The Hidden Costs of Business Growth: 4 Critical Questions to Consider9 min read
The biggest red flag for an unfulfilling life, a mid life crisis, and a confused “how did we get here?” is an entrepreneur hustling for growth without being really honest with themselves on why they want that growth and what they are and aren’t willing to trade to get it.
Let’s be honest, more money is always great. But if you don’t acknowledge the fine print that comes with more money, you might be surprised to find yourself running a business you don’t really love.
I must admit that I myself am mega-ambitious. A ‘try-hard’ if you’ve ever seen one. A high achiever whose sense of self worth used to correspond directly with her success & how impressive she appeared to others. A decade of personal growth has helped me recognize my values & see their shadow sides.
I also work exclusively with high achievers as a business coach. Wo/men who have big dreams, are ready to work hard for them, and will not quit until they have succeeded come to me to help accelerate their path to success.
But the thing I focus on is not getting rich at all costs, but growing a thriving business that supports a fulfilling life.
So, if you’re an ambitious entrepreneur that’s aiming for massive growth this year, here are 4 questions you must ask yourself to create not just financial success, but fulfilling success ™ and a life you don’t need a vacation from.
Where is the desire for growth coming from?
Do you really, truly want the goal you’re working toward?
Ambitious entrepreneurs often take on goals because they are impressive to other people, they make their egos feel nice and big, they are ‘the norm’ amongst our peers, but perhaps not because they are actually the thing we would choose to dedicate all our time and energy to if left to our own devices…
If you’re aiming for a wildly ambitious revenue goal, take a good hard look at whether it’s a reflection of your own personal values & desires, or whether it’s coming from somewhere else.
- Sometimes it’s a growth-oriented ‘mastermind’ that creates a sense of pressure to achieve more in order to fit in.
- Sometimes it’s the pressure of floating your existing team that forces you to work longer and harder.
- Sometimes it’s just because you feel like you ‘should’ be growing and have learned to believe that ‘if you’re not growing, you’re dying.’
- Or maybe it’s because you truly want to have the biggest impact you can have in the world.
There’s not a right or wrong answer but it’s important to identify and name where your desire for growth is coming from. If it’s coming from a place of scarcity, fear, or fitting in, you might want to take a second look at your motivations.
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Is a bigger business truly what you want? What would it change for you?
What are the trade-offs of more growth?
It’s a big mistake to assume there aren’t any trade-offs to massive growth. Western society, marketing, capitalism, all push the “bigger, better, faster” narrative and it takes courage to question its validity.
Have you considered what that growth will require from you? Do you know the shifts that come with a bigger business and do they sound exciting to you?
For example, a million dollar business usually comes with a pretty big team. Do you like managing people? Are you willing to bear the weight of hundreds of thousands of dollars in overhead costs? If you have a certain number of unhappy customers per year, can you sit with having 10x that when you 10x your business?
These certainly aren’t reasons to avoid growth. But acknowledging them, knowing what you’re walking into, and making that choice intentionally is important. Sometimes business growth is painted as ‘sunshine and rainbows’ with a side of challenges, but unless you enjoy the challenges that come with your goals, running your business is unlikely to feel better than what you have now.
What are the trade-offs you will have to make and are you willing to tolerate them?
It can be hard to set and hold your own boundaries, but if you can firmly state “I want this business but not if it means I have to ___, ___, or ___” then you give yourself permission to find a way to build your business without those sacrifices.
What do I actually want this one life to look like?
It’s easy to keep running inside the hamster wheel you’ve created for yourself without stopping to look at whether that’s the path you truly want to be on…
For most people, it takes anything from bankruptcy to a life threatening illness to get them to reassess what’s important and make the changes required to prioritize their own values. But, believe it or not, you can actually do that reflection without needing a big kick in the pants.
- What do you value? What are the things that are important to you outside of your business?
- If money were no issue, what would you want your life to look like?
- What are the things that bring you true happiness & joy?
Understanding your true values and desires allows you to build a business that supports them.
Related Post: How To Define Your Core Values
If you need hundreds of thousands in disposable income to travel the entire world and buy a yacht and a couple of mansions, then great, your business needs to grow to support the life you’d find most fulfilling.
But if you’re actually happiest sitting out on the patio and reading a good book, or spending time hiking and biking in the woods, or connecting with friends over a home cooked meal, then perhaps your ideal life doesn’t require fast-track business growth? Perhaps your hustle for more is actually detracting from the very things you could be experiencing more of now?
What am I optimizing for in this season of my life/business?
Is your business set up to support what you actually want?
As high achievers, it is easy to feel a sense of urgency over our big goals. If I want a million dollar business, I want it today, and every day that I don’t have it is a day I’m wasting not living up to my potential… or so my brain tries to tell me.
I know that as a mom with 2 young kids, this isn’t going to be the decade where I 10X my business because I’m not willing to sacrifice my time as a mother for my growth as a business owner.
Yet it’s easy to compare myself to other entrepreneurs who have been at this for 10 years and hold completely different priorities from me.
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It’s easy to feel like you should always be optimizing for growth, but getting intentional about what you actually want to optimize for gives you permission to build a business that meets you where you’re at in this season of your life.
Perhaps you want to optimize for more free time so you can be there for the little moments with your kiddos. Perhaps you want to optimize for more challenge or exhilaration or excitement because you’re getting a little bored. Let’s recognize that revenue and profit aren’t the only things worth optimizing for in business.
Give yourself permission to optimize for the thing that is right for you in this season and know that you have all the time in the world to achieve those great big goals you’ve set for yourself.
Being ambitious, being hard-working, being dogged in your focus for your goals is praised highly in our society in a way that being content, happy, and fulfilled are not.
It takes courage to reflect on your own value systems and beliefs and decide for yourself what success really looks like.
But not at all costs.
I love helping you scale in a way that’s aligned with your values. We create business growth to support a fulfilling life, not to grow for the sake of growing, regardless of the trade-offs.
You can have both: a fulfilling business that aligns with your values and continues to grow each year. In fact, I just celebrated 238% growth with one client who’s doing less, not more.
So, if you identify as a high achiever and are curious about how you can ditch the constant hustle and build a business without burnout, book a discovery call to explore how having me as your 1:1 coach can help you scale a business that’s not only profitable but personally fulfilling.
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