Starting With the End in Mind and Reverse Engineering the Plan with Ryan Lazanis

Sometimes it takes more than one try to really nail the execution of an idea.

Creating scalable systems isn't necessarily intuitive and it runs counter to most of our narratives about how hustling hard and creating more is the path to success. I propose that the path to success is actually radical consistency.

As I was looking around for guests for this series on maintenance mode, I started thinking about all the business owners I know who REALLY seem to have nailed it. Who think in systems, in processes, who really understand the power of consistency. And I noticed something about most of the folks that came to mind - they were all second or third-time founders. They'd built a company and then built another.

They'd been through the process at least once before, realized that consistency and systems are the key to building and scaling a successful company and then when they built their second company, they designed it FROM THE BEGINNING, with maintenance mode or scaling in mind.

Most of us are creating businesses that tie us to a physical place and set hours. But oftentimes, the life we want to live doesn’t always align with the businesses we create. When I started ScaleSpark, I designed it from the ground up to be the kind of business that would give me the freedom and flexibility I wanted. I knew what my end game was so I built a business that reflected that.

My guest today did the same thing. Ryan Lazanis is the founder of Future Firm, which helps accounting firm owners grow an online scalable firm. I thought Ryan would be the perfect person to talk about this because Future Firm is his second company. Back in 2013, he founded Zen Accounting, which he started, scaled, and then sold.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• What Ryan learned from his first company about creating a scalable company that can operate on maintenance mode
• The lessons he took with him from that first company and how it influenced how he built the second one
• How Ryan reverse-engineered his business to revolve around his ideal life

Learn more about Ryan Lazanis:

• futurefirm.co
• futurefirmaccelerate.com

Learn more about Susan:

• Scalespark Dollars + Decisions Roundtable
• Twitter @ScaleSpark
• LinkedIn @thesusanboles

Grab your free ticket to the Autonomous Creative Conference for May 13-15 at beyondmargins.com/autonomous