can't wait.
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Like, I know it's crinkly and it's gonna drive everybody nuts, but I'm like, I'm so excited.
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I have to open them.
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Oh, yeah.
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No. Open, open open.
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Opening them.
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I'm spreading them out on the table.
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And the nice thing is, they're all gonna stay together.
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Stuck together because they're magnets.
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So they will go on your refrigerator.
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Oh, um, my family's gonna be so excited.
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Yeah.
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Don't ask me what I would spell with them.
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Oh, I can't wait.
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We're gonna have such a good time with these people.
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Oh, they're so fun.
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I'm preparing.
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Which letter person am I using today?
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Yeah.
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No. So while I play the letter people, you play with the letter people.
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I am.
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We're going to talk about, like why you play with the letter people.
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I'm going to get people prepared for scaling.
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Um, now that Chrissy has a toy and she's distracted.
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Ah. Found it.
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Oh, good.
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She had to go digging for that one.
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Most small businesses, most medium businesses, they hit these ceilings where there is just.
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It's the four minute mile.
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It is the the sub nine second one hundred meter dash or sub ten second one hundred meter dash.
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It is these just barriers where it is just like air.
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And once you get past it, like it's pretty good sailing until you hit the next one.
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Yeah.
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You hit the next ceiling.
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Right, right.
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Next ceiling.
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In most cases, there's a reason why it's called a ceiling because you smack into it.
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Mhm.
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There's not a hey look we got this and we're just going to ease right on through.
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This is not a soft landing.
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Um, this is kind of like when you're about nine years old and figured out I am too tall to jump up and down on my bed.
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Oh, yeah.
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We we we all remember that moment as a child.
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I remember hitting the ceiling fan, whacking me in the back of the head.
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Oh, no. My bed was fairly tall.
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And, uh, that could explain some of the things I say in the podcast.
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Yeah.
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It does.
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Uh. That being said, as someone starts to move, like, especially from the CEO is it's their job to push through those ceilings to figure out the ways around it.
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It's not anyone else's job that squarely lies on the CEO for the most part.
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Yeah, as you hit those one million, as you hit the five million dollars Mark's, what's the hardest part of that identity shift that like companies have to go through that in many cases they get wrong.
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Yeah.
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So I think the hardest part it's not strategy.
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It's really surrender.
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And so you know at one million you're still the hero right?
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You're the rainmaker.
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You're the fixer.
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You're the closer.
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You're the you're the guy.
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I mean, and your identity is built around output.
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And you feel valuable because of what you are personally producing.
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But somewhere between that one and five million mark, there's an identity shift, right?
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And that identity becomes the bottleneck.
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And here's where most CEOs get it wrong.
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They try to grow the business without growing themselves.
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We've talked about this in other episodes.
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It's really important because you want to hold on to being the doer instead of becoming the designer.
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So there's there's three big identity mistakes I think that happen during that shift.
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The first is control over capacity.
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So they equate letting go to losing control and in reality refusing to let go caps companies capacity.
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The second is presence over process.
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So I mean they rely on being in the room.
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They have to be there.
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Everything has to still revolve around them instead of building systems that work without them.
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And then that third is approval over alignment.
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They still really want to be liked by everybody.
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They need to be the favorite instead of being clear with the team.
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So instead of telling everybody this is what needs to happen, they just want everyone to love them.
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And that's a hard shift, because I think it feels like you're losing relevance in a lot of ways, but you're not.
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You're upgrading from relevance to responsibility.
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So you got to grow up the weight.
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Did you also get out the r?
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I didn't, but I can find it very quickly.
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Keep looking.
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So yeah, I mean I think you can't scale if your identity still tied to being indispensable.
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So that's I mean, summary of that question that you asked.
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It's really about the identity shift from hero to architect.
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And that's where most CEOs, they're either going to level up or they're going to stall out.
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Yeah, yeah.
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No, I totally agree.
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See that all the time when you see it on the HR side of things.
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Yeah.
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This is the one that I always think that people um, they do not put proper protection over the fan until the fan has been hit.
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Yes.
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By large amounts of fecal matter.
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Yes.
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Um, what are the HR like infrastructure pieces that have to be in place before a company tries to, like, scale up or let's say, double?
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Yeah.
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So if you're about to double your headcount, you need more infrastructure as opposed to hustle.
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I know people think like, oh, I'll just hustle harder.
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No you will not.
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That's not that's going to make things messy.
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So from an HR standpoint, I think there's three things that you absolutely have to have in place before you try to scale your people.
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And I have the letter person hear the s?
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Today's letter is.
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Today's letter is S. And there are three S's to doubling your headcount.
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And those are structure standards and stewardship.
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Those are good ones.
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Those very much fit.
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Yeah.
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So structure clear roles clear reporting clear decisions.
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Right.
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If you can't draw your org chart on one page and clearly explain who owns what, you're not ready to double your team.
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No.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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And structure because people are like I don't understand what you say when you mean structure.
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Like it's documented.
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Job descriptions define decision rights, clear reporting lines, standard operating procedures that don't live in someone's head.
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This is really I feel like I'm talking your wheelhouse here, but it's just because when you double your people without doubling clarity, you do not double productivity.
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You just double politics.
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Yes.
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Yeah, yeah.
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You get twice.
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Twice the payroll.
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Yes.
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With half the work.
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Yeah.
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So and if you don't document it before you double it, I think you're going to regret it.
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So that's the first first test.
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So second the standards.
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And that's behavioral and performance expectations.
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And I think this is the one that leaders underestimate.
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You need clearly defined standards for four things performance communication accountability and culture behaviors.
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It's not just what gets done it's how it gets done.
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Mhm.
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So when you scale without those standards every new hire interprets the culture differently.
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And that's how you go from tight knit to tense over tight.
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Yep.
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So yeah it needs to the customer needs to not be able to figure out who did it.
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Correct.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Standard scale culture vibes don't.
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So it's just.
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Yeah.
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There we go.
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Yeah I mean, consistency is I mean, from a legal standpoint, consistency is protection too.
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So inconsistent enforcement is a risk.
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So when you have the right type of standards you're also making yourself more compliant.
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Last s with super S is stewardship and that is leadership capability and feedback systems.
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And I think that out of those, the three things that we're talking about, Josh, this is the most overlooked.
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I agree, because if you're doubling the headcount, you're also doubling the leadership complexity.
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Yep.
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Yeah.
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And you need managers who know how to coach a real onboarding process, feedback cadence that isn't just once a year.
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Listen to our podcast on employee reviews and a way to catch issues early.
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So like stay interviews, tell us what's going on.
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What's great because doubling people without doubling leadership capacity is how burnout, turnover and lawsuits can show up six months later, sometimes six weeks later, say six months, six weeks, six years, they show up.
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It's not if it's it's when.
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I mean, I think it's really important.
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I think, you know, scaling isn't just it's not about adding bodies.
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It's about adding the foundation that's strong enough to hold them.
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Yes I agree.
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Mhm.
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Wow.
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Um the stewardship one two is one that like I would have needed the thesaurus to get there for that one.
00:10:42.340 --> 00:10:58.273
Um, how do you identify that employee that's going to help you scale rather than the one that, like, is the like the there's the person that's been at every company for thirty years, the founding employee.
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Correct.
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That.
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Like everyone's like, hey, Bob's been with me since the, the Nixon era.
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Um, yeah.
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And they're like, yeah, Bob's great.
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Bob knows everything.
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How do you like, who's the one that gets you past where Bob is to the the next level?
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Yeah.
00:11:15.639 --> 00:11:17.306
So I have I have more letters here.
00:11:17.306 --> 00:11:24.039
Um, I would say this is probably one of the hardest parts of scaling because, you know, founding employees, it can be emotional.
