How to Get in Sync With Your Business (To Grow)
You’ve created something successful… but that was in the past, and now the thrill of the build is gone
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You’ve created something successful… but that was in the past, and now the thrill of the build is gone. Your company/freelance business/offering was going well for a time and it was so exciting, and now, despite knowing what to do you struggle to have the motivation to actually do it…
What happens when you know what your business needs, but you’re not sure you’re the one who can give it what it needs?
Accidental Entrepreneur
I see this often with clients, it’s not exactly imposter syndrome, it’s something more like “I’m not even sure how it all came together when it clicked I was just riding the momentum.”
You create success and you’re not even exactly sure how it suddenly all happened. But when it did it was thrilling. And so when things feel stuck it feels extra difficult.
Where did that person go?
You Outgrow the Business, or the Business Outgrows You
Some clients tell me, “This whole thing has been so fast, it’s like a rollercoaster. I’m just trying to hold on but it feels like the wheels are coming off.”
When your business grows too fast it can feel like it’s outgrowing you. Young entrepeneurs hire people older or with more experience than them. Or they suddenly feel like they really need to step up as leaders in ways that are new and uncomfortable.
Another founder has been in their business for TEN years now. It’s been successful, but stuck. And being the person to keep re-running the same programs and products over and over again is getting boring.
Your interests have changed, naturally, as you’ve delivered your material/work you start to seek out something different or more…
The Tension Between You and Your Business
All of this comes in the surprising phase where you start to feel out of sync with your own business. This tension, between what your business needs and what you desire, pulls in both directions. You try and suck it up to do what needs to be done (and then feel ugh about doing it). Or you start to let things slip… you’re not as attentive to metrics that matter, you skip important meetings, and then you oscillate back and forth because you start feeling like you’re screwing up the golden goose!
Aligning Your Growth with the Business
The key to staying in sync is finding alignment: with where the business is going and where you’re going.
Between your customers and your skillsets that you can uniquely provide.
Between your employees needs and your leadership style.
Between your vision and the structure’s that support that vision.
One thing that was misaligned between myself and my business at one point was my belief that I had to be THE person who understood numbers, metrics, and data. I thought I had to be a great optimizer, and that what the business needed most from me was optimization.
The truth though, is that my edge is in people. Empowering them, understanding them, and organizing resources in unique ways such that people can thrive doing their best work on behalf of customers and companies.
Getting In Sync
Looking through this lens, I could get back into sync, focusing on what I could uniquely bring to the table instead of trying to be someone I was not. Then, finding way to apply that skillset in a way that met the business where it was needed.
What role do I think I have to be playing that isn’t actually right for me?
How do I best serve the businesses needs? (Attracting People? Leading people? Deep expertise? Product development?
How does the business serve my needs best? (Flexibility? Creativity? Money? Time?)
Who am I becoming, and how is that different than who I was at the beginning of this work?
Who Are You Today?
Life is change.
Who you are when you first started is not who you are today. Maybe today you have children whereas when you started you didn’t. Maybe today you have more money, or more flexibility, or a new passion?
What your company is when it first started is not the same company as it is today. Maybe today it’s got more resources, or what used to work doesn’t anymore. Maybe you’ve got better support, or weaker systems.
When you get clear on who you are today, you can better find the right alignment between you and your business. You can break the tension through authenticity and then through re-alignment.
This is the only sustainable growth strategy.
Let me know what your experience is with this in the comments,
xx David
P.S. If you’re a Founder ($500k+ business) that’s looking to unlock your growth, feel free to get connected here.