What Happens To You, The Entrepreneur As You’re Scaling Your Business By Gry Tomte

You start out as a dreamer. An entrepreneur. Maybe like me; a technician. You start a business because you’re good at what you do and you think “I can build a business out of this”. And of course you can. I believe in you. But make no mistake, it’s a WHOLE new job. Or more like it, it’s about 20 new jobs!

As you tackle leading a bigger team, social media, marketing, the odd building job, plumbing, HR, fixing phone lines and so on and so forth, you realise that this is more than you maybe signed up for.

But, an entrepreneurial mindset means through grit and determination - and a good dose of improvising - you adapt, learn, grow and rise to the challenge. And so you build your business and your team. You learn to be comfortable in your new role. And then. Boom! You hit 7 figures, and now all of a sudden you can’t improvise anymore. It’s simply too big to float through without more processes, sharper leadership skills and a better und hiring roles you might not have thought of before. So now you need to adapt again - and figure it out again. People often think that building a business is just one linear journey. Once you’ve made it through the set up and started making money its just a matter of “keep going”. But as I found out, once you hit 7 figures you need a lot more stringent systems. You need to embrace strategy and structure. And let’s just say, that was never my strong suit... ehmmmm. The way I found that out was in a way that literally smacked me in the face. We had just built an extra 3 rooms and so we doubled our team in 3 months. And I had very little policies and procedures in place (I mean, they were there but never adhered to), no HR protocols, no systems around performance check ins and team meetings and least of all how I would structure my own workflow or the time with my manager. It was a bit of a “oh we’ll figure it out as we go along”. And it was a bit of a disaster if I’m going to be completely honest. As the visionary of the business, I had always been great at the “visionary stuff”. You know, the stuff that’s fun for those of us who are creatives! The rest was becoming a bit of a mess. Reflecting back there were a number of things I’ve learnt - and here are the 5 most important.

HIRE A MANAGER

So, as we’d grown and I needed help, and one of my therapists needed a 457 visa to stay in the country, I promoted her to manager. She’d done the job before - so it seemed like the right thing to do. As the business grew though it became very obvious that she wasn’t equipped for the role.

And I was definitely not equipped to lead her through as she learnt how to be a manager. After all, I’d never had that title myself! And I’d also never worked for a great manager. So I got her a coach who started teaching her about “business stuff” and how to manage a team. It was at that point when things actually went even more pear shaped. What I realised at that point is that unless you have shifted gear from being an entrepreneur to a serious business owner - one who has a clear idea of what your role in the business is, it’s very hard to set your manager up for success. I often hear “I think I should just give my receptionist a manager title so she feels more valued and I can give her more things to do”. Noooooo. Please don’t do that. They’re two VERY different roles.

So as you’re scaling your business and hiring a manager, here are some things to think about:

1. What skills complement yours? What’s YOUR strong suit and what you actually LOVE doing? That will be closely linked to your purpose. Figure that out, then hire someone who has all the skills or love doing the things you don’t love doing. I once asked my then manager to tell me about he things she dint enjoy doing and let me tell you, I was a bit surprised to find out they were all the things I didn’t enjoy doing. And also all the things I’d hired to do! 2. Then, think of what skills do you need to develop or harness in order to support them in their role and set them up for success? 3. Make sure you have a clear position description with clear expectations and boundaries. Don’t use the term “manager” loosely just to make someone feel important. 4. Make sure your values are aligned. Just like a marriage or a business partnership, aligned values is the make or break when it comes to finding that right arm to support you and drive the dream forward.

MANAGE BURNOUT

You can’t be in the drivers seat of a growing business if you’re falling asleep at the wheel! So take the necessary steps to put yourself in a position where you can perform at your best. Some things that have definitely made a huge impact on my own management of my energy and how I operate - especially helpful over the past 2 years of living through the world’s longest lockdown; 1. Outsource, outsource, outsource! Work in your zone of genius instead of doing it all.

Heard the old saying: “Do what you love and never work a day in your life”? Well, it’s no secret when you do what you love you’re much more effective. 2. Practicing daily gratitude and taking time to fill your cup (through meditation, exercise etc) isn’t a waste of time but a way to optimise your performance. I used to feel guilty for

“wasting time” on myself. But I once heard

Warren Rustand speak (CEO of 44 public and non profit businesses) and he talked about a time when he was under enormous pressure -

he was facing bankruptcy at the time - and he said what saved him was doubling down on gratitude and exercise. It allowed him to stay focused and sharp. 3. Free your people up to make mistakes and learn from them. If you’re the one who’s keeping all the little parts moving you might be suffering from overwhelm. And the only way you’ll get over that overwhelm is to enable others around you to step up and show you what they can do. As so many of us have built our business on our own from scratch - we can be....well... PERFECTIONISTS! It’s what make us successful. But it’s also what makes us stressed and overwhelmed. Instead, try to set expectations, let them try. And if they fail, don’t take responsibilities away, but instead, coach them through how they can improve next time.

INVEST IN YOUR OWN GROWTH

Just because you’re the boss doesn’t mean you stop learning. And just because your business is growing it doesn’t mean you know everything there is to know. In fact, as you scale you’ll uncover more and more things you DON’T know. As someone who’s invested in my own growth journey consistently for the past 7 years, here are some of the tools I use for growth to this date; 1. Hire a coach or a mentor. But make sure they have the same values as you. For instance, if you’re like me and you value a purpose driven culture, don’t get a coach who is all about cutting cost and using people as resources. It will not end well... 2. Listen to podcasts. There’s an incredible amount of knowledge out there. There’s nothing new in business or leadership anymore. Look for some inspiring podcasts and get the pen and paper ready! 3. Find likeminded groups and friends you can talk to for different perspectives 4. Practice daily reflections to learn from situations that arise from day to day. If you truly want to scale your business - however that looks to you - or you simply want to be a better leader or a better human - reflections are one of the most powerful tools in your toolkit.

As always, if you want to learn more about business and leadership, follow Gry on instagram www.instagram.com/grytomte Gry’s coaching spots are currently full, but keep an eye out for future workshops and 1-1 coaching opportunities in 2022.