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They helped you build the business.
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Yes.
00:11:26.206 --> 00:11:26.440
Yeah.
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There's loyalty there.
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There's gratitude there.
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Because they were probably the person that was like up doing the things with you that when you're trying to figure it all out, you didn't know how it was all going to work.
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They may have helped figure you.
00:11:38.673 --> 00:11:40.039
Yes, exactly.
00:11:40.039 --> 00:11:42.572
But scaling doesn't ask who's been here the longest.
00:11:42.572 --> 00:11:45.173
It asks who can lead at the next level.
00:11:45.173 --> 00:12:48.293
And so really it's in it's in the terms we have three E's for this elevation, execution and emotional range.
00:12:48.293 --> 00:12:49.393
Did you get the E out?
00:12:49.393 --> 00:12:51.225
I didn't I can't find it right now.
00:12:51.225 --> 00:12:52.225
I know you can look for it later.
00:12:52.225 --> 00:12:53.393
I'll find it later though.
00:12:53.393 --> 00:12:57.060
So, you know, founding employees are often phenomenal at doing so.
00:12:57.060 --> 00:12:58.160
Let's talk about elevation.
00:12:58.160 --> 00:13:01.893
And the question with elevation is can they think bigger than the task?
00:13:01.893 --> 00:13:05.192
So founding employees, they know the work inside and out.
00:13:05.192 --> 00:13:06.259
They're usually scrappy.
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They'll stay late.
00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:08.293
They'll figure it out.
00:13:08.293 --> 00:13:11.093
But a scaling manager has to elevate above the work.
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They have to think in systems.
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They have to anticipate those bottlenecks.
00:13:13.626 --> 00:13:22.725
And if someone still solves everything personally, instead of building processes that solve things repeatedly, they're operating at that founding level, not a scaling level.
00:13:22.725 --> 00:13:29.192
So you have to remember, founding employees generally have built with their hands scaling managers build with their head and their team.
00:13:29.192 --> 00:13:30.393
Ooh, yeah.
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This to me.
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I want to plug something too, at the same time.
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Um, there was a post that went on Instagram that was you talking about if you put someone in leadership and don't give them training, that as of like the point of recording this, it's like seventy some odd thousand people have watched this thing and been like, hell yes.
00:13:48.759 --> 00:13:49.460
Yes.
00:13:49.460 --> 00:13:52.160
Um, that to me fits here.
00:13:52.160 --> 00:13:52.526
It does.
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Promoting people without leadership training is irresponsible.
00:13:55.326 --> 00:13:55.692
Yep.
00:13:55.692 --> 00:13:56.192
Yes.
00:13:56.192 --> 00:13:57.759
Because this is the same thing.
00:13:57.759 --> 00:13:58.293
Yes.
00:13:58.293 --> 00:14:04.225
Um, if you are trying to get someone into a scaling position that is a builder, it ain't gonna work.
00:14:04.225 --> 00:14:05.093
No.
00:14:05.093 --> 00:14:05.326
No.
00:14:05.326 --> 00:14:05.660
Founder.
00:14:05.660 --> 00:14:05.993
That's.
00:14:05.993 --> 00:14:06.393
Yeah.
00:14:06.393 --> 00:14:07.960
You try and scale someone that's founding.
00:14:07.960 --> 00:14:10.725
That's founding, and they're used to building, like they're just doing the same thing.
00:14:10.725 --> 00:14:14.960
They're building over and over and over and over, but they're not really looking at, how do I build the infrastructure?
00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:15.493
Yeah.
00:14:15.493 --> 00:14:20.793
So that takes us then to execution, which is can they build repeatability.
00:14:20.793 --> 00:14:21.460
Right.
00:14:21.460 --> 00:14:22.692
Ooh, yeah.
00:14:22.692 --> 00:14:24.593
So founding employees might be heroic.
00:14:24.593 --> 00:14:25.993
They can just get it done.
00:14:25.993 --> 00:14:31.593
But scaling managers create clarity so that others can get it done.
00:14:31.593 --> 00:14:37.725
It goes from the me to the we scaling is about we right.
00:14:37.725 --> 00:14:40.560
So they document they create accountability.
00:14:40.560 --> 00:14:42.093
They delegate effectively.
00:14:42.093 --> 00:14:49.026
Their job is to remove bottlenecks instead of just being the person that does the work, removing the bottleneck so that other people can do the work.
00:14:49.026 --> 00:14:50.493
I mean, and here's here's the other thing.
00:14:50.493 --> 00:14:54.926
If production drops every time that person goes on vacation, that's a founding profile.
00:14:54.926 --> 00:14:56.893
That's not a scaling one.
00:14:56.893 --> 00:15:03.460
You want people, I mean, they miss them because they're just wonderful, but they don't miss them because the work keeps getting done right.
00:15:03.460 --> 00:15:09.126
So if the machine only runs when you're there, you're not scaling your substituting.
00:15:09.126 --> 00:15:09.960
Ooh.
00:15:09.960 --> 00:15:10.860
Yeah.
00:15:10.860 --> 00:15:11.560
Yeah.
00:15:11.560 --> 00:15:17.060
And then the last one is emotional range I think this one is again one that leaders often miss.
00:15:17.060 --> 00:15:19.326
And it's can they handle complexity.
00:15:19.326 --> 00:15:23.560
So as you're looking within your team this is a question you need to ask an emotional range.
00:15:23.560 --> 00:15:30.960
Because scaling introduces more personalities ambiguity more pressure more politics.
00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:36.692
It's just going to happen when you add people so scaling managers, they need that emotional range.
00:15:36.692 --> 00:15:43.960
And so founding employees are often loyal and hardworking, but they're not always emotionally equipped for leadership at scale.
00:15:43.960 --> 00:15:48.593
And I've watched this in my organization and we had some people that I promoted.
00:15:48.593 --> 00:15:51.692
And then they just they quickly said, this is not what I want to do.
00:15:51.692 --> 00:15:54.393
And then we had to figure out, you know, do you want to stay?
00:15:54.393 --> 00:15:54.893
Do you want to go?
00:15:54.893 --> 00:15:56.692
And I had some that stayed and I had some that exited.
00:15:56.692 --> 00:16:01.192
And it was hard because these are people that have have helped build the business.
00:16:01.192 --> 00:16:07.725
So I think that when you get to that point, when you see that they're not emotionally equipped, it's not a character flaw, it's a capability gap.
00:16:07.725 --> 00:16:10.893
And you've you've got to you've got three options with these people.
00:16:10.893 --> 00:16:13.793
You reskill, you reseat or you release.
00:16:13.793 --> 00:16:25.225
So now we've got s e s e r and r. I know, I really think it was really fitting that you got the letter people for today because I really I had fun with this.
00:16:25.225 --> 00:16:30.326
So I mean so your three options to avoid and I think avoiding the decision is the worst one.
00:16:30.326 --> 00:16:32.593
But it's reskilling reseeding or releasing.
00:16:32.593 --> 00:16:35.293
So reskilling you invest in training that person.
00:16:35.293 --> 00:16:35.725
All right.
00:16:35.725 --> 00:16:37.893
Leadership development coaching clear expectations.
00:16:37.893 --> 00:16:39.759
You give them a real runway.
00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:42.192
You don't just tell them to try harder.
00:16:42.192 --> 00:16:43.393
Oh yeah.
00:16:44.460 --> 00:16:46.225
Don't just tell them to try harder.
00:16:46.225 --> 00:16:51.093
Give them the ability to learn new things or receipt okay.
00:16:51.093 --> 00:16:54.960
Not everyone who builds at five belongs at fifty in the same role.
