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You’re feeling the pull to grow, to reach more people without losing the parts of this work that feel most like you. You want a bigger impact and a life. Same.
I’ll walk you through how to tell if your business is truly scalable, how to expand with systems and soul, how to build a team you trust, and what to focus on so growth doesn’t swallow you whole. I’ll share what worked (and didn’t!) for me, plus a few checklist-style tools you can screenshot and keep.
Scaling shouldn’t cost you yourself. It should return you to the work only you can do.
RELATED: Should I Scale Bigger or Shut It Down? An Inside Look at My Daily Debate
Is Your Business Actually Scalable? A Simple Self-Check
Entrepreneurs come back to many versions of this question over the years, and I’ve walked through it here, on my podcast, at masterminds, and even in my group chats. Scaling up (or down!) is a recurring conversation and you need to get comfortable with having it.
Here’s the core question I ask:
Can you increase revenue without a proportional increase in your personal workload?
If the only way to make more money is to add more hours, your current model likely isn’t scalable. That was me as a wedding photographer: I went from 25 → 27 → 30 weddings and hit my human limit. I was crying on my bathroom floor, wondering how I’d gotten myself into that mess when I was merely doing something I loved. It’s easier to slip into that place than I had thought!
I tried associates (it helped!), but there was still a ceiling. More revenue always meant more of me.
Answer these 3 questions to understand if your business is scaleable:
- Can I grow sales without growing hours/costs at the same rate? Think digital, licensing, group delivery, or tech-enabled delivery.
- Is there proven market demand large enough to support scale?
- Do I have (or can I build) repeatable systems and a reliable team? Sustainable scale comes from systems that can grow with you.
A scalable business grows revenue while holding or lowering your effort per dollar earned.
RELATED: Tiny Tasks, Big Results: Build Your Dream in 20 Minutes a Day
1) Automate & Optimize What Already Works
When you think “scale,” think focus. Pareto’s Principle, which is basically that 80% of results come from 20% of the work, usually holds up here and I come back to it often. In fact, I recorded an entire podcast episode on it.
In my own business, I’ve seen this principle play out in powerful ways. Take our affiliate income stream, for example: after digging into the numbers, we realized that just 20% of our affiliate partners were actually driving 80% of the revenue. That insight completely shifted how we approach partnerships. We stopped trying to do all the things with all the people and instead doubled down on what was already working.
Even now, with multiple income streams in play, the pattern remains clear. A small percentage of our offers consistently generate the majority of our income. And I have a feeling the same might be true for you, too.
If you take a look at your own data. whether it’s product sales, client work, or course enrollments, you might find that a few key offers are doing the heavy lifting. That’s not a fluke. It’s a nudge: go deeper, not wider.
Instead of trying to spin 15 different plates at once, what if you poured more energy into the things that are already serving your people and your bottom line? Sometimes simplifying is the smartest strategy of all.
Where to look:
- Map your core offer from click to delivery. Where does time pile up? Where do you feel like the bottleneck? Where do handoffs get messy?
- Automate the repetitive tasks (like invoicing, reminders, onboarding, follow-ups).
- Standardize the repeatable with templates, SOPs, and checklists.
- Use tools that help you & your team move as one (think project management, docs, and dashboards).
RELATED: Here’s The RIGHT Way to Evolve Your Brand As You (and Your Business) Change
2) Hire for Leverage: The Roles That Change Everything
For way too long, I white-knuckled my business, thinking I had to do it all. The truth?
You can’t scale what you won’t release.
But I didn’t start by hiring a “team.” I didn’t have org charts or fancy job descriptions. I had a need. I had exhaustion (a lot of it). And I had a very real realization that I was becoming the bottleneck in my own growth.
MBut I didn’t start with a “team” or a fancy org chart. I started with one person: a virtual assistant who could take just a few things off my plate. Inbox management, recurring tasks, backend admin… the things that were stealing my time from the work that only I could do. It felt scary to let go at first. (Okay, really scary.) But hiring someone wasn’t about giving up control. It was about creating capacity.
And here’s what surprised me most: that first hire didn’t just free up my time. It gave my business a whole new layer of strategy I didn’t even know I was missing. I handed off tasks I was “fine” at to someone who loved doing them and was better at them. That’s when things started to shift.
