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.

Amber Goetz

As a single mom with a heart full of ambition, I set out on a remarkable journey that would rewrite my story and hopefully inspire countless others. What began as a side hustle to make ends meet blossomed into a full-service boutique SEO agency. Read more>>

David Settle

In the journey towards building a successful business, the middle phase often remains overlooked, overshadowed by the allure of overnight success stories. My experience is a testament to the fact that genuine success is the outcome of years of dedicated groundwork. I recall my early days as a DJ, spinning records at various events with minimal returns, struggling to make ends meet. Read more>>

Rita Dixon

Scaling up has been a gradual journey that has allowed me to balance a family and a career. It’s a journey that started with a notion, an idea and a dream. I asked myself. Can you do it? Do you have what it takes? Will you succeed? Honestly, one half of me answered absolutely and the other half answered maybe not. Will there be enough clients to walk through the doors? I opened the practice about six months after having my first child. After experiencing the crazy balancing act that all new working mothers experience, I decided that it would be a good time to step out on faith to achieve better flexibility and work life balance. In between breastfeeding and pumping and trying to figure out the crazy ride of learning how to be a parent, I knew all I needed to open the practice was an email, phone number and a website. I got to work and then began networking. What I learned early on in networking was that if I did not speak up and passionately advocate for my business then who would. Second, I deduced that networking is most beneficial when you form genuine relationships with other individuals or businesses in which you both can support one another. Third, I figured out rather quickly that as a business owner you just have to hustle. Read more>>

Tianna Jenkins

When I first launched CosignedByGod in July 2021, I gained traction rapidly due to the designs, the brand’s motive, and the fact that we were bridging the gap between faith and fashion. I’ve been immersed in entrepreneurship for over 10 years. Throughout those years, I developed various methods to scale my brand by creating a tailored and sensible plan. All the mistakes I made were during my earlier years of entrepreneurship. Through trial and error, I eventually mastered brand authenticity by employing groundbreaking public relations strategies. Read more>>

Michelle Rankin

Coming from the background of building and bartending, the idea of Tipsy Trailer came together surprisingly easy. We learned very quickly that knowing how to build a trailer, how to mix a cocktail and how to work with people, were not going to be enough to grow and sustain a successful mobile bartending business. Now, those are all necessary skills to have in order to be successful, but the idea that building and running a mobile bar is easy and all fun is a complete misconception. Being successful in this business is not just showing up with cute trailer and pouring beer and wine, maybe mixing a margarita. Sure- you could run a business that way, but it won’t get you far. Standing out from your competition, social media, networking, knowledge of taxes, state laws, permitting, marketing, bookkeeping and continuing education are just the beginning of a list of items that are required and that we had to learn in the first year of business. Learning that only 40% of our job is actually bartending and that the other 60 % is spent doing everything else was a tough lesson to learn. The idea that we would just start a business and clients would magically appear is something I look back on and chuckle just a little to myself, I wish it was that easy. Getting clients takes working very hard behind the scenes, it takes hours of social media posts, learning google ads and setting up SEO tools- All things that I had no education or knowledge in prior to starting Tipsy Trailer. After realzing some of the previously mentioned lessons we had to learn, we also realized that in order to grow and produce a nice profit, we had to expand. That expansion for us was going from one mobile bar to six mobile bars, two satellite bars and several additional add on options for clients to choose from. We quickly learned that clients want “extra”, they want to stand out and have their guests or clients to experience an elevated and luxury bar service, so we gave them that. Read more>>

Jan Angeline Parayno

I launched my photography business back in 2018, and looking back, the path to where I am today has been an incredible journey of dedication, learning, and overcoming challenges. The early years were undoubtedly the toughest, filled with uncertainties and hurdles I hadn’t anticipated. In those initial stages, I faced a dual challenge of not only starting a business but also acclimating to a new culture and community, having grown up overseas. Building connections and understanding the local dynamics became important, as it was the foundation on which I could grow my photography venture. Balancing my business aspirations with being a full-time college student and working a job was demanding, but it taught me time management and perseverance. Read more>>

Zachary Spuckler

I’ve been in business for about 8 years, and every years something new comes along that allows us to morph, change and evolve…

I think for me the biggest thing that has contributed to scaling up would be getting clear on our goals, and our spend. I put a lot of dollars into Facebook & Instagram advertising (as an agency, that makes sense) – but I think so often in the marketing world we think that it’s all about making it rain. Read more>>

