Transcript
I think the most important question is: what does scaling up really mean for my business? And what does it mean for me and the impact on my family. Scaling up at all costs might not be the answer for everybody. For some it is, that’s totally fine, but it may not be the answer for everybody. So what does scaling up really mean? Does it mean I’m scaling up from part-time to full-time? Does it mean I’m scaling up from one product line to more? Does it mean I’m building an additional office or a region or does it mean I’m going offline to online so I will also digitize my products and go from one-to-one, to one-to-many? Or does it mean I’m going to take investors, I’m going to take foreign capital and start really pushing boundaries heavily across all areas of my business?
Those are very, very different elements of scaling up and each has its own rights and has its own beauty. But the question really is what am I talking about? The minute I am clear on how I want to scale and within what timeframe – so let’s also be realistic, you can’t get investors and conquer the world and get an IPO within a year. Maybe you can, but probably that’s, you know, one in a million – so once you are clear on that, the question really should be, how will I do this? Because that is the very final moment you have to realize you can’t do it all by your own.
So by then, hopefully you have started, or you already have built a team that has your trust and confidence that they can take it to the next level. You will need to start working with others much more confidently, and also with an arms length of distance and learning space. It is super hard to find co-founders or to find super engaged business partners that put the same effort and energy and love and into your business as you do. I would say don’t expect it, because at the end of the day, the way how you, you know, grow your baby, like you do with your children, there is a special love. There is a special care. There is this inner harmony and connection an outside person can never create. So don’t expect that, that’s just not fair.
The minute you decide to scale up, you have to be okay to go wide and to go deep at the same time. And that is harder than it sounds because usually what we tend to do is we go deep first. We want to understand it all. We want to know how the person takes. We want to know how it’s going to look like when they finish it off. We want to know if they’re going to commit to us for five years from today. This is unrealistic. Go wide first, ask five graphic designers if they can help you. And if one of them happens to be a sister-in-law, well, then jackpot. And she’s great on top of that, well then never ever let her go, but also have others in check and be open to your sister-in-law in that example, and say “Look, I love you dearly, I appreciate for what you do, but I’m not quite sure if that is what I really need, or maybe there is a skill I’ve seen in somebody else that I might need more. Just understand that I am going to ask for other offers as well”. And all of a sudden you have a different type of setting in a very trustful relationship that they will understand. If they’re business savvy and if they are mature and serious about the business relationship with you, then they will understand. And if they don’t then again, be okay to put this in a bit more distance.
Scaling up also means that you’re losing control over what you invested in in the first place. So maybe your initial idea is evolving. Maybe the money you put in is now mingling, as I said, with some other investments, people and/or funds. It might also mean losing control of your position, stepping down from being a founder and maybe CEO or whatever role you hold to just being the side person, the advisor, or maybe even completely buying yourself out of the business is an option, is an option to consider.
And I think you should just start early on. I’ve met an amazing woman just a few weeks ago, she runs a business in the US which is predominantly online. She does have offline gatherings once a year, but predominantly online. And what I discovered in her is that she has built a plan very early on how the business is going to carry on without her. She’s been very, very open about that saying, eventually I will be leaving the space. Why? Because I’ve given it my all. And it’s like with children, you let them go, at some point they have to find their own ways. So why stick around just for the sake of sticking, just because I’m the mom of the baby, I will have to let go, and maybe there will be space and adventures, you know, that I’m looking forward to, that I want to explore.
So I have to put things in order now, not before an accident happens, not before an emergency occurs, not before my investors, you know, push me over and force me out. Not before any of the circumstances happen that might actually happen. No, plan for it now, including an exit scenario. What if I wanted to drop the ball a year from now? What if I had to drop the ball? Because I have a challenging private family situation, or maybe a health condition I have to take care about. How will I drop the ball, with whom, when and what are all the other conditions that might be financial legal texts, of course, any other relation, but how am I going to do this? And put it down on paper and have a plan for it.
And you might think it sounds paranoid, but actually it’s not. I think it’s quite wise. And I’ve started doing that for my business as well, knowing that there will be an endpoint, as I said, just like with children, as you let them go. You will still be connected, you might still be called upon advice, but you will let go on a day today. And that is very empowering and liberating. Once you’ve gone through the thinking process and put down some action points and feel quite clear about it, then start involving the people that you need in order to make this a reality.