00:16:54.960 --> 00:16:55.360
Correct?
00:16:55.360 --> 00:16:56.725
Most people don't.
00:16:56.725 --> 00:16:57.692
Most people do not.
00:16:57.692 --> 00:17:00.293
And it's not it's not wrong.
00:17:00.293 --> 00:17:04.559
But most people cannot run a fifty person company and a five hundred person company.
00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:06.460
It's just not possible.
00:17:06.460 --> 00:17:08.393
It's it's it's a different skill set.
00:17:08.393 --> 00:17:09.826
It's a totally different skill set.
00:17:09.826 --> 00:17:23.559
And so sometimes the right move is moving them into a senior specialist track, moving them into a different part of the organization where they can shine without having to carry people leadership that they don't enjoy or they're not wired for.
00:17:23.559 --> 00:17:26.893
So reskill receipt, some of that that can be uncomfortable.
00:17:26.893 --> 00:17:29.792
I would say the hardest one is, is release.
00:17:29.792 --> 00:17:36.960
And that's if you've been clear, supportive and structured and that gap remains, you have to protect the organization.
00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:37.425
Yes.
00:17:37.425 --> 00:17:42.859
Which means it's time to let people go, because I think here's the uncomfortable truth.
00:17:42.859 --> 00:17:48.160
Loyalty to one person cannot come to the at the expense of the whole team.
00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:50.359
It just it can't it doesn't.
00:17:50.359 --> 00:17:50.960
Yeah.
00:17:50.960 --> 00:17:58.359
So scaling doesn't mean abandoning the people who helped you build it does mean being honest about what the next chapter requires.
00:17:58.359 --> 00:18:01.526
So the question isn't, are they loyal?
00:18:01.526 --> 00:18:05.160
The question is really, are they aligned and equipped for what's next?
00:18:06.359 --> 00:18:07.526
And that's heavy.
00:18:07.526 --> 00:18:07.925
It is.
00:18:07.925 --> 00:18:10.425
You know what it makes me think of what I believe.
00:18:10.425 --> 00:18:11.826
I've mentioned this before.
00:18:11.826 --> 00:18:16.425
When you become a US Coast Guard swimmer, like a rescue swimmer, you know what?
00:18:16.425 --> 00:18:18.660
The first thing they teach you is?
00:18:18.660 --> 00:18:22.026
Know how to subdue the person you're rescuing.
00:18:22.026 --> 00:18:23.960
How to not drown them while you're trying to save their life.
00:18:23.960 --> 00:18:25.725
Know how they don't drown you.
00:18:25.725 --> 00:18:27.326
How to make sure they don't drown you.
00:18:27.326 --> 00:18:30.826
You can't let the the person that helped you build it.
00:18:30.826 --> 00:18:31.225
Drown.
00:18:31.225 --> 00:18:32.960
You know, and I've.
00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:34.660
I've made that mistake.
00:18:34.660 --> 00:18:36.625
And it can be a really expensive mistake, too.
00:18:36.625 --> 00:18:37.292
It can be.
00:18:37.292 --> 00:18:37.559
Yeah.
00:18:37.559 --> 00:18:39.960
I've I've it has been an expensive mistake.
00:18:39.960 --> 00:18:40.160
Yeah.
00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:43.559
I kept sending checks and I'm like, why isn't this getting better?
00:18:43.559 --> 00:18:44.059
Yeah.
00:18:44.059 --> 00:18:45.259
And, uh, sign the check.
00:18:45.259 --> 00:18:46.059
It doesn't get better.
00:18:46.059 --> 00:18:47.259
Sign the check, it doesn't get better.
00:18:47.259 --> 00:18:49.259
And I'm like, wait a minute here.
00:18:49.259 --> 00:18:50.960
So, yeah, learn from my mistakes.
00:18:50.960 --> 00:18:53.460
If you want to learn, if you want more details, you can message me.
00:18:53.460 --> 00:18:57.160
We'll have an off podcast conversation.
00:18:57.160 --> 00:18:59.259
That's the whole reason why we do this podcast.
00:18:59.259 --> 00:19:00.692
We have both screwed this up.
00:19:00.692 --> 00:19:01.793
Yeah.
00:19:01.793 --> 00:19:04.026
And it's a good reminder to not do it again.
00:19:04.026 --> 00:19:05.860
Right, right, right.
00:19:05.860 --> 00:19:07.259
So let's talk about operations.
00:19:07.259 --> 00:19:08.293
Sure, I'd love to.
00:19:08.293 --> 00:19:10.593
Yay! So Josh wants the vision set.
00:19:10.593 --> 00:19:13.026
How do you actually operationalize that growth?
00:19:13.026 --> 00:19:16.492
How do you turn hustle into predictable marketing and operations?
00:19:16.492 --> 00:19:20.726
Uh, this is the thing that's so to me, like when the CEO says, hey, guess what?
00:19:20.726 --> 00:19:22.625
We're gonna, like, explode this thing.
00:19:22.625 --> 00:19:23.992
This thing's going to grow.
00:19:23.992 --> 00:19:25.425
Buckle up.
00:19:25.425 --> 00:19:30.860
Um, you hope they don't already have that plan in action.
00:19:30.860 --> 00:19:39.293
Um, because that is when it goes sideways to me, there has to be this, like, Prescale audit.
00:19:39.293 --> 00:19:41.692
Are we ready to scale?
00:19:41.692 --> 00:19:46.026
Um, most CEOs think yesterday is the best time to scale.
00:19:46.026 --> 00:19:48.893
Yesterday is the best time to figure out if it's time to scale.
00:19:48.893 --> 00:19:58.492
Once you have figured that out, um, to me, the the one that I like is the leak principle, where before you turn on the faucet, you make sure the pipes don't leak.
00:19:58.492 --> 00:20:07.692
Oh, I like I have done some plumbing in my own house, and whenever I turn it back on, I always kind of do it with one eye open, kind of one eye closed.
00:20:07.692 --> 00:20:11.860
And I turn the valve slowly like, hey, is something coming apart here?
00:20:11.860 --> 00:20:24.726
Because if it's coming apart, I want it to come apart with one gallon in the pipe instead of thirty five psi and forty gallons in the pipe, you cannot multiply a process that isn't already working.
00:20:24.726 --> 00:20:30.860
Well, um, if it's not working well, it's I mean, scaling it is going to make it worse.
00:20:30.860 --> 00:20:32.460
Um, one of the one of the things I love.
00:20:32.460 --> 00:20:45.492
I'm going to make a ten thousand small businesses shout out here too, is I still remember one of the first things that they said, like, the first day of class, is if you're doing something and it doesn't make money, doing more of it is not going to make it better.
00:20:45.492 --> 00:20:47.660
The same thing goes true for your operations.
00:20:47.660 --> 00:20:52.559
If it's not working well, scaling it is not going to make it better.
00:20:54.492 --> 00:20:59.860
Because inefficiency scales faster than growth every single time.
00:20:59.860 --> 00:21:13.625
If your current workflow has a ten percent waste or friction or leak or whatever you want to call it, and you grow fifty percent, you are now not at fifteen percent problem, because that would be a a fifty percent increase.
00:21:13.625 --> 00:21:24.059
No no no no. You typically end up with a twenty or thirty percent inefficiency problem because like I said, the problem scale faster than the business does every single time.
00:21:24.059 --> 00:21:25.893
It's not always exponential.
00:21:25.893 --> 00:21:28.259
Yeah, but it's there.
00:21:28.259 --> 00:21:30.593
Whatever holes are in your boat.
00:21:30.593 --> 00:21:36.425
You like pushing the boat deeper in the water makes the water rush in much, much faster.
