Golden Nuggets from 9-10 Figure Entrepreneurs: What helped you scale beyond yourself?

Let me qualify myself before I answer. I’ve only scaled to 8 figures myself. But I’ve worked inside 9-10 figure companies and currently provide executive coaching and organization development to a company with 300 employees managing 9 figure budgets.

The first company I scaled that broke past 10 million was literally be sheer force of will and a lot of luck. We had no idea what we were doing and all our systems starting breaking.

Since then, I committed myself to learning management theory and a field called organization development based on the work of social psychologist Kurt Lewin (you can look it up) which is a multi disciplinary field that is different than what MBAs learn (nothing wrong with MBAs but I didn’t find what I needed).

Looking back, I learned about systems theory and break every company down into seven systems:

1. CEO is a system
2. Core management team (C-suite)
3. Strategy
4. Performance
5. Talent
6. Culture
7. Process for all the above

What I’ve learned is that everything rises and falls on leadership. If the CEO is not systematic and learned management and leadership then that’s where you start.

Next, the core team can’t get stuck in “management” on the front lines.

Therefore I tell CEOs that their job is to lead the best core team that manages the systems that run the organization.

That’s where the first bottleneck occurs.

Now with 17 people you’ll have cross over but you have to start adopting these management systems.

Then you must look at every other system and start pulling the levers. But someone has to take responsibility for them which usually comes down to a delegation matrix.

In my experience is that as soon as you pass 12 people, systems break. Then they break again at 30-40 and then again at 250 people. The good news is that it tends to be smooth sailing after 40.

Depending on your industry, getting to 10 million in revenue is hard. But 10 to 100 million is a totally different world. Therefore I’d focus on what it takes to get to $10 million first.

It’s hard to tell you more because I don’t know your company but hopefully this gets you started with research and exploration.

Happy to answer more if needed. I don’t want to overstep.

Get your C Suite together.

It’s going to cost you.

Do not hire people that are looking for employment.

Poach the killers working at larger companies. It does not have to be direct experience in your industry. Your killers know how to kill. You don’t need to teach them how. You just have to show them the prey.

Now, here’s the big thing. You’re not capable of running a company at 10x as you are now. You need the mindset of those that are. So be super fucking mindful of your network.

My average friend is a multimillionaire. My best friend is worth over $100 million. The value I get from just regular conversations is game changing. I went from having friends with boats to friends with yachts.

Hire a consultant. Someone referred in who has prior experience running a company at the level you want to be. Or find a guy who you’re willing to toss 5% over to for his mentorship to get you to scale.

Know your market cap, if you are able to 10x from where you are, then that’s the business you want to be building now. You don’t want or have to keep coming back to Reddit to figure out what to do next.

If you’re building the $60 million dollar business as opposed to building a business that’s $6 million that you want to grow are two different processes all together.

How you do this will define your ability to 10x. And that is the goal.

Either for yourself or if you plan to exit. No one wants to give you a 5 multiple for your existing business. They want to give it to you because it’s a bargain for what will be a $60 million dollar business.

Back to C suite.

Fuck the titles for a moment.

Between you and your partner list out all the things you’re excellent at. Not good at. Not getting better at. But what you’re excellent at. You’re done learning new shit outside of that. It’s time to become the best in the world at what you’re excellent at. 100% of your focus is there.

Whatever that is, that’s your new role in the company. Pay yourself accordingly to that role. Your big pay day comes later.

Anything short of excellent gets passed off to people that are excellent at it. Again, fuck the titles. That can come later. Put together the people that have the excellent strength you need. You don’t need more of the same. You need the best in every angle.

Give your C suite the autonomy to work their role as if it’s their own. Treat them like mentors. You’re not teaching them, you’re learning from them.

Not sure how much of that $300k you guys are paying yourselves but get back into the living outta your one bedroom apartment mentality. Every twelve weeks, take a week off and ball the fuck out. Drug induced theeesomes in Ibiza or snorkeling in a lagoon somewhere.

Do something to disconnect. You will burn out otherwise.

This saves you from that.

Start thinking about how your want to exit.

Go public with a SPAC?

ESOP with employees?

Venture capital?

You’ll want to start getting around those guys now.

For reference, I built an $8 figure business within 4 years and have built multiple $7 figure businesses in under a year. Getting ready to build two more. Exit everything in three years and figure out what I want to be when I grow up.