It's not easy. But you CAN get there.
The hardest part of scaling is mindset. I had to get out of my head, follow some direction, guidance, instruction, from those who've done it, repeatedly.
That was hard. Really hard. After all, I had started my business to gain control over my life, my future. I didn't work 16 hours a day, 7 days a week for more than 12 years (fact) so that I could listen to someone else tell me what to do. I wanted to do things my way.
Results don't care about what you want, why you do what you do. Results come from strategic actions, at strategic moments, repeatedly.
In hindsight I realize scaling is mostly organization.
I mean, literally, being organized.
The flow of money, customers, production, service, results, that flow can't have any bottlenecks. Organizing that flow unkinks the hose.
Systems and processes are huge, hiring is huge, budgeting is huge, but none of those things work when things aren't organized.
Going from a small ish team to a scaled up team, that requires a transition away from catch all, assistant type team members who have multiple roles, to team members who have 1 primary focus, one real, big, full time job.
Moving from the "Wheel of Assistants" to a "Seats and Silos" approach to your team requires an influx of cash before there's ROI on it, and it requires a MASSIVE Mindset Shift.
You feel like you're losing control, because you are. Compound that problem with the fact that you feel like it's costing you money, personally, because it is.
That's the biggest barrier to scaled growth: Loss of control, and loss of revenue.
What are 2 of the most important tenets of being a business owner? If you've been in business for 5 years or more, you know 2 things FOR SURE, NO DOUBT.
1. Don't lose money
2. Someone has to be in control.
Scaling requires that you defy that logic.
Sometimes the counterintuitive decision is the easiest way to a massive breakthrough.
We struggle to do things a certain way, and then someone comes along and says "Do it backwards", and if we do, it works better, faster, and with less friction. That's a leap of faith many are not willing to take.