I'm Not Scaling My Business (And I Don't Care What Anyone Thinks)
"So what's your growth plan?" "When are you planning to scale?" "How big do you want to get?"
If you're a business owner who's happy with your current size, these questions probably make you cringe. There's this unspoken assumption in the entrepreneurial world that if you're not constantly growing, you're somehow failing.
Well, I'm here to tell you that's absolute nonsense.
The Liberation of Enough
I've reached a stage in my life where I don't want to scale another business. I want to have something that I am passionate about. As my friend Palak says, "Don't do what the world needs, do what lights you up."
Writing this newsletter and helping other entrepreneurs does that for me. It's the whole reason I started Ages & Stages in Biz and Life. I don't need to prove anything to myself or anyone else.
Maybe this state of mind comes from experience. I am 54 years old after all. I do wish I had been more confident and clear thinking to realize what lights me up sooner. But that's the journey, isn't it?
The Scale Obsession
Our business culture is obsessed with scaling. From pitch competitions to business podcasts to social media, the message is clear: bigger is better, and if you're not growing, you're dying.
But let's think about this for a minute. Where does this obsession come from?
Investor Mindsets: The venture capital world needs businesses to scale exponentially for their model to work. But most of us aren't VC-backed, so why adopt their metrics?
Social Media Highlight Reels: We see the celebrations of massive growth, but rarely the toll it takes on health, relationships, and quality of life.
Ego and Status: Let's be honest, sometimes it's about how impressive you sound at cocktail parties. "I have a team of 50" sounds more impressive than "I run a profitable business that gives me freedom."
Valid Reasons to Stay Your Size
There are perfectly legitimate reasons to maintain your current business size:
Quality Control: The bigger you get, the harder it is to maintain excellence.
Work-Life Balance: Scaling often means more hours, more stress, and less freedom - at least temporarily.
Family Priorities: I've been there - bigger business often means less time for the people who matter most.
Lower Risk: Staying smaller often means lower overhead and less financial pressure.
The Joy of Mastery: There's profound satisfaction in doing what you do extremely well rather than constantly climbing new learning curves.
The Wisdom of Experience
At 54, after building and selling businesses, I've learned a few things that I wish I'd understood earlier:
Success Is Personal: Only you can define what success looks like for you. Not your business coach, not your peers, not even your family.
Seasons Change: What's right for you at 30 might not be right at 40 or 50. Your business should evolve as you do.
Your "Why" Matters: When your business aligns with what truly energizes you, work doesn't feel like work.
Nothing to Prove: There comes a point when you realize you don't need to impress anyone anymore. That freedom is priceless.
I look back at younger me, constantly pushing for bigger, more, faster - and I want to tell her to slow down and ask herself what she really wants, not what she thinks others expect.
The Hidden Costs of Scaling
Scaling a business costs more than money:
Team Management: More people means more complexity, more communication challenges, and more HR issues.
Systems Overhaul: What worked for a small operation often breaks under growth.
Identity Shift: You shift from doing the work to managing people who do the work - not everyone enjoys this transition.
Family Impact: I can't count the family dinners, games, and moments I missed during intense growth periods.
When I sold E by Design, it was a seven-figure exit. Impressive on paper, right? But what you don't see is the toll it took to get there. The missed recitals, the stress, the 3 AM email sessions, the constant pressure.
Was it worth it? In many ways, yes. Would I do it again? Not a chance.
Different Business Models Need Different Metrics
There's a fundamental difference between:
Growth Business: Designed to scale rapidly, often requiring significant investment, with the goal of eventual acquisition or large-scale operation.
Lifestyle Business: Designed to support your desired quality of life, with success measured by freedom, fulfillment, and sustainable profit.
Neither is better. They're just different. But many business advisors treat lifestyle businesses like failed growth businesses, which is completely missing the point.
For Ages & Stages, my metrics aren't about scaling to a multi-million dollar enterprise. They're about:
Helping fellow entrepreneurs
Creating content that resonates
Building a community
Maintaining flexibility and freedom
Doing work that energizes rather than depletes me
Responding to Scale Pressure
When well-meaning people push you to "think bigger," try these responses:
"I'm focused on optimizing rather than expanding right now."
"My current size allows me to maintain the quality and personal touch my clients value."
"My definition of success includes time freedom, which is more important to me than size."
"I'm intentionally running a lifestyle business, not a growth business, by design."
The key is to respond confidently, not defensively. You've made a strategic choice, not a compromise.
Optimizing Instead of Scaling
Instead of making your business bigger, consider making it better:
Fine-tune Your Operations: Can you create more efficiency in your current model?
Increase Your Rates: Could you serve fewer clients at higher rates?
Deepen Client Relationships: Could you create more value for existing clients?
Systematize: Could you simplify or automate parts of your business?
Eliminate: What could you stop doing that doesn't serve your vision?
Finding What Lights You Up
Looking back, I wish I'd asked myself these questions much earlier:
When do I lose track of time? That's a sign you're doing something you love.
What would I do even if I wasn't getting paid? (Hint: I'd still be writing this newsletter.)
What compliments mean the most to me? Pay attention to what recognition actually fills your cup.
What successes am I most proud of? Often it's not what looks impressive on paper.
It's never too early - or too late - to pivot toward what lights you up. I pivoted at 54, and my only regret is not doing it sooner.
Your Right-Size Action Plan
Define Success On Your Terms
What really matters to you?
What does "enough" look like for you?
How do you want to feel daily?
Set Intentional Boundaries
What will you say no to?
What are your non-negotiables?
What size allows you to maintain quality and joy?
Find Your Right-Sized Community
Seek out others with similar values
Look for mentors who respect your vision
Consider who truly understands your definition of success
The Bottom Line
There's profound freedom in saying, "This is enough. This lights me up. This serves my purpose."
It's taken me decades of building, scaling, and selling businesses to realize that "successful" and "big" are not synonyms. Success is building a business that serves your life, not the other way around.
Drop a comment below: Are you feeling pressure to scale? Or have you found peace with your right-sized business? Let's have a real conversation about this!
xx, Heather
P.S. If you're struggling with pressure to scale when your heart isn't in it, remember my friend Palak's wisdom: "Don't do what the world needs, do what lights you up." The world actually needs more people doing what energizes them rather than what depletes them.