00:21:37.793 --> 00:21:39.793
And then you add more people to it.
00:21:39.793 --> 00:21:40.259
Yeah, right.
00:21:40.259 --> 00:21:40.826
More people.
00:21:40.826 --> 00:21:44.026
More complexity to a broken system.
00:21:44.026 --> 00:21:48.826
Um, you just have literally more people running around going, I don't know what the hell to do.
00:21:48.826 --> 00:21:56.860
Um, the the other thing is too, is like, I always like to call it the house cleaning is like, scaling is going to put a magnifying glass on things.
00:21:56.860 --> 00:21:59.860
You think it's bigger, so it's easier to hide things.
00:21:59.860 --> 00:22:01.893
Uh, I disagree.
00:22:01.893 --> 00:22:10.960
Those small operational quirks, that thing that you thought, ah, we can deal with this suddenly is a forty, fifty, sixty thousand dollars problem.
00:22:10.960 --> 00:22:11.425
Yeah.
00:22:11.425 --> 00:22:17.526
And it like those operational quirks or the shadow workflows where someone goes around the corner.
00:22:17.526 --> 00:22:19.992
Yeah, those are those massive bottlenecks.
00:22:19.992 --> 00:22:32.660
Now, once you add the weight of growth, if there's that person, that one person that is the founder person that has to do everything, you've scaled the business, you're trying to grow fifty percent, and now everything still has to go through Bob and receiving.
00:22:32.660 --> 00:22:35.793
No, no, no, it's just not going to work.
00:22:35.793 --> 00:22:36.992
Fix it when the stakes are lower.
00:22:36.992 --> 00:22:37.759
I agree with you.
00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:38.192
Yeah.
00:22:38.192 --> 00:22:39.226
Yeah, definitely.
00:22:39.226 --> 00:22:43.759
It's just it's not gonna it's it's not going to work out well for you otherwise.
00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:50.059
And it becomes very expensive very, very quickly because the expense is obviously always scale.
00:22:50.059 --> 00:22:52.793
Before the before you get that money.
00:22:52.793 --> 00:22:53.860
Yeah.
00:22:53.860 --> 00:22:55.226
I wish it was the other way around.
00:22:55.226 --> 00:22:56.192
But it is not.
00:22:56.192 --> 00:22:57.759
No, it is not.
00:22:57.759 --> 00:22:59.660
Buckle up kids.
00:22:59.660 --> 00:23:05.226
Um, so to me, like I said, the foundation, it comes down to your standard operating procedures.
00:23:05.226 --> 00:23:12.660
Uh, you cannot navigate a ton of change when your processes are all willy nilly, as you always like to say.
00:23:12.660 --> 00:23:15.160
Your processes are just in there in Bob's head.
00:23:15.160 --> 00:23:15.393
Yeah.
00:23:15.393 --> 00:23:17.160
I don't know why we're making fun of Bob today.
00:23:17.160 --> 00:23:17.925
It's good.
00:23:17.925 --> 00:23:18.226
Bob.
00:23:18.226 --> 00:23:19.125
Bob's the guy.
00:23:19.125 --> 00:23:19.625
Yes.
00:23:19.625 --> 00:23:20.326
Is, uh.
00:23:20.326 --> 00:23:21.226
They're all in Bob's head.
00:23:21.226 --> 00:23:22.059
Bob's good.
00:23:22.059 --> 00:23:23.192
Um, yeah.
00:23:23.192 --> 00:23:30.526
No. If Bob gets hit by a bus tomorrow and you're in the middle of scaling, your business is going to feel like you get hit by the bus, and that's just not know.
00:23:30.526 --> 00:23:33.625
You have to lock down those SOPs in advance.
00:23:33.625 --> 00:23:37.460
I mean, once again, I always talk about them as foundational.
00:23:37.460 --> 00:23:38.059
Yeah.
00:23:38.059 --> 00:23:46.360
If you try and build a bigger house on an already shaky foundation, that ends up poorly.
00:23:46.360 --> 00:23:50.226
Um, yes, that ends up with a in a house that is in the basement.
00:23:50.226 --> 00:23:52.925
Yeah, a little bit of wind and you're you're screwed.
00:23:52.925 --> 00:23:53.860
Right, right.
00:23:53.860 --> 00:23:58.125
And it doesn't matter which way the wind comes, it doesn't because it's gonna hit.
00:23:58.125 --> 00:23:59.692
It is just going to hit.
00:23:59.692 --> 00:24:06.125
Um, the other thing is too, is I mentioned this like in my notes here, it's hero culture to process culture.
00:24:06.125 --> 00:24:07.759
If there's a process for it.
00:24:07.759 --> 00:24:08.326
Yeah.
00:24:08.326 --> 00:24:16.360
I mean, we've had some switches in our company even recently where like, look, it's I had someone up and running within about a week.
00:24:16.360 --> 00:24:16.692
Yeah.
00:24:16.692 --> 00:24:19.960
Because we have the processes down to bring them in.
00:24:19.960 --> 00:24:21.692
I'm able to say, can you read?
00:24:21.692 --> 00:24:23.226
And they say, yes.
00:24:23.226 --> 00:24:25.593
And they read the processes and they're like, great.
00:24:25.593 --> 00:24:30.093
And as we scale and as we add people, once again, here's the process.
00:24:30.093 --> 00:24:33.492
What does it look like to you from marketing?
00:24:33.492 --> 00:24:41.059
This is where I think it becomes interesting with marketing, because you have to be very direct about how the budget evolves and grows.
00:24:41.059 --> 00:24:46.093
Now your budget, like in most cases, one million dollars of revenue, you're spending five to twelve percent.
00:24:46.093 --> 00:24:49.826
Typically that's fifty to one hundred and twenty K a year, three million dollars of revenue.
00:24:49.826 --> 00:24:52.226
You're looking at one hundred and twenty to three hundred K a year.
00:24:52.226 --> 00:24:57.460
That's four to ten percent range is what you're spending on marketing ten million dollars, three to eight percent.
00:24:57.460 --> 00:25:01.960
I mean, so it comes down a little bit as you scale.
00:25:01.960 --> 00:25:04.492
I mean, we're not talking big jumps, not significantly.
00:25:04.492 --> 00:25:09.093
No. And you cannot keep the same marketing budget at one million that you have at three million.
00:25:09.093 --> 00:25:10.026
And that's a struggle.
00:25:10.026 --> 00:25:11.660
I watch people deal with that all the time.
00:25:11.660 --> 00:25:12.692
Like this is our budget.
00:25:12.692 --> 00:25:14.460
We're like, no, correct.
00:25:14.460 --> 00:25:14.793
Right.
00:25:14.793 --> 00:25:19.059
No, the, the the it has to grow the the number has to grow.
00:25:19.059 --> 00:25:22.259
The percent of your total revenue can come back a little bit.
00:25:22.259 --> 00:25:23.026
Yeah.
00:25:23.026 --> 00:25:25.393
But the overall number.
00:25:25.393 --> 00:25:26.593
Yeah, you have to ratchet that up.
00:25:26.593 --> 00:25:27.960
Do people do the same thing with personnel?
00:25:27.960 --> 00:25:30.826
We're going to grow to five million, but we're going to keep the same headcount.
00:25:30.826 --> 00:25:31.925
No you're not.
00:25:34.759 --> 00:25:36.960
You are for about three weeks.
00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:40.125
And then there's going to be a massive revolt and they're going to burn it down.
00:25:40.125 --> 00:25:41.326
Well, and then they start to hit a ceiling.
00:25:41.326 --> 00:25:43.226
And we don't understand why we can't break through the ceiling.
00:25:43.226 --> 00:25:44.925
It's like, well, are you adding capacity?
