If you’re going to build a tall building, your risk of failure is correlated to structural design — the depth PRE-BUILD is just as important as the build itself.
Think of your structure this way — every month that goes by that you’re NOT setting a ‘revenue record’ (topline) is a month you can build foundations deeper into the ground.
Building UP while drilling DOWN is not possible.
Nobody does it because they can’t.
When you’re increasing the rate of enrollment, the ad spend, the revenue & the onboarding every single month — you are USING systems not BUILDING them. Hear what I’m saying — I’m not saying that “very few people” can do this, I’m saying that literally nobody can do both at the same time.
My claim is that nobody in the world can successfully build UP while also building down. It may look like they are, but behind the scenes, it’s a series of starts, stops, and pivots. You cannot add muscle at a rapid pace AND cut at the exact same time. Nobody even tries this because it does not work…
You have phases.
Focus on X in this phase.
Focus on Y in this phase.
Your business should follow a steady, predictable, ENJOYABLE pace and process.
First you design.
You do not work FIRST.
You design first.
Anyone who tells you that the only answer is work harder, I will pull up their last 10 years and show you that they did not work harder as a first resort — they planned better, designed better, and THEN worked the plan.
Second, you fund.
To fund, you create an initial boost of torque and traction and you — wait for it — DON’T SPEND THE MONEY. This is seed money, investment money, foundation money; not your personal payday.
These funds are used to establish more infrastructure (team, campaigns, product enhancement etc). Then, you operationalize and multiply.
I used to talk in detail about these phases —
- Startup
- Buyback
- Multiply
- Harvest
These are all built together and they form the perfect runway for going from moderately healthy / “making it” to enjoyably GROWING / “crushing it” in as little time as possible…
“As little time as possible” means “fast ENOUGH.”
Remember — optimal time is very different than “record time.” Optimal time is considerate of context.
Most of my playbooks, frameworks, tools & perspectives all come from the glorious (and rare) experience of building 8-figure businesses and then crashing them because I built them too fast.
Poor foundations kill good businesses.
Poor foundations come from poor planning, poor design, and mismanaged timelines.
When we work with clients we typically end up removing / reducing first — narrowing the focus window and the timelines. Same energy placed into a smaller reservoir = more torque.
For more on foundations: