When businesses are covered in the media, often there is a lot of focus on the initial idea, the genesis moment. Then they almost brush over the middle part – the scaling up part – and arrive at how big and awesome the business is today. It makes for a fun read or in the case of a movie or show an entertaining watch, but it’s also a missed opportunity. The middle part – the scaling up part is where so many small business owners get stuck. It’s the part so many of us need more guidance with and so we wanted to get conversations going on the topic of scaling up.

Sarah Chapp

Economic fragility. COVID-19. Tariffs and economic uncertainty. All three of these key terms would scare most people away from opening a small business. But me? I went all in with grit and determination that I was going to open a bakery and grow it into a multi-dimensional business. Read more>>

Garrett Corwin

People often assume there’s a big leap between starting a business and scaling it — some secret growth hack or breakthrough strategy. In my experience, scaling Piedmont Microgreens wasn’t fundamentally different from landing our very first customer.

That first sale came from a cold call — I picked up the phone, introduced myself, dropped off a sample, and followed up until the chef gave us a shot. And that’s exactly how we scaled. Read more>>

Ale Merino

For me, scaling wasn’t about building a huge agency or hiring a full team of designers. Everyone told me, “You need a big team to grow,” but honestly… I don’t think that’s true for everyone. I believe with the right systems, with clarity on where you’re going, and with passion for what you do—you can build something big, something meaningful, without sacrificing your life in the process. Sure, I’ll probably have a virtual assistant along the way to help me manage the back-end, but when it comes to design… that’s me. That’s where I pour my creativity, my energy, my heart—and I want my clients to feel that. Read more>>