Kelly Meyer

I started Two Birds Media, LLC in my first college apartment way back in 2011. I was going to school for Film & Video at the time and I knew- both because I see how creatives are viewed in the workplace and because everyone made sure to say it to me- that a degree in film and video was probably going to be very difficult to make a living with. I also knew at that time that I did not want to spend my entire life working for someone else. I wanted to be my own boss. So I started my little business just offering basic editing and video services. I realized pretty quickly that I would need more equipment and resources to sustain a videography business, so I took a photography class and started working on building my photography skills instead. Photography was something I could realistically do alone, with limited equipment, and still make a decent additional income. Read more>>

Lucy Wo

When contemplating the process of SCALING, our minds often question, “When is the right time?” As I delve further into establishing the foundation of my business, it becomes apparent that each day’s contributions CONTRIBUTE TO SCALING, whether they are modest or substantial. Our sense of purpose stems from our experiences, shaping our vision of what should exist, and subsequently, we take action. The initial phase of scaling involves the act of ADDING—augmenting services, expanding the team, increasing social media presence, allocating a larger marketing budget—essentially, reinvesting in the element of ADDITION. Despite our apprehension towards errors, our ability to scale emerges from our proactive immersion, guided by written strategies, objectives, and learning through experimentation. Given our foundation in the service industry, we have nurtured close bonds with clients who have embraced our brand, catalyzing the swift advancement of our business’s expansion. Read more>>

Allison Easterling

I completely agree with people seeing small businesses as an overnight success, when in reality there are years and years over hard work that lay the foundation for the success that is seen. I’m in my 13th year of business, and honestly, my biggest year of change and explosive growth happened in my 10th year. And it happened during a time when it really shouldn’t have happened. 2020, when Covid shut the world and small business down. Businesses like mine were not allowed to even function during that time, and I remember thinking I have to make this work, how do I make this work? And the only thing I knew to do was to keep showing up for my clients, to be consistent in my marketing and the way cared for people. To let them know I was still there, and when everything was over, I’d still be there. And I think that’s honestly the critical part people miss sometimes when building a business. You can be so amazing at what you do, but how you treat and care for people is what they ultimately remember. I think that when your customer service reaches the level of your work, your marketing, your strategies…. that’s where the magic happens. And although it seems like the last three year of my business were an “overnight success”, there were actually ten years prior of extremely hard work, failing and learning, and trying over and over again that got me here today. Read more>>

Drew Allman

For many years, I ran Board & Bolt defensively. I was thinking that I was running it the right way by being very conservative. I was working out of my garage, doing everything on my own, proud of myself for saving on rent and labor. I thought that making the decision to start a business would be the biggest and scariest risk that I took on the road to owning a business. I was wrong. Read more>>

Eric & Trent Staves & Eisfeller

Building our business up has been quite the journey, to say the least. We literally started the company out of our driveway almost 6 years ago. Initially there was no real strategy to what we were doing. It evolved out of us building our own bed frames due to the lack of storage we had in our house at the time. They weren’t very pretty, they didn’t even have a proper finish. However, they were sturdy and solved our storage issues, which then gave other people ideas to ask us if we could help them. Slowly but surely, we found ourselves helping friend after friend with each of their individual furniture needs. Read more>>

Gina Peterson

Scaling up was a concept that definitely didn’t happen overnight for us. About 7 years ago my husband asked me “What’s your growth plan? How are you going to grow?” And I remember looking at him blankly — at the time he asked me about 85% of our business was custom work. Custom wedding invitations, custom design work for small businesses, custom holiday cards, custom graphic design projects etc. 85% of our business revolved around me in every aspect of a transaction. Meeting with customers, designing every single piece, working with press, and delivering the product. The only way to “grow” was for me to keep extending my work and time. It was a very “busy” and demanding work environment that relied on me for every piece. Read more>>

Jarling Perez

Vivacious and lovable, Jarling Maria Perez was born in 1981 to Cuban parents in Acarigua, Venezuela. Her parents, originally from Camaguey, Cuba fled the country due to the political turmoil of the communist regime. Shortly after she was born, her family moved to Puerto Rico where they reunited with Alexis’ parents who had also fled from Cuba. There they all began to work for Alexis’s parents who had opened a bridal boutique shop. Once Alexis’ family relocated to Miami in pursuit of the American dream, Jarling’s parents bought their store in Puerto Rico and sold it 10 years later to follow suit. They arrived in Miami in 1992 and Jarling was raised there with her younger brother and her cousins including, Alexis. Read more>>

Sonique Saturday

In the early stages of creating Saturday House, I recognized the potential for growth and took strategic steps to scale up effectively. Here’s how I achieved that:

1. Market Research and Niche Identification:
My brand manager, Jecoby Carter, CEO, Jecoby and Company, and I began by conducting thorough market research to understand customer preferences, trends, and gaps in the handbag market. This allowed us to identify a specific niche, specifically in the hand-painted space, that we could target with unique and appealing products. Read more>>