00:25:44.925 --> 00:25:45.593
No.
00:25:45.593 --> 00:25:46.026
Right.
00:25:46.026 --> 00:25:47.425
Then you're not going to be able to break it.
00:25:47.425 --> 00:25:48.059
Here's the other thing.
00:25:48.059 --> 00:25:50.360
I will tell a lot of small business owners.
00:25:50.360 --> 00:26:04.593
Um, as you get as you in your pursuit to become richer, you are going to feel poorer for a period of time, because there is you've talked about the delay of growth or the delay of of the revenue coming in, and that is that is real and felt.
00:26:04.593 --> 00:26:13.726
And if you are not willing to make a lifestyle change for a quarter or six months or a year, then you really need to think about if you want to grow, you have to feed the monster.
00:26:13.726 --> 00:26:15.526
You do, you do.
00:26:15.526 --> 00:26:18.259
Which means sometimes you gotta exercise your line of credit.
00:26:18.259 --> 00:26:19.726
You got to deal with it.
00:26:19.726 --> 00:26:21.026
Sometimes you have to pull on debt.
00:26:21.026 --> 00:26:31.826
Sometimes you bring in an investor, like if you really want to do this and you truly want to scale, you have to be willing to make some sacrifices around some things that maybe you just.
00:26:31.826 --> 00:26:34.059
I mean, it can also be around time.
00:26:34.059 --> 00:26:35.492
Sometimes you got to spend more time.
00:26:35.492 --> 00:26:36.326
Yep.
00:26:36.326 --> 00:26:36.925
Yes.
00:26:36.925 --> 00:26:38.526
But don't fall into the trap.
00:26:38.526 --> 00:26:39.226
No.
00:26:39.226 --> 00:26:41.160
Um. Do time the right way.
00:26:41.160 --> 00:26:42.625
The speed at which you said no.
00:26:41.160 --> 00:26:42.625
There.
00:26:42.625 --> 00:26:44.093
I don't even think I was done with this sentence.
00:26:44.093 --> 00:26:46.759
And she's like, no, don't do it.
00:26:46.759 --> 00:26:47.360
Move on.
00:26:47.360 --> 00:26:48.860
Get coaching around it.
00:26:48.860 --> 00:26:50.360
Train yourself first.
00:26:50.360 --> 00:26:53.692
Before you decide that you want to scale aggressively.
00:26:53.692 --> 00:26:56.526
You have to be at the next level before you can expect your people to be.
00:26:56.526 --> 00:26:57.293
Pull the reps in.
00:26:57.293 --> 00:27:11.125
Yes, it the one thing with marketing a lot of people don't understand too is if you are business consumer, you have a higher percentage of revenue that you're needing to spend on marketing because you are trying to reach a broader range of people.
00:27:11.125 --> 00:27:17.860
Um, when you look at the checks that people write, compared to the checks that businesses rate, they are very different.
00:27:17.860 --> 00:27:20.460
Um, typically by a couple of decimal places.
00:27:20.460 --> 00:27:20.559
Yeah.
00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:21.326
They are.
00:27:21.326 --> 00:27:26.293
And so that just dictates the number of people that you have to talk to, the number of people that you have to.
00:27:26.293 --> 00:27:29.460
To reach the number of people that need to be writing you checks.
00:27:29.460 --> 00:27:33.259
And with that, it's there's that law of scale in there.
00:27:33.259 --> 00:27:33.593
Yeah.
00:27:33.593 --> 00:27:46.293
Um, the other thing is, too, is if your growth is thirty to fifty percent, like you alluded to earlier, do not budget for your entire year with the same budget you gave for marketing last year.
00:27:46.293 --> 00:27:47.692
Ain't going to work.
00:27:47.692 --> 00:27:48.526
It's just not.
00:27:48.526 --> 00:27:49.160
Why not?
00:27:49.160 --> 00:27:50.593
Why can't you just be a miracle?
00:27:50.593 --> 00:27:51.059
Not gonna work.
00:27:51.059 --> 00:27:52.492
No, it's math people.
00:27:52.492 --> 00:27:53.393
Correct.
00:27:53.393 --> 00:28:00.526
The other thing that I see, too, is what so many people look at is they're like, okay, we've done a million dollars worth of business in this channel.
00:28:00.526 --> 00:28:04.059
We want to do three million dollars worth of business in this channel.
00:28:04.059 --> 00:28:07.726
And like the channel may not be able to support that.
00:28:07.726 --> 00:28:08.259
Yeah.
00:28:08.259 --> 00:28:15.460
So some people don't look at and I mean, this is like the most basic marketing exercise that people don't look at is the total addressable market.
00:28:15.460 --> 00:28:17.259
What is your total addressable market?
00:28:17.259 --> 00:28:19.726
What percentage of that do you think you can get.
00:28:19.726 --> 00:28:20.660
And then look at that.
00:28:20.660 --> 00:28:25.726
Too many people are like, we're growing to five million when their total addressable market might be three.
00:28:25.726 --> 00:28:26.759
Yes.
00:28:26.759 --> 00:28:30.559
And if it's three in that market and you're like, I want all of it, it's not going to happen.
00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:45.125
No, no. So I always tell people like, you have to realize that putting more money into this, and the example I always like to give is from like Google Ads, if you're effective at five thousand dollars a month in Google Ads, jumping to ten thousand dollars a month is not going to double your business.
00:28:45.125 --> 00:28:47.160
Know Google will love you doing that, correct?
00:28:47.160 --> 00:28:51.460
But there's a reason why Google made two hundred billion dollars or whatever it is last year.
00:28:51.460 --> 00:28:57.593
You're going to hit a ceiling on that, so you eventually need to find another way to do it, because you're going to bid for more volume.
00:28:57.593 --> 00:29:03.192
And you also have to at that point, you have to target a broader, lower intent audience.
00:29:03.192 --> 00:29:03.759
Yeah.
00:29:03.759 --> 00:29:06.160
Um, you've figured out who the.
00:29:06.160 --> 00:29:07.759
Yeah, I can see you wincing at that one.
00:29:07.759 --> 00:29:09.192
You're like, this sucks.
00:29:09.192 --> 00:29:10.960
Yeah, I want to do that.
00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:11.826
Yeah, yeah.
00:29:11.826 --> 00:29:13.960
Because you're like, we need more people.
00:29:13.960 --> 00:29:19.625
These are the like, if, let's say it's thirty five year old males that typically buy from from someone.
00:29:19.625 --> 00:29:20.192
Okay.
00:29:20.192 --> 00:29:27.093
Well, if you've kind of exhausted thirty five year old males, now you have to figure out how to get the thirty and forty year old males in.
00:29:27.093 --> 00:29:29.226
And they may not be your exact audience.
00:29:29.226 --> 00:29:32.026
No, but you need to still figure out a way to go after them.
00:29:32.026 --> 00:29:38.925
So the the cost per customer is going to rise your, your it's just what's going to happen.
00:29:38.925 --> 00:29:45.259
The other thing is too is there is a finite amount of search volume for your big money keywords.
00:29:45.259 --> 00:29:55.460
Um, once I mean, when you think of like when I look at Akron podcasters, um, there's not ten million people like, searching that every day.
00:29:55.460 --> 00:29:58.625
No, no, there's not there's really not like twelve.
00:29:58.625 --> 00:30:00.826
Um, right, right, right.
00:30:00.826 --> 00:30:03.326
Five of them are our fans, right?
00:30:03.326 --> 00:30:12.259
The difference the difference between that is too is there is not ten thousand people searching, uh, like Akron podcasting.
00:30:12.259 --> 00:30:15.692
There's not ten thousand people in Akron searching, podcasting every day.
