Level 3: Scaleable

You now have a proven core business that’s starting to operate in alignment with the right resources in place. Profitability has gradually improved, and you’re seeing how the business can grow sustainably.

You’ve done the hard work to reduce the noise, bottlenecks and inefficiencies in the business. You and your team are embracing the mindset of ‘continuous improvement’. With the business operating in alignment and more efficiently, there’s less stress on everyone.

You’re proving to yourself that when your strategies, systems, people and resources are aligned, projects get completed and goals are achieved with more ease and flow.

You feel like you’ve grown as a leader as you witness the shift in the culture. Your team can now see your vision. They want your business to succeed as much as you, and they want to contribute to its growth.

You can see that the work required to get your business to this point isn’t a quick fix, and you can now appreciate the time, focus and discipline you committed to transform the way your company operates.

There’s a sense of renewed energy now the business is operating more efficiently. Everyone is enjoying their work more. As a company, you’re developing the foresight to solve problems downstream before they become serious issues that can break the business.

Level 3 - More profitable

You’re ready to increase the capacity for growth and scale the business with human resources, finance and management systems now that your business is maturing into its own entity.

By removing linchpin dependencies (starting with you), having a stable team and core systems in place, you can finally leave the business for a few weeks completely unplugged without worrying about the business burning to the ground.

The danger at this level is complacency, thinking that things are ‘good enough’ as your business becomes easier to run. Just because you can unplug from the business for a few weeks, it doesn’t mean your business won’t break in the future.

You are still the main driver and brain of the company. The business still needs you to run effectively because you haven’t systemised it to a point where you don’t have to touch it anymore.

In order to level up and scale your business, you need to be able to develop talent inside your business and attract superstars (A Players and “drivers”) for the business to grow and thrive beyond you.

Common Challenges

  • Hiring A players that don’t fit your culture
  • Not developing talent and leaders
  • Not aligning your team’s personal dreams with the business vision
  • Not removing your team from linchpin dependencies
  • Misaligned motivations between leadership and employees
  • Not continuing to design new systems and processes and optimise existing ones to support growth
  • Not getting out of your own way

What Your Business Needs To Level Up: Evolve into a desirable, valuable asset

  • Purpose & Mission Alignment
  • Dream Alignment
  • Exceptional Culture
  • Honest Feedback
  • Valuable Collaboration

Important Questions To Ask Yourself

  • Am I clear about what the business’s purpose and mission is?
  • Is everyone aligned and motivated by the same mission?
  • Do I care about my team’s personal dreams and am I aligning their dreams with the business vision?
  • Are everyone’s values and behaviours aligned?
  • Am I doing my best to create an exceptional workplace that my people love working in?
  • Do people genuinely care about each other as human beings and enjoy what they do at work?
  • Am I relinquishing control and allowing my team to step up?
  • Am I continuing to empower, guide and lead my team to success?
  • Are our team, clients and community empowered to give honest feedback to help us continue to improve the business?
  • Are we collaborating with other vendors to fulfil the needs of the same customers and finding ways to improve the customer experience?
  • Is the way I’m operating my business sustainable?

People who reach a certain size in business or hit some big revenue number can think they’re untouchable. While it’s a huge accomplishment to reach the Scaleable Level, we still gotta check the ego!

Too often, entrepreneurs can get bogged down by corporate business trends, and model their decisions and operations on big corporations that’s impractical.

While most of us are not trying to build mega corporations, we can definitely learn from their failures.

88% of Fortune 500 companies have either gone bankrupt, merged, or have fallen from the top 500 list. The reality is that the life expectancies of businesses continue to shrink.

Most companies implode or die due to the lack of leadership and culture.

It will be difficult for your business to achieve sustainable success if you don’t create an exceptional culture that attracts A players to come and do their best work. Culture is the ultimate stabilising force that sustains itself when your business becomes an attractive environment that people want to be a part of. Once your culture is established well, it has the ability to self-regulate.

Human beings are naturally drawn to others who share the same values and beliefs. Humans also want to put themselves in environments that give them great experiences.

Therefore, if you want to have the freedom and lifestyle you desire, you need to empower your people to grow inside your business and also give them the freedom and lifestyle they desire — it all starts from leadership and the company culture.

When you have a culture of trust, autonomy and engagement, people will be loyal to you and your company because you’re making it hard for them to leave and find better jobs elsewhere.

On the other hand, if you want to gain control, then your hands will always be on every switch and dial in the business making it impossible for yourself to unplug and leave the business when you want to.

If you choose to let your people flourish, let’s look at what your business can feel like when it evolves into a desirable, valuable asset…

Level 4