Hey—Breanne here. On the last page, we broke down the two “typical” approaches that the Internet Marketing Gurus preach when it comes to scale. There’s:
Trick is, neither of these approaches are actually sustainable if you want to scale your business while keeping results, profit, and the personal touch high. Let’s take a closer look at why this is the case.
So last July, I was scrolling around on Facebook.
That’s when this message popped into my inbox:
It was from a friend who runs a multi-8-figure company. Now, I’m not here to name drop, and who she is isn’t that important anyway. But suffice it to say, her business is truly world-class in every way. Clients, results, team … she’s got it all.
Anyway, when she sent me that message in July, she was Freaking. Out.
Before I tell you why, though, I need to set some context. So let’s rewind the clock a couple of years, not too long after her business had cracked the $1M mark for the first time.
That’s when she had told me … this:
Circa 2016-2017. ‘Simpler”, huh?
Now, let’s be clear.
At the time my friend sent me THIS message, her business had already crossed the “magical million-dollar a year” mark. And despite that, she wanted nothing more than to burn it down and start over.
I’m not afraid to tell you, hearing that made me question why I — why anyone — would want to grow a business to 7-figures or beyond.
Turns out, I’m not the only one.
In the months and years that followed, Jill and I have talked with many people who wonder the exact same thing:
Everyone wants to know one thing: is scaling actually worth it?
Somehow, we’d stumbled upon a dirty little secret. One that no one in our industry wants to admit:
💸 Costs an incredible amount of money
🛠 Requires constant monitoring, maintenance, and updating
😫 And it ends up putting MORE work on your plate, not less.
Yes, even with all its “systems, automation, and delegation” …
Which is why it’s no wonder that so many people end up burning their business down, even when it looks like things are going great on the outside…
Okay, to be charitable: maybe those tactics worked at one time.
When online business was simpler; when there were only a few people in the industry. When all it took to make your millions was a landing page, an email list, and a well-positioned ebook or two.
Back then, maybe one person really could run a multi-million dollar business with the help of a handful of VAs and contractors.
Maybe back then, a rocket ship held together with duct-tape really could take you to the moon.
But regardless of what worked “back then,” the truth is, it’s not working NOW.
And if it’s not working for THEM … why do we expect it will work for us?
I mean, look at what happens when you do everything you’re “supposed to”:
Yet another multi-6-figure entrepreneur who has done “all the right things.”
The reality is that when you add up everything that is supposed to make your life simpler…
Survey tools, FB ads, email platforms, CRM integrations, AirTable databases, merchant accounts, Zaps, community platforms, smart segmentation tools, project management apps, Slack channels…
Then add on all the SOPs, processes and checklists that you need to create, update, maintain and follow (theoretically, anyway) so your team can actually use the stuff…
YOU end up stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Because while all of this “systematizing, automating and delegating” may free you up for a short time, the truth is that by adding all of this extra stuff to your plate, you end up with even more things to keep tabs on.
It’s no longer just the work and the clients and the sales and the marketing that you have to manage … now, there’s complicated tech, and systems, and processes, and team members, and the list goes on.
Plus, it’s all just so expensive.
In fact, if you’ve ever found yourself aying “I just need another $10k per month” or “another $200k per year”… this Internet Marketing Guru scaling path is likely a major cause.
Because even beyond the financial costs, the simple fact is that when you follow that advice, you still need to put in a lot of time, stress, focus and energy to make it all work.
And that leads to some pretty serious opportunity costs …
These are real, hard costs that can add up to thousands—if not tens of thousands—of dollars each and every month.
And so all that this systematizing, automating and delegating does … all it ever can do … is put you right back onto the hamster wheel.
Where if you stop moving, so does everything (and everyone) else.
It’s that all of those things keep you so busy, that it feels like you’re making progress. Like you’re doing the right things. Like you’re “growing your business.”
But the reality is, it’s all just entrepreneurial junk food.
It tastes sweet, but none of it is actually getting you any closer to something that can scale sustainably; it all leads back to burnout, frustration and stress.
To say nothing of the opportunity costs.
So it’s time to pull back the curtain and reveal exactly why these so-called solutions will always fail to free you up as you scale…
And what to do instead.
Let’s play a little game …
Raise your hand if you’ve ever experienced any of the following when it comes to your team:
(Yes, of course, we can’t actually see you raising your hand. Just … play along for a sec.)
Now, how many times have you felt this way. More than once? More than twice? More than five times … in the last day?
.
.
.
(We’ll wait …)
If your answer is more than “none”, then we’ve got some bad news for you…
According to this article from the Harvard Business Review, you might just be a micromanager.
(Breanne: Personally, I prefer to use the term “control freak” 🤣)
(Jill: Well, whatever you call it, the point is that micromanaging – aka – being a control freak isn’t good for business. Which is why we’re talking about it.)
(Breanne: Right. So back to the article…)
(Jill: Hey! I just said that!)
As the HBR article says,
“While micromanaging may get you short-term results, over time it negatively impacts your team, your organization, and yourself.
- You dilute your own productivity and you run out of capacity to get important things done.
- You stunt your team members’ development and demoralize them.
- You create an organizational vulnerability when your team isn’t used to functioning without your presence and heavy involvement.”
But, hang on for a second …
Does that list sound at all familiar?
It’s literally a blow-by-blow description of exactly the problems that are facing 6- and 7-figure online business owners as they scale.
The late nights. The inability to take a real vacation. The burnout, frustration and stress.
Which means …
Wait …
The reason that the Internet Marketing Guru’s way of scaling doesn’t work …
Is because, at the end of the day, it makes you micromanage and control too many things in your business?
Yep.
🛠 Maybe it’s that you’ve been trying to control the process.
⚙️ Maybe you’ve been trying to control the system.
🗣 Maybe you’ve been trying to control the people.
But whatever it is …
Every time you dictate how things get done, you are (by definition) being a micromanager. And that just reinforces your status as the bottleneck.
This is why the information on the next page—which is all about getting OUT of being the bottleneck of your business—is so very, very important.
Don’t miss it.