00:30:15.692 --> 00:30:18.726
There are probably ten thousand people in Akron searching.
00:30:18.726 --> 00:30:20.692
Why is my health care screwed up?
00:30:20.692 --> 00:30:21.093
that is.
00:30:21.093 --> 00:30:22.259
Yes.
00:30:22.259 --> 00:30:22.726
Yes.
00:30:22.726 --> 00:30:25.893
Which is a whole other problem when you're trying to pay for ads.
00:30:25.893 --> 00:30:26.860
Correct.
00:30:26.860 --> 00:30:29.893
So to me, there's there's scaling past that ceiling though.
00:30:29.893 --> 00:30:34.192
You have to diversify to a certain extent to be like, look, where are we going?
00:30:34.192 --> 00:30:42.793
We cannot I mean, because one, at this point you've built a business that can support itself and those that are in it.
00:30:42.793 --> 00:30:50.492
If you want to branch out into other things that are adjacent, that's good to be able to scale that way.
00:30:50.492 --> 00:30:55.425
But once again, you can't just you can't expect to get more blood from the stone.
00:30:55.425 --> 00:30:55.893
Yeah.
00:30:55.893 --> 00:30:58.593
Um, if you're already at a great level with it.
00:30:58.593 --> 00:31:12.692
Um, the other thing that I always like to say, too, when it comes to the marketing and the, uh, the operational piece of it, you have to identify the twenty percent of crap that is taking up eighty percent of your team's time.
00:31:12.692 --> 00:31:13.492
Yes.
00:31:13.492 --> 00:31:17.059
Um, if you can figure that out and save.
00:31:17.059 --> 00:31:22.726
I mean, I see so many people that there like, oh, we can save a little bit here and we can save a little bit there.
00:31:22.726 --> 00:31:24.826
And I'm like, they're ignoring the big problems.
00:31:24.826 --> 00:31:25.160
Yes.
00:31:25.160 --> 00:31:27.059
They're checking off a couple of little problems.
00:31:27.059 --> 00:31:29.960
Like, look, we saved our employees five minutes a day.
00:31:29.960 --> 00:31:37.360
Yeah, but you're ignoring the big thing that, like, Bob hates his job and is twenty percent as productive as he could be.
00:32:14.690 --> 00:32:15.089
Yes.
00:32:15.089 --> 00:32:16.155
Fix, fix.
00:32:16.155 --> 00:32:20.455
The big problems are.
00:32:20.455 --> 00:32:21.755
Especially before you scale.
00:32:21.755 --> 00:32:23.855
I mean, this this is all pre scaling stuff.
00:32:23.855 --> 00:32:24.455
Yeah.
00:32:24.455 --> 00:32:29.789
Um, as we like to talk about like you're more the CEO, you've got that lookout vision.
00:32:29.789 --> 00:32:31.990
You can see what's down the road.
00:32:31.990 --> 00:32:35.690
I'm the guy that can see in between me and the the camera over there.
00:32:35.690 --> 00:32:37.490
And that's about as far as I can see.
00:32:37.490 --> 00:32:42.923
So to me, it is like we're preparing for the hell that you're about ready to unleash.
00:32:42.923 --> 00:32:43.556
Yeah.
00:32:43.556 --> 00:32:45.455
Uh. You're welcome.
00:32:47.089 --> 00:32:48.089
You're so welcome.
00:32:48.089 --> 00:32:49.056
That's me.
00:32:49.056 --> 00:32:50.855
I mean, and it's a hell of a ride.
00:32:50.855 --> 00:32:52.155
It's a fun ride.
00:32:52.155 --> 00:32:58.655
But you don't, um, Take a lesson from the Titanic.
00:32:58.655 --> 00:32:59.755
Yeah.
00:32:59.755 --> 00:33:00.389
Put the.
00:33:00.389 --> 00:33:02.389
Make sure you've got enough lifeboats on the boat.
00:33:02.389 --> 00:33:04.155
Make sure you've got enough life vests.
00:33:04.155 --> 00:33:04.955
Basic math.
00:33:04.955 --> 00:33:05.955
Um, right.
00:33:05.955 --> 00:33:07.556
Do that before you set sail.
00:33:07.556 --> 00:33:08.955
Um, yeah.
00:33:08.955 --> 00:33:11.455
Do the basics, then set sail.
00:33:11.455 --> 00:33:12.589
Yeah.
00:33:12.589 --> 00:33:13.255
A little planning.
00:33:13.255 --> 00:33:16.623
I mean, sometimes things are still going to break, but at least you plan for most of it.
00:33:16.623 --> 00:33:18.222
Right, right, right.
00:33:18.222 --> 00:33:20.155
So let's talk.
00:33:20.155 --> 00:33:27.655
Um, I love this because I know so many people that have tried to software themselves out of a problem.
00:33:27.655 --> 00:33:28.755
I know I have.
00:33:30.655 --> 00:33:31.623
Multiple times.
00:33:31.623 --> 00:33:35.056
I was about to say, I was about to say, I know a lot of people that have done this.
00:33:35.056 --> 00:33:36.155
Two of them are in the room.
00:33:36.155 --> 00:33:36.623
Yes.
00:33:36.623 --> 00:33:37.655
Um, two of the room.
00:33:37.655 --> 00:33:40.655
Two of them are in the room with us right now as we speak.
00:33:40.655 --> 00:33:41.389
Yes.
00:33:44.423 --> 00:33:49.389
Like when it does, it fix the broken process?
00:33:49.389 --> 00:33:49.690
What?
00:33:49.690 --> 00:33:54.355
Like what happens when you add software to problems?
00:33:54.355 --> 00:33:55.589
It scales them.
00:33:57.822 --> 00:34:01.056
I think I'm gonna get hate mail from software developers.
00:34:01.056 --> 00:34:06.056
Um, I think you really have to be clear in your process.
00:34:06.056 --> 00:34:08.755
So. And if software doesn't fix a broken process.
00:34:08.755 --> 00:34:12.389
So if your process is already broken, it's just going to magnify it.
00:34:12.389 --> 00:34:25.423
So I feel like, you know, buying an expensive piece of software is like putting a jet engine on a shopping cart and you're going to move faster, but it's not going to probably be a helpful direction.
00:34:25.423 --> 00:34:27.056
I see this as a guy.
00:34:27.056 --> 00:34:28.856
Yeah, sounds like a great idea.
00:34:28.856 --> 00:34:30.356
Like this sounds like fun.
00:34:30.356 --> 00:34:33.956
This sounds like may be fun, but you're probably gonna hit something hard.
00:34:33.956 --> 00:34:34.490
No, that's.
00:34:34.490 --> 00:34:35.389
That's okay.
00:34:35.389 --> 00:34:35.623
Yeah.
00:34:35.623 --> 00:34:36.123
Okay.
00:34:36.123 --> 00:34:36.356
Okay.
00:34:36.356 --> 00:34:38.190
I'm glad that you're okay with that.
00:34:38.190 --> 00:34:43.155
I also would equate buying software that you may that you think is going to fix a problem, but you really haven't even diagnosed.
00:34:43.155 --> 00:34:46.556
What the problem is, is you're flushing money down the toilet.
00:34:46.556 --> 00:34:57.322
Oh, I will say I mean, I can it's like, how many, Chrissy, how many times in the last eighteen months have you flushed money down the toilet because you were looking for a software opportunity.
00:34:57.322 --> 00:34:59.289
Like, I don't want to talk about it.
00:34:59.289 --> 00:35:04.355
No. And the problem is, too, is it's what's difficult about that for me.
00:35:04.355 --> 00:35:10.655
We try and stay on the edge of, like, what we can do for efficiency and absolutely.
