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.

Marina Mulaire

Over the last 4 years I’ve turned my first venture into entrepreneurship as a virtual assistant into an established social media management business and a bridal and lifestyle content creator in NYC. After graduating from The University of Pittsburgh in 2015, I started my first job as a marketing and events coordinator for an award-winning wedding venue and catering company in Westchester, NY. I would use that experience as a stepping stone in discovering my dream career. Since then I worked in roles spanning a PR firm in New York City, a department supervisor at Anthropologie, and what I considered my dream job on paper — an assistant buyer at Bloomingdale’s.  Read more>>

Porsha

I have been doing nails for 9 years now and owning my own salon for 5. When starting out you do the always get walk-ins or referrals cause you aren’t experienced. I knew early on I needed things like Instagram and word of mouth to grow my business in a mid sized city. I posted every day for years and made sure I was showcasing my best work. I would also highlight my open spots every single time. I also worked in a restaurant as a host/server so I made sure to always have my nails done and business cards on me in case someone asked. I worked out of my house for co-workers as well on my days off so they could be walking advertisements of my work. I never worked for free and am so glad I set that standard up front cause now I have loyal clients who are willing to pay. When you value yourself and set goals at the beginning it may take a bit but is totally worth it! Read more>>

Ben Potter

The Mount Vernon School Online began in 2022 with only two students. Now in our third year, we have expanded considerably and serve students both in the United States and internationally. From the outset, it was very important to us to be able to scale responsibly, in a manner that allowed us (and continues to allow us) to serve our students. Our philosophy of growth has always centered upon providing the highest quality online experience for those who have entrusted us with their education. We want to continue to meet students at the intersection of their needs, hopes, and dreams.  Read more>>

Chelsea Loren

For photographers, one of the biggest questions I get is, “How did you turn taking photos into a full-time job?” And while it just me as the only full-time employee right now (I occasionally have a freelance assistant for shoots or to hand off certain tasks), my business has truly scaled up from being a fun side gig to supplement my 9-to-5 job into a full-fledged career where I now make 4x what I was making at any of my previous jobs. Read more>>

Jazmine Prado

Owning your own business is hard and getting to the point where you feel comfortable enough to open your own business is even harder. I’m not going to say if you love what you do you never work a day in your life because it isn’t true, but it does help. The real trick to success is hard work and consistency. You have to show up everyday, do your best, and stay educated and up to date. Read more>>

Amy Reichert

ReOpen San Diego was born out of necessity during a time when the world felt like it had come to a standstill. It all began with a simple Facebook group—just a handful of moms like me, who were worried about our children being stuck behind screens for months with no end in sight, disconnected from their friends and the world around them. We decided to meet in person, taking our first steps toward reclaiming their childhoods and our sense of normalcy by gathering at Balboa Park. What started as small, outdoor playdates soon grew into something much larger—a community with a purpose. Read more>>

Kat Calamia

Scaling up for Lifeline Comics happened very organically. Once we had enough capital to invest in our own company we were able to launch more Kickstarters for our comics, and the more Kickstarters we launched the more successful our brand was able to become. Read more>>

Kayla Macvean-salaun

The first and most important thing I addressed were my packages–from both a pricing and service perspective. As a marketing agency with multiple services, it’s easy to fall into the habit of building a custom package for every client, which we all know is the exact opposite of what we want to be doing to scale. I set an hourly rate and reverse engineered my packages to ensure adequate compensation across the board. Additionally, I divided my services into more of an ‘a la carte’ model, where clients can pick and choose what services and add-ons they would like to move forward with based on our recommendations. Read more>>