It’s that same mindset that brought me to one of the most pivotal hires in my entire business journey, Marisa. She’s our VP now, and I originally brought her in as our Integrator (or Operations Manager) when I knew the vision for the business was bigger than what I could carry alone. She’s the one who holds the threads, connects the dots, and keeps the machine running so I can lead from a place of curiosity and creativity, not chaos.
Marisa manages projects, timelines, our team, and our systems so that I don’t have to be in the daily thick of it all. She’s the protector of the calendar and the keeper of our company’s rhythm. And more than anything, she’s the one who makes sure that progress doesn’t cost us peace.
Together, we’re building a business that honors who we are as people, not just how much we can produce.
And if Marisa were sitting with you right now over a cup of coffee, she’d probably tell you this:
“Trust + hard conversations = real progress.” So let me flip the script for a second.
Hiring isn’t about doing more or “building a team” just because you saw a CEO org chart on Instagram. It’s about figuring out: Where do you need space? Where do you feel stuck? What’s slowing your growth or stifling your joy? That’s where you start.
For you, it might be an integrator. It might be a content manager. It might be a virtual assistant for 5 hours a week. The point isn’t the title; it’s the support.
Want to hear more about what it actually looks like? These Goal Digger episodes with Marisa peel back the curtain:
- 378: What Is an Integrator and Do You Need One?
- 770: Why We Secretly Love Hard Conversations in Our Biz
- 900: How One Tiny Survey Helped Me Rebuild My Business with More Clarity and Alignment
Hiring isn’t about doing more; it’s about buying back the work only you can do. You will stay the visionary of your brand, which allows your team to catch that vision and help it come to life!
3) Double Down on Your Core Competencies
Here’s something that might surprise you:
I haven’t created a new course since 2020. Not because I ran out of ideas (please, my brain is basically a Pinterest board of launches I haven’t made yet), but because depth scales better than dabbling.
Early in my business, I thought the key to growth was more: more offers, more funnels, more launches. But all that “more” started to feel like way too much. I was juggling too many things, and nothing was fully getting the love it needed.
So instead of creating from scratch, we got serious about refining. We made our existing offers better. And guess what? That made a bigger impact and a bigger difference in our bottom line.
Less but better? It works. It gave us the bandwidth to actually show up, serve well, and stay consistent without burning out or falling behind.
And if you’re in the messy middle of doing all the things, I see you. You don’t need to be everywhere or create something new every quarter. You just need to do the essential things really, really well.
So, let go of the stuff that drains you, like bookkeeping, blog formatting, and tech headaches, and pour your energy into the magic only you can bring.
You don’t have to be prolific to be profitable. You just have to be focused where it matters most.
4) Build Strategic Partnerships
For years now, partnerships have quietly been one of the most powerful (and sustainable!) growth engines in my business. But let’s be real, when people hear the word “affiliate,” they often picture random links, awkward pitches, or someone trying to sell a mattress in their Instagram Stories. That’s not the kind of affiliate marketing I believe in or teach.
What I believe in is relationships. Trust. Alignment.
When I promote something, whether it’s a digital course, a skincare brand, a website template, or software I use in my business every day, it’s because I genuinely love it. I’ve used it, tested it, believed in it. And I know my audience will, too.
Affiliate partnerships let me serve my people without needing to create every solution myself. Because sometimes, the best thing I can do is point to someone else and say, “She’s the expert. This is the thing you need.” Instead of trying to create a competing course or reinvent the wheel, I get to show up in full support of someone else’s genius.
While our affiliate’s team handles the course, delivery, and backend logistics, my team gets to ask:
“How do we want to show up for our audience during this launch?”
We focus on the creativity, the messaging, and the heart. That’s it. And because we’re not buried in operations, we can show up fully and passionately to share why we believe in our affiliate’s offer. It’s not just smart business, it’s joyful business.
Over the years, I’ve built affiliate relationships with:
- My favorite website template designer (Tonic Site Shop forever!)
- My go-to clean skincare brand (looking at you, Primally Pure)
- The email platform I’ve used for years (shoutout to Flodesk)
- And yes, plenty of incredible course creators who teach what I don’t!
RELATED: 3 Affiliate Marketing Strategies for Beginners in 2025
When you promote with intention, everyone wins. Your audience gets a trusted solution. Your affiliate partner reaches new aligned customers. You earn income without extra creation or delivery.
Want even more proof this works? In 2024, affiliate partnerships drove around 20% of U.S. Cyber Monday revenue and social-led affiliate traffic was 6x more likely to convert. Why? Because people buy from people they trust.
