Building a business is not for the faint of heart. As the owner of a marketing agency for 16 years, I know this to be unequivocally true. In the beginning, you’re forced to juggle all the balls, put out all the fires, and wear all the hats. You believe that as you earn more money, things will get easier. However, I have found the opposite is true.
As the bottom line increases, so does everything else – tasks, meetings, challenges – except for the number of hours in a day.
If you’re an established entrepreneur, how many of these hats are you currently wearing?
- Sales
- Marketing
- Operations
- Customer Service
- Accounting
- Human Resources
Spoiler alert: Trying to do everything will keep your business from scaling…the longer this continues, the longer your business will be stuck.
Step 1: What do you WANT?
Do you aspire to craft and execute marketing strategies, dive into number crunching or perpetually audit your business output for success? Sure, these are important, but let’s get real – these tasks devour precious time that could be better invested in innovating new services, expanding your network, developing leadership skills and most importantly, being YOU.
As your business reaches milestones, you should be putting hats on other people – a.k.a. delegating or outsourcing. A great example of this is in the book, Born to Shine, by self-made billionaire Kendra Scott: She writes about the point in her company when she could afford to hire a chief operating officer (COO) so she could go back to designing jewelry, which was her passion.
Step 2: Where should you FOCUS?
Another common trait of successful entrepreneurs is always looking ahead to the next project or new shiny object. But, in most cases, doing more is just more work…without getting you closer to what you want. I’ve learned firsthand, and teach my clients, that the secret to scaling up is doing less better.
The number one thing that keeps business owners stuck is lack of focus, which is a result of being overwhelmed. Once you’ve decided what you want to do, the next step is to determine the quickest path to get there. Trust me, it’s not starting something from scratch.
By determining the best opportunity for growth, not only can you prioritize where to focus your time and resources, but you can eliminate other projects from your plate.
Good news: This is precisely what my Profit Finder framework does! If you want to see it in action and apply it to your business, watch my 20-minute workshop.
Step 3: What do you NEED to scale?
Let’s face it, it’s hard to admit we can’t do it all. But, there’s a reason successful businesses have a C-suite comprised of leaders to manage critical functions, such as finance, operations and marketing. Based on where your expertise and passion lies, filling those other spots is critical to scale.
If you’re a founder or CEO without a background in marketing, this is an obvious solution to free up your time to focus on other priorities. But, perhaps you’re not yet ready for a full-time, high-salary executive, but still require high-level marketing expertise to drive growth and achieve your business goals.
This is precisely where a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) steps in as a game-changer for entrepreneurs ready to elevate their business.
Never heard of a Fractional CMO? Here’s a brief breakdown:
Cost-Effective:
Fractional CMOs operate as-needed or part-time, waving goodbye to hefty salaries and employee-related costs.
Enhanced Productivity:
They’re decision-making wizards, task-prioritizing experts, accelerating progress, and delivering results.
Expertise at Your Fingertips:
Benefit from their wealth of experience across various industries, diving deep into effective marketing strategies.
Objective Perspective:
Get insights from an external viewpoint – a fractional CMO objectively assesses your overall marketing strategy.
Knowledge Transfer:
They go beyond execution, contributing to your team’s growth by providing training and guidance to less experienced team members, ensuring skill development and improving performance.
Don’t let the weight of wearing too many hats hold your business back. Schedule a strategy call with me to find out if a fractional CMO is the solution to propel your business to the next level.
