The business culture in America is obsessed with speed: Raise money, scale fast, exit, repeat. Silicon Valley has turned that storyline of scaling into gospel, and the message we get is blunt and unforgiving:
“If you’re not scaling, you’re failing.”
Growth isn’t just a measuring stick, it’s like a yardstick of self worth. A moral imperative even.
And yet, for the vast majority of business owners who are doing real work with real customers, that gospel is a lie.
It’s the kind of thinking that only makes sense when you have venture capital burning a hole in your pocket. The whole mentality is built on gambling with someone else’s money. It’s not a purpose-driven approach, it’s a profit-fast-and-move-on mentality.
Now compare that to the reality of a typical small business owner or startup founder: No VC money, no investor pressure, no hyper-growth fantasies. Just a small team with an idea or a product, a dream, and bills to pay.
Many people simply don’t have that burning desire to go big or go home. It’s not in their DNA. Besides, there are millions of skilled coaches, doctors, chefs, electricians, writers and designers who actually love the doing of the work. They want to keep their hands in it. That’s what drives them.
They don’t want to trade the work they love for the administrative hassle and headaches of running a large business. They’re not out to build empires, they’re out to succeed on their own terms.
For those owners, attempting to scale a company the Silicon Valley way would betray the very thing they started the business to protect… autonomy, pride in their work, and a sense of purpose beyond just making money.
As Ralph Waldo Emmerson once said, “To be yourself in a world that’s constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
Scaling a company is not always the best approach.
There’s nothing wrong with intentional, strategic smallness. A business built for fulfillment and longevity, not frenzy.
The mistake made by too many founders is chasing someone else’s vision of success. If you’re a craftsman at heart, don’t pretend you want to be an empire-builder. Quite often, attempting to wear that mask of manager/entrepreneur is counter productive. Better to just hire for that role, and stick to what you do best, which is delivering the work or making the product.
On the other hand, if you’re wired for leadership, systems design, political maneuvering and managing teams, don’t pretend you’ll be happy as a solopreneur, doing it all yourself.
This is a common problem for people who get burned out on the corporate world and leave to hang up their own shingle. Pretty soon, they feel isolated and unfulfilled. Some people just need to play the role of boss.
You’ll never build a successful business if you are ill-suited for the role you’ve created for yourself.
For most business owners, the sweet spot for growth sits somewhere between the two extremes… The business is not stagnant, and it’s not on fire. Instead of obsessing about scaling a company, they focus on slow, steady, incremental growth. That’s healthier than rapid scaling, in the vast majority of cases.
I’ve worked in, and been involved with, many companies that experienced rapid, unmanaged growth. The advertising agency world is famous for that. Small agencies work their tails off to land a big new account, they grow rapidly and take on a lot of new talent, and then the pendulum inevitably swings back the other direction.
Grow. Shrink. Grow. Shrink. Grow. Shrink. It’s hard to build a strong culture that way. And without a strong culture, it’s hard to attract top talent. So it’s a vicious cycle.
Here’s what steady incremental growth looks like for millions of small-businesses owners…
• You deploy enough systems and technology to keep things running smoothly, without too much drama — relatively speaking.
• You protect your time so you can stay sane and focus on the parts of the work you actually love.
• You build lasting relationships, not layers of management. That means hiring very wisely and being mindful at all times.
• You value quality over quantity in all things, including hiring, new-product development and operations.
• You grow just enough to create profitable stability, not chaos. So your business amplifies your life without consuming it.
• You balance your marketing efforts between short term promotional tactics and long-term brand building, to produce a predictable stream of new business.
That’s what brand strategy is all about. Be yourself, then build a brand around that.
If you’ve been struggling to scale a company, or if you’re questioning your entire business existence, let’s talk. I can’t solve all your problems — no one can — but I certainly can guide you into an authentic brand strategy that fits your unique set of skills and values.
It’s the perfect time of year to reassess everything. Let’s work together to make 2026 your best year ever! Click here to set up a meeting.
