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Are you doing everything right—but still can’t break past six figures? Leslie Hassler, author of Scaling Rich, reveals the overlooked reason most entrepreneurs plateau—and it’s not your offer, your funnel, or your team.
If you’ve been stuck around the low six figures wondering why all the hard work still isn’t getting you to the next level, this episode is for you. I sat down with Leslie Hassler—author of Scaling Rich and founder of Your Biz Rules® and we talk about what’s really keeping you from breaking through to the next level, and spoiler alert: it’s not your offer, your team, or your strategy. It’s something else—and she knows exactly how to fix it.
Leslie shares the power of a fractional C-suite, and how the equivalent of a single salary can get you an entire team. When we want to hire for growth we look for the next hire, not for the suite that can get us there faster. Leslie explains how to do that and achieve sustainable growth. Any new stage of business requires a new mindset because no amount of strategy will scale your business if you are not evolving with it.
If you’re hovering around $350K to $500K and you want to play in a bigger league, here is your playbook.
👉 And while you’re at it, head to https://www.yourbizrules.com/ to grab Leslie’s free gift and learn how she helps business owners like you scale without burnout.
Resources Mentioned:
Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Tiktok | Scaling Rich
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Leslie Hassler (00:00):
Well, howdy, everyone. This is Leslie
(00:01):
Hassler, author of "ScalingRich" and "Founder of Your Biz
Rules." And on my episode withthe Business Growth Architecture
Show, I'm going to reveal someways to reignite your vision,
bring every part of yourbusiness, meaning your team,
your clients and your systems,into alignment so that you can
scale for not just profit, maybefor even more. So you're going
to want to check out this entireinterview, because what if the
(00:24):
real secret to scaling yourbusiness richly is hidden in the
one place you've forgotten?
BEATE CHELETTE (00:30):
This is the Business Growth Architect Show
for founders who don't followtrends, they set them for
entrepreneurs who aren't here tofix the past, but to build the
future they actually want tolive in. Hi. My name is Beate
Chelette. I'm a Palisades firesurvivor strategist and the
entrepreneur behind a multimillion dollar tech exit Tuva
(00:51):
Gate. And every week I bring youthe fire real guests, real
strategy and the real talk onhow to control your mind move
fast and create your future.
This is where strategy needsenergy, because your next level
needs both. Let's grow. Hello.
(01:12):
Welcome back. This is your host,Beate Chelette. Today with me is
Leslie Hassler from "Your BizRules." One of the reasons I
wanted Leslie on the show isbecause she solves a big problem
that a lot of business owners,when they are entering growth
and scaling have, and that is,who do we need to bring into the
company to scale it rapidlywithout getting killed by the
(01:38):
expense that It takes to hirereally good people. Leslie, I'm
excited to have you on the show.
Leslie Hassler (01:43):
Welcome Howdy, I'm excited to be here. I can't
wait for our conversation. It'sgonna be so
BEATE CHELETTE (01:48):
good. All right, let's dive right in so with
somebody who does not know whatyou do, what do you do and what
problem do you solve for yourclients?
Leslie Hassler (01:58):
Sure. So what we do is "Your Biz Rule" is a
fractional C suite firm. Now youmay have heard fractional
before, fractional CFOs,fractional CEO, and those are
individuals and great companiesthat can help you build your
business. What we do, though, iswe are basically the one stop
shop. We have the expertise onteam to fulfill multiple roles
(02:19):
in your growing business so thatyou're just you're making one
investment instead of fourinvestments. And that really
works out strongly for ourclients, because what we do at
the end of the day is we helpbusinesses be cash positive. It
means profitable with enoughleft over. At the end of the
day, we help them grow and scalein a way that's just sustainable
(02:41):
and healthy.
BEATE CHELETTE (02:42):
Let's go through some of the specifics. So what
exactly is a fractional C suite,or a fractional CMO or a
fractional CFO? What is it?
Leslie Hassler (02:52):
So for a lot of businesses, they're just not big
enough to hire one full timeemployee and then fill out all
the C suite. So if you were tothink about the largest possible
size that your business could beand who would be in your
leadership team, you likelywould have someone over
operations. Now, operations cancover a huge gamut. You would
(03:13):
have somebody over yourfinances. Maybe you have someone
over marketing and sales,because that's a vital element
of your business. Perhapstechnology, perhaps processes.
There's so many different areasthat every business can use. And
what's crazy is no one you know,if you took two businesses and
compare them side to side,they're not going to need the
same kind of leadership. What wehave found is this model. Most
(03:37):
of our clients have a majorneed, one that is just the
burning need. Oftentimes it's inteam, it's in sales and
marketing, or if it's it's anoperations as a general and then
finances. Those four tend to bethe big four, if you will. But
no one problem that you'refacing as a small business owner
is only about the overt thing,the thing on the outside of the
(03:59):
cover, if you will. Usually whenwe get in, peel back. It means
we need to bring in thisfractional CFO, because maybe we
need to run some projections.
Maybe we need to look atforecasting. Perhaps you've got
a big, crazy goal.
