I Want Freedom and Meaningful Work

In business, growth doesn't happen by accident. It requires deliberate focus on the right priorities at the right time. After a recent session yesterday with my business coach, I wanted to share some powerful frameworks that can help small business owners navigate the challenging journey from startup to scale-up. These are some of the principles that have helped me start and scale two businesses (I currently own) to a total of $5 million annual revenue. I’m hoping sharing this is helpful wherever you’re at on your journey.

The Two Universal Business Currencies: Time and Money

At its core, every business decision revolves around two fundamental resources:

1. Time - How can you create more of it? The answer: by focusing on higher-value activities. This means systematically elevating yourself and your team to work on what truly moves the needle.

2. Money - More than just profit, money is fuel for your next level of growth. It powers everything from hiring key talent to building essential systems.

These two currencies create the foundation for strategic decision-making at every stage of your business journey.

The Sub-$1M Business: Focus on Foundation

If you're operating below the $1M revenue mark, your primary focus should be on three critical elements:

1. Find Your "Integrator"

Every visionary needs an implementer—someone who can translate your big ideas into operational reality. This operational leader becomes your right hand, allowing you to focus on growth while they ensure the business runs smoothly.

2. Develop a Reliable Lead Generation System

At this stage, you need to create a predictable engine for new business. When you need a new client, can you "flip a switch" and generate one? Document exactly what it takes to acquire one new client, then systematize that process.

3. Deliver Excellence to Current Clients

Beyond growth, you must ensure your core service delivery is solid. Without this foundation, no amount of new business will sustain your growth.

While this might seem oversimplified, mastering these fundamentals before scaling is essential. Many businesses try to run before they can walk, implementing complex systems before they've nailed these basics.

The $1M-$5M Business: People and Brand

Once you cross the $1M threshold, your priorities shift. This middle stage requires focus on:

1. Develop "More Better People"

The team that got you to $1M won't automatically get you to $5M—at least not without evolution. As my coach emphasized: "You have to get better people. And if we don't have that as the primary element, all the other efforts don't move the needle."

This doesn't necessarily mean replacing your team, but it does mean:

• Helping existing team members evolve beyond their current capabilities

• Moving from process-following to principle-based leadership

• Developing people who become force multipliers rather than just doers

• Finding team members who can synthesize abstract ideas into practical action

Without this evolution in your team's capabilities, you'll hit a ceiling and bounce between growth and stagnation.

2. Build a Meaningful Brand

Most small business owners underestimate what "brand" truly means. It's far more than your logo or tagline—it's what your organization stands for and how that's broadcast both internally and externally.

Building a recognizable brand creates leverage. It helps you:

• Attract better talent

• Command premium pricing

• Generate leads with less effort

• Access resources and partnerships previously out of reach

When you have a million-dollar business with a ten-dollar brand, growth becomes unnecessarily difficult. Invest in becoming known for something specific and valuable.

The $5M+ Business: Leverage and Next-Level Leadership

As you push beyond $5M in revenue, your focus shifts again:

1. Find "Force Creators," Not Just Force Multipliers

While your million-dollar business needed "force multipliers" who could amplify results, your multi-million dollar business needs something more: "force creators."

My coach described these individuals as "stem cell injectors"—leaders who don't just execute but who create entire new growth engines. They:

• Have built their own successful operations

• Possess their own network of talent they can deploy

• Can recruit and develop other high-performers

• Operate at a principle and strategy level, not just tactics

These leaders are rarely available through traditional hiring channels. You access them through:

• Your vision for something extraordinary

• A business vehicle sophisticated enough to get there

• Your personal and company brand reputation

• Strategic relationships you've built over time

This is why building your personal brand becomes so critical—it's not vanity, it's strategic leverage for attracting the caliber of talent that can take you to $10M and beyond (according to Coach Troy).

2. Seek Multiplication, Not Just Growth

At this stage, you need to find ways to multiply your results, not just incrementally increase them. For example:

• Strategic acquisitions rather than organic growth alone

• Partnerships that open entire new markets

• Licensing or franchising your model

• Creating new revenue streams that leverage your existing assets

The key to accessing these multipliers is having the operational capacity to handle sudden large-scale growth. If you can't service an acquisition of 250 new clients, you can't leverage the opportunity when it appears.

The Hidden Truths About Accessing Top Talent

One of the most valuable insights from my coaching session was about attracting high-caliber talent. Contrary to popular belief, money is not the primary factor. Here's what really matters:

1. Your Vision

Where are you going? Is it compelling enough to attract someone exceptional? As my coach colorfully explained: "If where you're going is like a city bus... a city bus is never going anywhere cool. You're not going to be like, 'Hey, I booked us a trip on the city bus. This is going to be the best trip ever!'"

Top talent wants to be part of something extraordinary. They want a destination worth the journey.

2. Your Business Vehicle

Even with an amazing vision (like a luxury resort in Maui), if your "vehicle" (your business) looks like a city bus or a small inflatable raft, top talent won't believe you can get there.

Exceptional leaders evaluate both your vision AND your ability to execute it. They look at your:

• Culture

• Systems and processes

• Current team capabilities

• Revenue model

• Market position

3. Your Confidence and Leadership

Sometimes a leader with enough confidence, connections, and intelligence can attract talent even when the business isn't fully ready—because they believe in your ability to transform it quickly.

Last year I started working with a fractional CMO. Early on he said to me (in effect): "I see you flying a jet. I acknowledge that right now you're driving a very nice Ford, but I see you flying a jet, and I'm going to ride with you and build you into the jet pilot."

Avoiding the "Premature Executive" Trap

A critical pitfall when scaling is hiring what my coach calls the "premature executive"—someone who has worked in much larger companies but lacks the skills to build one from your current stage.

These people have often "been on the jet" but haven't built one. They believe their experience in a $20M company qualifies them to transform your $5M company, but they've never actually done that transformation work before.

How to identify them:

• They talk more about what they've seen than what they've built

• They have title expectations misaligned with your company size

• They're unwilling to "meet you where you are" in terms of compensation and work requirements

• They can't articulate exactly how they'll bridge the gap between your current state and future goals

Building Your Bench: The Secret to Scalability

One crucial element for growth is developing a "bench" of talent ready to deploy when opportunities arise.

Without this bench, even the best growth strategies stall. When a growth opportunity appears—like acquiring a competitor or landing a major client—your team scrambles, quality suffers, and momentum stalls.

True force creators understand this. They're constantly identifying, nurturing, and maintaining relationships with potential talent they can call upon when needed.

Conclusion: The Compounding Effect of Brand and Network

Perhaps the most powerful insight is how these elements compound over time:

• Building your brand gives you access to better resources and talent

• Better talent helps you deliver better results

• Better results strengthen your brand

• A stronger brand attracts even better partnerships and opportunities

• These partnerships open doors to growth multiplication

• Growth multiplication attracts next-level leaders

This virtuous cycle explains why some businesses seem to hit a tipping point where growth accelerates dramatically. They've built the foundation that allows each element to reinforce the others.

Remember: The best time to start building these foundations is now, whatever your company size. Focus on what matters for your current stage, but always with an eye toward building the capabilities you'll need for the next level.