What You Need to Be Ready to Admit if You've Hit a Ceiling In Your Business
Episode 618: Show Notes
Today, we want to talk about what happens when you grow your own business only to wake up one day and realize that, although you’ve grown out of the ‘wearing all the hats’ phase and you’ve got all the right people and systems in place, everything still seems to be falling apart. You might still feel like you’re doing 75 million things and you have no idea how you got here or what you’re doing and you feel deeply ashamed that you don’t know how to fix it.
We’ve met so many self-proclaimed entrepreneurs who are the CEOs of their businesses, yet they don’t really know what it means to fully sit in that seat, and part of the confusion lies in the fact that they are incredibly talented. We’re talking about people who have typically excelled in everything they’ve ever done! They’re so used to being the star and, suddenly, they feel like they’ve hit a ceiling. This moment of reckoning is inevitable, and it hits everyone at a different point. For some, it'll feel like an income ceiling and, for others, it might feel entirely time-related. For some of you, it might be a recognition that you need more help but you can’t afford it, or that you’re mismanaging the help you do have, have the wrong help, or you don’t know how to identify the help you need.
Essentially, at the root of all of this is, because you’re so smart, you’ve been able to effectively communicate enough of what you do to the outside world so that you can sell your service and expertise, package and deliver it, but you’re lacking the foundational business knowledge that it takes to ultimately scale your business! In this episode, we fill you in on the most important skillset for a CEO, the roadblocks that every industry expert consultant faces as their business grows, and what to do when you've hit a ceiling in your income or capacity, so make sure to tune in today!
Listen on your favorite podcast player
Common Misconceptions to Dismantle as You Scale Your Business
There is a common misconception about the true meaning of scaling that we feel needs to be debunked. Everyone talks about scaling as if it’s only related to making more revenue; but scaling is truly about the architecture, operations, and behind-the-scenes details that it takes to ultimately create a business that functions like a machine. A lot of you are on some rocky foundations and you need to ensure that your business has the structure to support its growth! Something we see people naïvely doing when they hit a wall is hiring a CEO for the company. In this instance, you may recognize that something needs to change and you want to keep doing what you’re naturally good at, so you hire someone to do the unfamiliar job. But you need to step up to the task! It’s your company. You created it because you care about the service you’re providing, and skin in the game is everything. It’s okay not to know how you got to where you are and what to do next. It’s all about trial and error, and a good CEO experiments (with intention).
The Roadblocks Industry Expert Consultants Face as their Business Grows
Because the skill that you based your business on feels innate, the idea of being more intentional is foreign. But there is no shame in admitting that you need to hone in on a skill. There is always more to learn! However, for female-owned small businesses, it seems there are many resources out there on everything BUT how to be a CEO for your company! The resources that do exist are generally male-centric or big corporate-centric, which is so vastly different from what we’re looking for. When it comes to resources for small businesses, we come across various things disguised as scaling tools, such as idealized marketing strategies or productivity hacks that teach you nothing about business! There are many toxic perceptions out there that will waste your time and hold you back and it’s really important not to fall prey to them. They may help you earn money initially, but if you don’t have the operations in place, they won’t support you in the long run!
The Mental Shift Required When You’ve Hit a Ceiling in Your Income or Capacity
Having highly-trained consultants in certain areas of your business is essential, but you have to be willing to continue to learn the way you did when you started out, and shift your role and skillset! Many small business owners feel imposter syndrome when the business starts to scale and they find themselves in the role of CEO. But we can assure you, even if you’re not qualified in the typical sense, you’re uniquely qualified to run YOUR company! We put so much pressure on ourselves, but adulthood looks different these days. There are more women than ever choosing to have their own careers and there is simply no precedent. And because there’s no precedent, you get to set it. In order to move forward, the most important thing for you to do is to set aside your ego and admit to where you may need help or improvement. There’s no need to be so unsure of your future self. You’ve done it before and you can do it again. You get to define what’s next!
The Number One Skill a CEO Should Possess
If someone were to ask you to reflect on the skills that got you where you are, a myriad of surface-level answers would come to mind. But, at the end of the day, what we’ve found to be the key trait for success is a unique skill that we don’t give ourselves nearly enough credit for: resourcefulness. We’re all resourceful in different ways and we rely on it in different ways. If resourcefulness got you where you are, you need to be surrounded by a resourceful team, so we urge you to hire people who are willing and able to find solutions. You don’t need to know how to do everything, but you do need to have the trust in yourself that you will find the necessary tools to get the job done. The tools will be different in every situation and we need to trust in our capability to make smart decisions and find solutions!
The Danger of Futureproofing
As important as it is to look ahead, we want to emphasize that you cannot futureproof yourself! There’s no way to predict future challenges in minute detail and you might discover you’re futureproofing yourself for problems that may not even exist. We used to plan the whole year in detail, and we’ve found that attempting to perfect everything in advance will only be frustrating, as there are bound to be changes. Even if you know that your goal will remain steadfast, how you get there will shift! Many CEOs struggle with the fine balance of futureproofing because, as the CEO, you’re expected to look forward and maintain the overall direction but, if you sink too deeply into it, it can be dangerous for the business! Since our realization, our standard operating procedure involves simple checklists where we plan high-level events for the year ahead, but tackle individual priorities one week at a time.
Get Your Tickets to The Freedom Conference!
Your priorities will definitely have shifted over the last two years, but what do those priorities look like in your business today? How are you growing ethically and sustainably? If you’re interested in digging into this, learning to trust yourself again, and defining your goal as CEO in your growing business, we want to invite you to our one-day virtual conference, taking place later this month. If you are an industry expert, premium service provider, or consultant, grab your ticket to our must-attend Freedom Conference at bossproject.com/conference and learn how to build a reliable business that helps you to live life on your terms!
Quote This
The first step to moving forward with anything is being able to admit to yourself where you’re feeling unqualified.
Highlights
Common Misconceptions to Dismantle as You Scale Your Business. [0:04:37]
The Roadblocks Industry Expert Consultants Face as their Business Grows. [0:08:37]
The Mental Shift Required When You’ve Hit a Ceiling in Your Income or Capacity. [0:13:15]
The Number One Skill a CEO Should Possess. [0:25:28]
The Danger of Futureproofing. [0:38:09]
Get Your Tickets to The Freedom Conference! [0:41:07]
ON TODAY’S SHOW
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
CEO, Futureproofing, Small Business Owner, Imposter Syndrome, Resourcefulness, CEO Skill Set