00:35:10.655 --> 00:35:12.789
Especially with implementing new technology.
00:35:12.789 --> 00:35:13.755
Correct.
00:35:13.755 --> 00:35:23.855
The, the thing that's such an easy trap that I have found to fall into is this should not like software will never fix problems.
00:35:23.855 --> 00:35:29.123
It will fix efficiency, but it won't fix problems.
00:35:29.123 --> 00:35:29.855
Yes.
00:35:29.855 --> 00:35:31.755
Um, and that's the problem.
00:35:31.755 --> 00:35:35.755
What's difficult about that is what is an efficiency issue and what's where.
00:35:35.755 --> 00:35:39.522
How can we make this more efficient or how can we fix this?
00:35:39.522 --> 00:35:46.722
Those when you're sitting in the trenches and there's explosions going around, you can look kind of the same.
00:35:46.722 --> 00:35:47.889
They can.
00:35:47.889 --> 00:35:52.355
And it's really important that you do diligence the software fix that.
00:35:52.355 --> 00:35:57.089
You're looking at one sales demo is not enough.
00:35:57.089 --> 00:36:03.655
No. And I mean, we just case in point, we have a software that we use for our agency management system.
00:36:03.655 --> 00:36:05.055
We have had it for eight years.
00:36:05.055 --> 00:36:06.155
We have been trying to.
00:36:06.155 --> 00:36:07.155
This is us.
00:36:07.155 --> 00:36:08.089
We just did it wrong.
00:36:08.089 --> 00:36:11.022
We're trying to implement the same module for the last eight years.
00:36:11.022 --> 00:36:15.289
And finally, the software company admitted that it doesn't work.
00:36:15.289 --> 00:36:17.855
And we're thinking that we are the problem and why can't we figure it out?
00:36:17.855 --> 00:36:19.789
And they finally admitted, oh yeah, it doesn't work that way.
00:36:19.789 --> 00:36:21.955
And nobody ever uses that piece of the software.
00:36:21.955 --> 00:36:31.155
So we just we just didn't tell anybody because no one's using it like we've been trying to use it for like three years and we're like, oh, well you shouldn't.
00:36:31.155 --> 00:36:33.189
I'm like, well, maybe we shouldn't work together anymore.
00:36:33.189 --> 00:36:37.289
Like, it's I wouldn't want to be on the other end of that phone.
00:36:37.289 --> 00:36:38.389
It was not with you.
00:36:38.389 --> 00:36:39.289
It was not friendly.
00:36:39.289 --> 00:36:40.589
No, it was not comfortable.
00:36:40.589 --> 00:36:42.855
We're still working through our relationship right now.
00:36:42.855 --> 00:36:43.489
I mean, but that's.
00:36:43.489 --> 00:36:45.455
I would say not.
00:36:45.455 --> 00:36:46.855
It's not a quick fix.
00:36:46.855 --> 00:36:51.789
Like anytime when you're like, we're going to implement this new piece of technology and it's going to be wonderful.
00:36:51.789 --> 00:36:53.022
Buckle up.
00:36:53.022 --> 00:36:54.755
Yeah, just buckle up.
00:36:54.755 --> 00:36:58.555
My biggest thing with that is, is I am constantly asking the questions.
00:36:58.555 --> 00:36:59.722
How does this go sideways?
00:36:59.722 --> 00:37:01.189
Yes, yes.
00:37:01.189 --> 00:37:02.189
And I usually do too.
00:37:02.189 --> 00:37:04.722
But in this case it was like, oh well this is it's got to work.
00:37:04.722 --> 00:37:06.222
Everybody else says it's wonderful.
00:37:06.222 --> 00:37:09.222
Know those testimonials were fake.
00:37:09.222 --> 00:37:09.922
Not okay.
00:37:09.922 --> 00:37:12.822
Those are AI generated testimonials.
00:37:12.822 --> 00:37:23.522
Um, how do you ensure that your team benefits from the scale, rather than just feeling like, oh, Chrissy just gave us more work?
00:37:23.522 --> 00:37:28.522
And I mean, to me, I'm saying this because, you know, our core values success is a shared thing.
00:37:28.522 --> 00:37:29.355
Yeah.
00:37:29.355 --> 00:37:39.555
And to me, if we're growing, our people should feel like, yay, we're growing as opposed to yay! As opposed to, oh, shit, he's at it again.
00:37:39.555 --> 00:37:41.522
Yay! We're growing.
00:37:41.522 --> 00:37:41.955
Right.
00:37:41.955 --> 00:37:43.722
So they should be.
00:37:43.722 --> 00:37:44.922
Yay! We're growing.
00:37:44.922 --> 00:37:45.622
Not.
00:37:45.622 --> 00:37:46.789
He's at it again.
00:37:46.789 --> 00:37:47.555
Yeah.
00:37:47.555 --> 00:37:50.922
I think sometimes teams can get a bad rap because they just.
00:37:50.922 --> 00:37:52.289
You assume that they hate growth?
00:37:52.289 --> 00:37:53.455
I don't think they hate growth.
00:37:53.455 --> 00:37:56.189
I think they hate the feeling that they're carrying it alone.
00:37:57.255 --> 00:37:58.389
So I will agree with that.
00:37:58.389 --> 00:37:58.589
Yeah.
00:37:58.589 --> 00:38:01.889
So if you want your team to celebrate scale, I think they need three things.
00:38:01.889 --> 00:38:05.289
One, the workload has to be manageable.
00:38:05.289 --> 00:38:08.689
So you may like like having a fire hose every day.
00:38:08.689 --> 00:38:10.522
But I guarantee you your team doesn't know.
00:38:10.522 --> 00:38:11.889
That's why they're not the business owner.
00:38:11.889 --> 00:38:13.789
So workload has to be manageable.
00:38:13.789 --> 00:38:16.589
Number two their growth opportunities increase.
00:38:16.589 --> 00:38:19.055
So I grow, we grow.
00:38:19.055 --> 00:38:20.255
You can grow too.
00:38:20.255 --> 00:38:22.389
Yes possibilities are endless.
00:38:22.389 --> 00:38:26.255
And then the third is that their voice still matters.
00:38:26.255 --> 00:38:26.489
Yep.
00:38:26.489 --> 00:38:38.489
Because I think a lot of times when we scale really fast, especially with individuals that are growing from being those founder employees into managers, they can sometimes feel like they get left behind, or that you're not listening to me anymore or you're not paying attention.
00:38:38.489 --> 00:38:41.755
And so I think it's really important that you can maintain voice.
00:38:41.755 --> 00:38:43.355
Scale should feel like expansion.
00:38:43.355 --> 00:38:45.355
It shouldn't feel like exploitation.
00:38:45.355 --> 00:38:52.022
And I think that's something that's really important as you're scaling your business, is you have to scale capacity and you have to scale people.
00:38:52.022 --> 00:38:53.122
That is my biggest one.
00:38:53.122 --> 00:38:55.889
If you don't scale people, you're doing it wrong.
00:38:55.889 --> 00:38:56.622
Yeah.
00:38:56.622 --> 00:38:57.089
It's.
00:38:57.089 --> 00:38:58.922
That is to me.
00:38:58.922 --> 00:39:03.355
I mean, all three of those are the points that I just truly feel like deep down, like.
00:39:03.355 --> 00:39:14.055
Yes, because the growth thing is, is even if it's not them changing positions or anything like that, they should feel like their lives get better as we scale.
00:39:14.055 --> 00:39:20.222
And even if it's not today, they should feel like if they help scale it, there's something better on the other side of this.
00:39:20.222 --> 00:39:20.922
Exactly.