And some of my affiliate partners? We’ve been working together for nearly a decade. That kind of long-term collaboration only happens when you lead with integrity, serve from the heart, and play the long game.
Partnerships let you scale trust at the speed of relationships.
Get the inside scoop in my free guide, How to Make Your First Affiliate Sale!
5) Implement Sustainable Growth Practices
Social platforms love to keep us guessing. One minute your post is doing great, the next it’s like you shouted into a void. With less than 6% of your audience even seeing your content on social, it’s no wonder your best ideas are just… sitting there, collecting digital dust.
That’s why I’ll always preach the good word of email. Your list? It’s all yours. It doesn’t depend on an algorithm. You don’t need a trending sound. And the ROI? Still top of the charts for conversions and sales.
But here’s the part I want to lean into today: Email marketing isn’t just “smart.” It’s doable. Even if you’re starting with 20 subscribers and no clue what to write.
When I started my list, I had all the same doubts. What will I even say? Will anyone care? Who am I writing to, my mom and that one person who signed up by accident? But I started anyway.
Now? That list is one of the most powerful drivers in my business, and it’s working for me even when I’m not. (Yes, even while I’m in my comfiest sweats watching Bluey with the kids.)
Here’s a peek at what we’re doing right now to keep our list growing + engaged:
New Lead Magnets on Repeat
We’ve been rolling out fresh freebies like quiz funnels, checklist downloads, and topic-specific guides. (Think: my Email List-Building Challenge or Ultimate Pinterest Guide.) We meet people where they’re at and offer value right away.
Weekly Exclusive Emails
My email subscribers don’t just get rehashed IG captions; they get real stories, behind-the-scenes lessons, voice-note vibes, and sometimes offers I never post anywhere else. Connection > broadcasting.
Paid Ads to Lead Magnets
Yes, we run ads, but they’re leading people to free content and opt-ins we know convert. From podcast episodes with built-in CTAs to evergreen webinars, we’re always inviting new folks in.
Segmentation + Simplicity
We tag our audience by interest, stage in their business, preferences they’ve shared, and behavior so the right people get the right content. It’s not about blasting everyone; it’s about serving intentionally.
When you grow the right list and love writing to them? Everything changes.
More conversions. More connection. More confidence in your marketing.
If you want my exact system for growing a list you love writing to, grab a seat in my free email list masterclass!
If you double the right subscribers, you multiply the right results.
Frequently Asked Questions About Scaling Sustainably
Q: What is a scalable business model (and how is it different from growth)?
A: A scalable business model increases revenue without increasing costs and hours at the same rate; growth often adds revenue and equal effort. Scalable models rely on tech, repeatable systems, and smart hiring to expand efficiently.
Q: How do I know if my business is scalable?
A: Look for delivery that can be standardized or productized (packages, group programs, licensed assets), demand that exceeds your current capacity, and processes you can document and delegate. If revenue rises only when you add hours, you’re not scaling… yet.
Q: What should I automate first when scaling my business?
A: Automate the repetitive: scheduling, proposals, contracts/invoices, onboarding, reminders, follow-ups, and common customer service replies. Standardize delivery steps with SOPs/templates before you hire, so you’re delegating clarity, not chaos
Q: How do I keep my values and culture intact as I grow my business?
A: Codify them. Write a simple culture memo, embed values into hiring and reviews, and make them operational (e.g., how meetings run, how decisions are made, how customers are treated). Culture isn’t copy; it’s cadence.
How to Build a Scalable Business That Feels Good
After more than ten years of building this business (through messy first launches, awkward pivots, babies being born, late nights, early mornings, and the occasional ugly cry) I can tell you this: real, sustainable growth doesn’t come from doing more. It comes from doing what matters.
There were seasons when I thought I had to keep pushing, keep creating, keep sprinting. But the truth is, scaling shouldn’t mean sacrificing your peace, your priorities, or the parts of life that make it rich and meaningful. What’s the point of a sold-out launch if I’m too tired to sit down for dinner with my kids or too stretched to remember why I started this in the first place?
You don’t have to build your business like anyone else. You don’t need to run faster; you need to root deeper. Protect your peace. Guard your values. And build something that actually feels good to run.
Because the kind of scale that lasts? That feels aligned, life-giving, and legacy-worthy? It starts with you.
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