Expectations Vs. Realities of Owning a 7-Figure Business
Episode 665: Show Notes
Not everything we do at Boss Project is something we recommend to our clients, even though it may have worked for us. For example, we don’t encourage a lot of folks to replicate our partnership model. Oftentimes, you can actually get what you want by following an entirely different path to the one we took to get there. Another example of this is reaching seven figures. Is there a way for you to achieve the life and lifestyle you’re looking for without the challenges that come with adding a zero to your revenue? We’ve been there, and we have the insight to tell you what the journey looks like.
What we’ve found is that people’s desires are often much closer to their current reality than to a reality that they don’t yet have. What’s hard to manage is that, as your reality changes, so do your desires. If one of your biggest motivators to achieve seven figures is just to be able to say you did, that’s totally okay! We’re here to validate that. But we’re also here to talk to you about what you can realistically expect from that experience.
Listen on your favorite podcast player
The One Gift We Want to Give You as You Map Out Your Goals
How do you want to feel while you are heading towards your life and business goals? A really powerful way to relieve some of the pressure of moving towards a goal is to really acknowledge how you do and do not want to feel as you head in that direction. What do you want to do? What are you absolutely unwilling to do? This check-in is the one thing we would gift to you as you decide on your next milestone.
Some of the expectations we had before we reached our goals were way off. At the start of our business, we believed that there was a huge difference between having a million-dollar business and running one that is only worth a few hundred thousand. In reality, the transition was actually faster and easier than we expected. Our roles didn’t get harder when we grew, but new challenges came our way, mainly surrounding the problem of scale. How are you going to put the right things in place to make scale happen?
The Unexpected Consequences of Growth
Are you prepared for the growing implications of things going wrong within your business? The higher your revenue, the more is at stake. It’s not necessarily harder to get there, but it’s definitely harder to maintain it. Maintaining seven figures requires a completely different skill set from the one that helped you get there.
So many businesses ultimately close because operational costs simply don’t have as much wiggle room as they did when the business was smaller. You can cut your marketing budget in half by cutting operational costs when you are smaller, but once you reach a certain size, you can only realistically cut back by five or ten percent. The education system teaches you to be an employee, to follow rules, and implement based on them. When you are creating them as you go, it’s a different story. Being a leader isn’t something you can realistically learn in a classroom!
Why Solo Success is Usually a Lie
It’s really rare to see a business reach seven figures without a team behind it. Don’t believe the lies you see on social media! A solopreneur with an independent contractor is very rarely a formula for success. You need to have that money mean something to you in order to keep scaling. For us, that meant being able to give our employees great benefits and paid time off, with a fantastic business culture. The human aspect of wanting to have a team and to continue growing for that team was a huge motivation for us. The drive behind the goals shifts, but so does the emotional aspect of those needs being met and not being met.
The principles are really similar across different industries. So you can end up having really substantial conversations with business owners in different spaces. Business is business! A lot of the foundational concepts have not changed in 100 years. There are so many nuances to what we want to communicate with people when they share their seven-figure goal with us.
Defining What You Actually Want Instead of the Outcome You Think Will Give it to You
Start to define what you actually want instead of the financial goal attached to it. Start to consider what you want to achieve, instead of the outcome you think will afford those things to you, and you might find that you can get there through an entirely different route. You don’t need to make a certain amount of money to make an impact. The consequences to you and your team matter more! There is more than one path to get to where you want to go, and you don’t always have to assume it’s the first one you come across.
Do you want the slow, steady, scenic route, or do you want the highway? There are often more options on the table that you’re not even putting there. We are so proud of our clients who have chosen entirely different paths. When you realize what you actually want, you let go of the vanity metrics and you stop thinking about how other people are perceiving you. Ease is brought back in, and you don’t have to do the burnout work to get you there anymore. We would love to be a part of your journey— that’s what the Incubator is for! Head over to Boss Project on Instagram and let’s work it out.
Quote This
Most people’s actual desires are typically closer to their current reality than a reality that they don’t have. The thing that can be hard to manage is that as your reality shifts, so do your desires.
Highlights
The One Gift We Want to Give You as You Map Out Your Goals [0:08:47]
The Unexpected Consequences of Growth [0:14:40]
Why Solo Success is Usually a Lie [0:19:59]
Defining What You Actually Want Instead of the Outcome You Think Will Give it to You [0:28:25]
Today’s Guest:
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
Key Topics:
Business growth, Mindset, Goal setting, Consequences, Revenue
