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How to scale your business sustainably minus the burnout

how to scale your business without the burn out? is that possible?

Are you looking for effective tips on how to scale your business sustainably, without having to work 80 hours a week? Well, I’m so delighted to tell you that…

YES!!! You actually can run a business, live a fulfilling life, and be your bestest most awesome self.

Don’t believe me? Ohoho… buckle up, buddy! Because I’ll be diving into the tricky world of business sustainability and sharing my insight (based on true experience) on how to NOT burn yourself the fork out.

the secret weapon you need to scale your business - soar framework

Have you seen those digital entrepreneurs that ended up completely burned out? Man, we really need to stop the glorification of busy and doing all the things ALL the dang time. 

To be honest, I knew it was gonna be hard work, but THIS (vaguely gestures at the impending burnout all entrepreneurs seem to wear like a badge of honor)…

Yeah, not exactly the trial by fire that I imagined when I jumped into the business owner bandwagon! I was thinking more, you know, “Oh my gosh! Who do I hire to help me grow my business?” and not, “OH MY GOD! How do I make 24 hours into 40 hours a day?!”

SOLUTION TIME.

I learned this year that the path to a sustainably scalable business is less bumpy and crazy when you use the magic that is THE SOAR FRAMEWORK.

SOAR is actually an acronym for:

S: SYSTEMIZE

Your habits will act as your built-in system, so do your best to keep the really good ones!

O: OPTIMIZE

Go through your business with a fine-toothed comb. Check for bottlenecks. Find those time suckers. Update and upgrade where needed.

A: AUTOMATE

If you’ve done it 3x, then it chuck it into the automation bin. Create an SOP, make a template, and/or automate it.

R: RINSE & REPEAT

Regulary go through the prior steps and make sure your systems are scaling along with your business. The last thing you want to happen is for your business to grow real big, real fast without proper systems and safeguards in place.

how does the soar framework scale your business?

business idea, planning, board-3683781.jpg

SOAR should be implemented throughout the different areas of your business. But be warned, that some of these implementations can take several hours, some might take several days, while others would take weeks or even months to complete.

But, ultimately, you want to go by the SOAR framework on these three areas:

TECH, PROCESSES, PEOPLE.

business area 1: tech

So, you wanna SOAR? Start with all your business tech! 

List out all the tools you have, want to have, and rank how effective these are for your business.

Ask yourself, “Is this app/tool serving my business at the highest capacity?”

If the answer is YES, then keep it.

If you answered NO, then ask your business friends for tool recommendations. But alsoooo, supplement those recommendations with your own research.

When tech is SOAR-ING, you avoid the wrath of the tech deities!

business area 2: processes

SOPs. Standard Operating Procedures. Are. Your. Best. Friend.

There’s never a good excuse to skip documenting your business processes. It doesn’t matter if you’re a fledgling entrepreneur or a multi-business veteran, YOU NEED TO GET YOUR PROCESSES WRITTEN OUT, INDEXED, AND SAVED IN YOUR CLOUD (ex. Google Drive, Dropbox).

Ask yourself, “Is there an easier/faster way to do this without compromising output quality?” or “Was there a change in my workflow?” and of course, “How can I automate this process (ex. ClickUp)?”

If the answer is YES, then it’s time to update your SOPs.

If not, then keep things as is, and then revisit another time (hint: monthly/quarterly is a good cadence).

When processes are SOAR-ing, you avoid repeating the same mistakes!

business area 3: people

If you’re able to hire folks to help you out in your business, then you really need to SOAR-t (soart, get it?) out priorities.

And by priorities, I mean, what are their priorities?

Someone in your team might be interested in social media marketing, but was hired to do graphics. 

Someone in your team might have a knack in research that could easily translate to finding great podcast guests, speaking opportunities, or even leads.

OR, you know, it just might happen that a task doesn’t quite need to be handed off to a person – maybe it can be automated!

When using the SOAR framework on your people, you need to ask yourself, “Is this person seated at my table (business) sitting in the right place? How can I make this work engagement a more pleasant experience for everyone involved?”

Sometimes skill overlap, and other times, people just don’t like what they’re doing and are better off doing something else – in both instances the best actionable step is to ask them and try things out. A stress test would also be a great way to figure out if they’re a good fit.

Another question you need to ask when dealing with this business area is, “What will happen if this person leaves? What areas of the business will be affected? How do you mitigate the lack or surplus of work?”

Usually, if you’ve made your tech and processes airtight, the people side of the business won’t be too difficult.

When your people are SOAR-ing, you reduce the risk of business liabilities, improve workplace culture, and get your team onboard your vision!

Note: If you’re a podcaster, then check out this nifty resource!

it's time to soar!

So, there you have it~

An effective and efficient way to scale your business sustainably without burning yourself down to the ground. 

All you need to remember is S. O. A. R.

Systemize. Optimize. Automate. Rinse & Repeat.

Hope this helped you gain more clarity (and maybe find a glimmer of hope). Next time someone tells you that you need to work doubletime to scale your business, tell them no thanks – you’re sticking to the soar framework.

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