There are two primary, and very different, personalities a company needs to scale.
- The Starter
- The Scaler (An operator)
The biggest mistake most business owners make it trying to be both.
The Starter:
Most entrepreneurs are starters by nature. They are visionaries and can market and sell anything they are excited about and/or believe in.
Their greatest strength is to create thing that did not exist before; they can create momentum out of nothing.
Signs of a starter:
- Has launched multiple companies or offers that stall out around the same ceiling. This is often disguised as the starter having “lost interest”
- Always has multiple plates spinning at once.
- Knows where everything is and where it fits… but it’s not documented anywhere in detail.
- Can do anything they put their mind(s) to which leads them to wearing many hats including the one they should NEVER wear the hat of:
The Scaler:
Most scalers are COO’s and CEO types. They do not create momentum but they know exactly how to redirect momentum to create massive growth and impact.
Their strength is optimizing and maximizing existing assets instead of creating new ones.
Naturally far more risk averse than a starter.
Can one person play both roles?
It’s possible. Starters are the more likely to try and play the scaler role than vis versa. But it comes at a great cost.
Starters, visionaries, founders thrive on creating momentum.
Scalers thrive on measuring and managing the effects of momentum.
Every time a starter dabbles in operations, detail work or gets granular with their measurements (which is necessary for a growing company) they are pulled away from the momentum generating activities.
Additionally, the cognitive load of detail work for a “starter” personality is dramatically greater.
I’ve been there.
In an attempt to save high six and seven business owners from having to go through what I did filmed this deep dive training called “How To Scale Your Business Really Fast.. While Still Enjoying Your Life ”
Check it out and let me know what you think.
In the meantime, If you feel burned out or stuck I implore you to start thinking about your unique disposition and what role you should be playing in your business.
The training above will give you some steps to take once you do.
Talk Soon,
Nic