00:39:20.922 --> 00:39:22.422
Um, that's.
00:39:22.422 --> 00:39:25.189
They just need to feel like they're involved.
00:39:25.189 --> 00:39:26.422
Like they're a part of it.
00:39:26.422 --> 00:39:30.222
Not like, hey, I'm going to get Josh another Lambo.
00:39:30.222 --> 00:39:30.822
Yeah.
00:39:32.022 --> 00:39:39.589
No. Um, a couple of key takeaways from this.
00:39:39.589 --> 00:39:41.855
Uh, first one for me, the capacity audit.
00:39:41.855 --> 00:40:01.622
Before you find, like, before you even start this, find a manual process that you automate or document and why I say this about one, because you're going to find one and you're going to be like, oh, there's this over here, and this becomes one after the next, after the next.
00:40:01.622 --> 00:40:05.289
And that is what will help you build that solid foundation to scale off of.
00:40:05.289 --> 00:40:06.955
I'd say the next one is the vision check.
00:40:06.955 --> 00:40:12.422
So it's really about clarifying the expectations and making sure everybody knows where we're going.
00:40:12.422 --> 00:40:15.389
Making sure every employee knows what success looks like for the company.
00:40:15.389 --> 00:40:20.822
Twelve months from now, you should be able to ask everyone in your organization, where are we going?
00:40:20.822 --> 00:40:24.589
And they should be able to tell you in like one or two sentences.
00:40:24.589 --> 00:40:25.089
Yes.
00:40:25.089 --> 00:40:27.322
And you should be in alignment one hundred percent.
00:40:27.322 --> 00:40:27.989
Yeah.
00:40:27.989 --> 00:40:31.089
Uh, scale radical directness.
00:40:31.089 --> 00:40:31.555
Yes.
00:40:31.555 --> 00:40:33.589
I feel like that's a good line for me to say.
00:40:33.589 --> 00:40:35.389
Yeah, I like that.
00:40:35.389 --> 00:40:36.622
Um, he had a t shirt.
00:40:36.622 --> 00:40:37.789
Radically direct.
00:40:37.789 --> 00:40:39.322
Radically direct.
00:40:41.222 --> 00:40:46.555
I believe there should be, like, an aka the jerk on the back of it or something of that nature.
00:40:46.555 --> 00:40:47.022
I like that.
00:40:47.022 --> 00:40:47.289
Yeah.
00:40:47.289 --> 00:40:48.522
No, that radically direct.
00:40:48.522 --> 00:40:49.922
Radically direct.
00:40:49.922 --> 00:40:53.455
Um, if someone's out there, if they if they do t shirts, we would love one.
00:40:53.455 --> 00:40:53.955
Yes.
00:40:53.955 --> 00:40:55.955
Yeah, we would love one of those.
00:40:55.955 --> 00:41:01.189
Um, it goes along with something that you say every once in a while.
00:41:01.189 --> 00:41:01.489
Yeah.
00:41:01.489 --> 00:41:02.722
To be clear is to be kind.
00:41:02.722 --> 00:41:03.655
Yeah, I believe so.
00:41:03.655 --> 00:41:07.789
I believe so that I think it's like that's a theme or something like that.
00:41:07.789 --> 00:41:10.722
It is especially in HR and leadership.
00:41:13.655 --> 00:41:15.855
Uh, let's do a quick shot with that.
00:41:15.855 --> 00:41:17.755
Um, what?
00:41:19.955 --> 00:41:20.755
I'm.
00:41:20.755 --> 00:41:23.655
I kind of like all of these that we have listed here.
00:41:23.655 --> 00:41:25.689
The one that I want to go with, though.
00:41:26.922 --> 00:41:28.289
Let's talk fractional.
00:41:28.289 --> 00:41:28.589
Yeah.
00:41:28.589 --> 00:41:30.322
Because this is the thing that people don't often address.
00:41:30.322 --> 00:41:31.922
There's a couple others that people do address.
00:41:31.922 --> 00:41:32.455
Yes.
00:41:32.455 --> 00:41:35.855
Um, where does something fractional become necessary in your opinion?
00:41:35.855 --> 00:41:37.955
So it depends on what type of fractional you're talking about.
00:41:37.955 --> 00:41:39.355
So which one are you talking about?
00:41:39.355 --> 00:41:48.089
Uh, where where should people start looking at fractional HR, fractional CFO fractional CEO fractional HR is as soon as you have an employee.
00:41:48.089 --> 00:41:48.522
Yes.
00:41:48.522 --> 00:41:49.422
That's it.
00:41:49.422 --> 00:41:50.922
Because you don't need full time HR.
00:41:50.922 --> 00:41:52.855
You just need someone you can call when you've got an issue.
00:41:52.855 --> 00:41:54.455
And it shouldn't be your lawyer.
00:41:54.455 --> 00:41:55.655
They're expensive.
00:41:55.655 --> 00:41:55.922
Yeah.
00:41:55.922 --> 00:41:58.455
And they generally don't always answer the question the right way.
00:41:58.455 --> 00:41:58.889
Correct.
00:41:58.889 --> 00:42:08.289
So that first employee, um, fractional CFO, CEO I think when you get to three million or more or when you're growing so fast that you need an additional skill set.
00:42:08.289 --> 00:42:11.722
But fractional CFO is generally that three million dollar ceiling.
00:42:11.722 --> 00:42:22.255
And that makes sense because really, to me, at that point, you are managing enough that you need someone that knows how to manage those numbers and looks for the correct way to manage those numbers.
00:42:22.255 --> 00:42:25.455
Yeah, and fractional marketing when you decide you want to grow.
00:42:25.455 --> 00:42:26.422
Yeah, yeah.
00:42:26.422 --> 00:42:28.322
No I, we fully agree with that one.
00:42:28.322 --> 00:42:29.655
That's that's the one.
00:42:29.655 --> 00:42:35.889
Immediately I see all of the time where I'm like yeah that's not that's not marketing.
00:42:35.889 --> 00:42:37.455
That's posting on Facebook.
00:42:37.455 --> 00:42:37.689
Yeah.
00:42:37.689 --> 00:42:40.522
No no no not somebody who's doing your social media management.
00:42:40.522 --> 00:42:49.222
You want a fractional chief marketing officer that's going to help you create a strategy that find that person, pay them on the fractional side, it's well worth it.
00:42:49.222 --> 00:42:49.622
Correct.
00:42:49.622 --> 00:42:52.122
They will tell you what to do, how to do it, where to do it.
00:42:52.122 --> 00:42:55.622
You still may be doing the stuff, but they will give you the guidance and the strategy.
00:42:55.622 --> 00:42:56.955
It's not, it's not.
00:42:56.955 --> 00:42:58.422
It's not as simple as you think it is.
00:42:58.422 --> 00:43:01.822
No. Uh, thank you to everyone that has stuck around.
00:43:01.822 --> 00:43:06.355
Um, I believe we're going to take a week break here while Chrissy plays with the people.
00:43:06.355 --> 00:43:07.422
Other people?
00:43:07.422 --> 00:43:09.189
And, uh, do us a favor.
00:43:09.189 --> 00:43:10.822
Hit the business.
00:43:10.822 --> 00:43:20.522
Com, um, next episode, we are going to talk about how scaling breaks your culture, how to scale, and then how that's going to screw up your business even worse, how to fix it.
00:43:20.522 --> 00:43:21.955
This is exciting.
00:43:21.955 --> 00:43:22.522
Do me a favor.
00:43:22.522 --> 00:43:23.289
Take care of yourself.
00:43:23.289 --> 00:43:24.922
If you can take care of someone else too.
00:43:24.922 --> 00:43:27.189
We will see you very, very soon.