“Scaling Is That Wonderful Moment When You Know You Have Built Something Truly EXCEPTIONAL”
Stuart Mason
Scaling a business isn't growing a business; Scaling is next level stuff. This isn't about what your competitors are doing, this is about what they are NOT DOING, or even dare to CONSIDER doing. Less than 4% of business owners are interested in scaling, that's okay though, that's the way it needs to be.
Scaling isn't about looking for opportunities, that's for growth. Scaling is about CREATING the opportunities.
That could mean acquisitions, franchising, opening multiple sites, involving strategic partners, expanding your geographical reach, and offering a service that your competitors can't even BEGIN to understand, let alone replicate.
I did all of the above, I grew, I scaled... I FAILED. I failed because I saw scaling as a project, a destination. It's not, it's a never ending journey of excitement and heartbreak. You don't finish scaling, otherwise others soon catch up.
Scaling Is Not For Everyone
Scaling is not for everyone, and that's OK. Scaling is also not growing, of course the two are related, but they are not the same.
There are many great businesses out there that are very successful and growing well, but they are not scaling, nor do they want to.
Have you watched the movie "The Founder"? The story of Ray Kroc and McDonalds is an inspiration to all business wanna-be-scalers. The McDonald brothers were focussed, passionate, energetic, and keen to grow their business. How far would that have got them?
Ray Kroc wanted to scale, and set about doing precisely that, the rest, as they say, is history. Did he scale McDonalds by copying others? Did he scale by looking for opportunities? No, he scaled by CREATING opportunities, and in doing so disrupted the industry on a global scale. He set the standard for others to follow, and McDonalds arguably still does. The scaling never stops; it's not a project or a destination.
How do you scale? There are many answers to that, but the best answer is the answer you don't know yet, as that almost certainly means you are scaling and disrupting.
I scaled my business with a combination of smaller business acquisitions, opening stores in all major cities across the country, then taking that proven concept and franchising it. The most successful of those strategies was the smaller acquisitions. Buying smaller, "chaotic" businesses that were making no money and incorporating them into our well oiled, money making machine. We stripped out the inefficiencies and turned low profit into serious profit while acquiring those businesses for peanuts.
How did that go wrong? How was it even possible for that business to fail on its 20th Birthday? OK, don't rub it in. I saw scaling as a project and stopped the drive. I thought I had made it. I thought I was finished. That allowed competitors to catch up, and indeed OVERTAKE, because they never stopped. Combine that with the errors I was making, the errors that the success of the business was masking, and you have the recipe that triggered the "Perfect Storm".
This isn't theory from a book, this isn't "coaching" from someone who's done an online course. This is about graduating from the University of Monumental Fuck Ups and helping others to scale.
My style is abrupt, fast paced, direct, less than subtle, and often downright rude. You may have noticed that business is not for the feint hearted, wait until you start to scale, then you'll see this style is essential. Enjoy the journey.
Here's Some Of What's Covered In "Scale".
A Final Thought: Scaling Isn't Always About What YOU Want
When you plan to scale the biggest mistake you could make is building your plan around what you want. A scaling business owner doesn't do that, they think differently, that's what a growing business does. A scaling business builds an empire based on what the market wants, and the really exciting bit - the market may not even know it yet. Brewdog anyone?
If you scale a business based entirely on what you want it won't work.
The COURSE - What You Can Expect From It?
The Modules covered in Scale will be like no other. It's why it's third in the series, not because it's in third place, far from it, it's because that every element of your business needs fixed and checked, and a proven track record of solid growth is required before you even consider scaling.
That's the mistake I made, so we're back to the University of Monumental Fuck Ups again, and you're not graduating from there. My business was amazing, beyond amazing. It was scalable, it did scale, but some of the basics weren't quite there. Small cracks soon become gaping wounds when you try and scale too soon.
We'll start off with the obvious plan, and this will be your wildest of wildest ambitions. This is the dream that you won't share - even with your best friend or partner - but we're going to get it out there, and we're going to have fun with it.
Scale starts off with Brainstorming Session. Scalable ideas will flow, that may include opening the first Coffee Shop on Mars, having your business in every city on the planet, having your product in every house in the world - nothing is off the table when brainstorming.
Then comes the challenge, how to bring this to life. We now progress to PLANNING. We now identify that the Coffee Shop on Mars is not realistic (yet), we explore everything, and start to build a five year VISION. Ironically, we call this the "Mission to Mars", so who knows, that Coffee Shop may be there yet. This is the BIG plan, the LONG journey. To boldly go where no one has gone before.
The scaling module is bespoke to you, it has to be. About 96% of businesses will stop at this stage, and that's absolutely fine.
scalability starts by looking at market potential
Introducing Tam, Sam and Som
As obvious as this may seem, it's all well and good talking about Scalability and CREATING opportunities, but we also need to be realistic as to the market POTENTIAL. This is where your new three best friends come, Tam, Sam and Som
TAM, SAM, and SOM Explained so that your Labrador will understand (and humans too):
Imagine you’re a Labrador who loves tennis balls.
TAM = (Total Available Market): This is all the tennis balls in the world. Every single one, everywhere. Heaven, right? Let's do this, this market is huuuuuuuge.
SAM = (Serviceable Available Market): These are the tennis balls in your country, the ones you could actually chase if your human bought them. This is you expanding geographically - this is SCALING.
SOM = (Serviceable Obtainable Market): These are the tennis balls in your house. The ones you can really get your paws on. This is where your business is right now, and that could still be big.
So TAM is the dream, SAM is the potential, and SOM is what's in your toy box right now.
1-1 Focus Sessions
These 30 minute sessions have limited availability and allow you to arrange a 1-1 Zoom call to cover any topic from the Book, Workbook or Programme. What would you like to focus on - it's your session?
£0.00
These sessions are free to UK business owners
The 1-1 Course
This course is tailored for you, as every business is different, yet also covers the Fix, Grow, Scale and Sale modules. Two sessions per month ensure your business will be flying - backed with my guarantee below
£595 per month
1-1 Courses with single monthly sessions are available at only £350 per month
The Workbook
Ten Modules packed full of content to show you "How To Wreck Their Business", and grow your own. This is a Workbook that gets you REALLY focussing on your business growth.
£39.99
Order Here Via Amazon
What people just like you are saying about how to wreck your business
Testimonials From The Amazon #1 Best Seller
NOW- Imagine What The PROGRAMME Is Like...
Absolute must read for any business owner would highly recommend
Really liked the fact there was a list for further reading recommendations
There are so many nuggets of knowledge in there that really help you focus and create a plan! Super book!! Can highly recommend.
My Guarantee To You
Sadly most business guarantees aren't worth the paper they are NOT written on. With this programme there is no guarantee of success, because that success is DOWN TO YOU. If you expect the magic "just to happen", then this course will not work, nor will any other course come to think of it. So, there's no guarantee for that - if you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.
What I will guarantee is value, value for you and value for your business. So, after every 1-1 session, you'll be asked a question; "Did you get value from today's session?" - if the answer is NO - then there's nothing to pay, and it's that simple. There's no contract, and the only real commitment is the one you make to yourself.
Henry Ford said, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got"
GET IN TOUCH
If there's anything here you would like to chat about, then get in touch. There's no pressure or heavy sales pitch.
This has been the "Fix Element" of the programme I offer, perhaps some of it sounded familiar.
This section covers TONS, in fact there's over FORTY different parts to this, so we cover a lot and leave nothing to chance.
