As a small service-based business owner, you may be struggling to scale. You are not alone. It can be daunting and overwhelming to scale a business, especially if you don’t know where to start - or where you’re going wrong. That’s why I wanted to give tips and proven strategies to demystify the process. I was even more excited to share my insights after reading Harvard Business Review’s article titled Why Entrepreneurs Don’t Scale.

In this blog, you’ll learn:
- Five reasons small businesses fail to scale

Five reasons small businesses fail to scale

Loyalty to Long-Term Employees
Loyal business owners often view their employees as friends, and they’re not wrong. And at the start of a business, this will most likely not be an issue. Further down the line, however, having this view will hurt small businesses because the owner will fail to see team members’ weaknesses, which can cause problems.

Usually, when I work with my clients, I’ll help them develop their leadership style to help them transition from being their employee's friends to being their employers. This shift is often slight - but it greatly helps the small business owner to identify exactly who they need on their team moving forward.
Your Business Is Not Your Baby!
Once small business owners expand beyond the starter phase of their business and realize the old way of doing things will no longer work, they have to do things differently. Doing things differently requires a shifting perspective and mindset. The business owner works from being the doer (or workhorse) in their company to the leader. This is a gradual shift that happens over time and requires focus and accountability.

To help business owners identify what they need to make this transition - I’ve created a nifty free resource. Click here to take the Business Acceleration Assessment.
Once an entrepreneur has made this shift, they can more clearly identify the needs of their business and separate their personal needs from that of the company. This profound (yet subtle) shift will allow the small business owner to see their company in a more objective light - which aids and accelerates the decision-making process.
Click here to see how I helped this business owner make this shift and the profound results she was able to get as a result.
Fixating on short-term tasks
As small business owners, we know how easily short-term emergencies can arise and throw us off course.
That’s why it’s so important to review and connect to your longer-term and bigger-picture goals regularly. A business coach and consultant can help you stay accountable for that vision, allowing you to become more strategic and take advantage of better growth opportunities to serve the business better in the long run.
Failing to release control
There is a saying somewhere on the internet “Small businesses stay small because they fail to let go of control.”
Releasing control is one of the hardest things most business owners struggle to do. And for good reason. As the boss, you’ve been managing and overlooking everything, tasks and decisions since the inception of your company. Releasing the reins is daunting because you don’t know how to operate any other way. And, if you resonated with bullet point number one above, you may also be doubting if you have the right team you can trust with all the responsibilities you’ve been shouldering.

The good news is that you can overcome this very valid fear; click here to read how I helped this client release control and build an ownership-thinking team that allowed him to free up time and energy for next-level growth!
Working in Isolation
There is a lot of truth in the saying:” It’s lonely at the top.”

When business owners continue to work in isolation, it can frustrate them and their employees. And it can have severely damaging effects on a company’s bottom line.
That’s why many of my clients have decided to work with me indefinitely. Knowing they have a trusted business partner who can keep them focused and accountable on their long-term goals while solving short-term problems brings them immense peace. It also helps them to create more bandwidth and become more strategic leaders.

As a small business owner, I find it impossible to have all the answers, and it’s okay to ask for help. Doing so will help you to find solutions quicker and come up with better ideas as well.

If you’re looking to hire an award-winning business coach, click here to learn more about private sessions with me.

Listen and learn:

Five reasons small businesses fail to scale

Loyalty to Comrades
Task Orientation
SIngle-Mindedness
Working in Isolation

Want more strategies to help you scale faster?

Click here to order a copy of my book.

How can we work together?

If you liked what you read here, and you’re curious to learn more about business coaching, you might also like this other article I wrote: How can a business coach help me?

And here are a few more ways you can get more support from me to become the best entrepreneur you can be:

Accelerate your growth with this free handy download
Read my bestselling book, The Up Level Project
Join my group accountability program: Business Growth Achievers
Work with me: Book a 1:1 consultation with me here

Five Reasons Small Businesses Fail to Scale