BEATE CHELETTE (04:12):
Leslie, you said that the idea of a fractional C
suite is to instead of trying tofigure out who I need to hire,
and then stressing out that Ican't afford a C level executive
because I don't have that kindof work yet, but it'll allow me
to hire multiple people, maybefor the salary of one person,
(04:35):
but I have a full suite, soWhen, at what point does this
matter in my business? Becausethat's a pretty bold move. Most
people think about an operationsmanager or a coordinator or a
social media person. I think isthe right term. When do I need
(04:56):
somebody like the people you arerepresenting? Yeah. So there's
Leslie Hassler (05:01):
not a hard and fast revenue size, if you will,
although there's a range inthere, I will say, though it's
much more about what you'regoing through in your business.
So if typically, what we'reseeing is, when clients come to
us is they've had a period ofgrowth that they've gone
through, like they've had somesuccess, but they've spent the
last one, two, maybe even threeyears of bits spinning the
(05:22):
wheels like they can't getenough traction to get over
wherever they're at. And thatnumber does look different,
because it's a littledeterminant on, you know, what
the price point is of whatyou're selling, what your
current capacity is, but it doestypically happen, I will say
between 300 and 600,000
BEATE CHELETTE (05:39):
somewhere the number would be, probably, in my
experience, about a half a mil.
Because, yeah, in my experience.
And pardon for interrupting you,but I think this is really
critical, because of all thework that I've done for the
entrepreneur organization, wherethe whole goal is to get them to
a million dollars. Right? Youcan run a business up to a
million dollars pretty much onyour own, but it's not pretty,
(06:04):
and you will kill yourself inthe process, and your social
life and your health and yourfriendships.
Leslie Hassler (06:09):
Yeah, I was gonna say you can do it. That's
a lot of different choices,isn't
BEATE CHELETTE (06:13):
it? Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. I see it all the
time. It's like around the930,000 that's literally when
they start to go, I can't dothis anymore. I'm going to just
quit and blow it all up. And I'mlike, no, no, no, no, no, you
missed the hiring plan, becausethe hiring plan has to be part
of growth. So you say, let'ssay, between 350 and $600,000
(06:35):
what is the marker that I needto watch out for?
Leslie Hassler (06:39):
How we understand that question a
little bit better. So what isthe marker that would tell you
that you're ready for somethinglike this? Or what is the
marker? Okay, what's the mark?
Yeah, I think it really has todo about the plateau or where
you're finding I think peopleget caught. I call it the
between the rock and the hardspot to where you're you
physically go. I can't workanymore, so I can't earn
(07:01):
anymore. But if I don't earnanymore, I can't do this other
thing that I need to do. And youjust constantly feel post the
pillar, if you will. There's notenough time or not enough money.
And I think you're right. Youmentioned it when people hit 1
million or close to 1 million,if they're doing it again, this
same situation if you don't fixit, happens again right at that
(07:21):
seven figures. It's just anindicator. But I think if you're
in that space where you don'tfeel like you have choice, I
want to tell you that the signsyou're seeing and the experience
that you're having is actuallycounter intuitive to what you
think you should be doing, andwhat you think you should be
doing is waiting and seeing ifyou can get over the hump.
(07:41):
That's costing you more time andmoney and energy and motivation
than you really will understand,until maybe they get to nearly
the seven figures, like yousaid, and they're ready to blow
it up. I am speaking fromexperience of doing that in a
business, basically explodingone business, starting this
business. Now I don't regret thedecision, but hindsight, looking
(08:04):
back, I go, Hmm, maybe I couldhave done that a better way, but
it didn't know what it didn'tknow at the time, and that
hopefully, if you're listeningto us today, we can save you
from that, because you wereexactly spot on in telling the
person who was at 930,000 not toblow it up, is you've achieved
so much more for where you are,if you just look at the business
(08:28):
stats, if you're a womanbusiness owner, I think it's
only two to 4% ever make it intoseven figures. That's primarily
to do with the type ofbusinesses that people have, but
also whether or not they'rewilling to ask for help. Now, if
you want to look at from startupto a million, well, only that
18% you know, get past thatfirst six figures, and then are
(08:50):
headed towards a million. So ifyou're already here, please
don't blow it up, please. Let'sjust fix it. It can do so much
more for you. But I will say,the longer that people go at it,
they're by themselves. I thinkwe have this concept that we get
this gold star to you know, did,how did you get there? I did it
all by myself. Congratulations,gold star. I I don't see an
(09:13):
entrepreneurial award for that.
I don't know if you've comeacross it yet.
BEATE CHELETTE (09:19):
Oh, and I've never gone to any cemetery where
it says did everything bythemselves? Ah, exactly, right.
I mean, and you know why?
Because nobody, nobody's at thefuneral of those people. Yeah,
you can search nobody there.
Leslie Hassler (09:32):
There's nobody to give you a Novation at the
end of the day. So why is itthat entrepreneurs so stubbornly
feel the need to do it alone.
It's very interesting to me.
It's one of the things we studya lot. But to your point, it is
around this half a million mark.
If you don't fix it here, you'regoing to hit it really hard at
nearly the million mark. It isnot something you can skip.
You've got to fix thescalability of the business, and
(09:56):
oftentimes that's about bring.
It into alignment with who youare and who the business is
today.
BEATE CHELETTE (10:04):
Talk to me about the psychological state of mind.
Somebody comes to you at so I'mI'm estimating that there's a
part of them that's completeexhausted, a part of them that
is incredibly excited, and apart of them that is so
overwhelmed they don't
Leslie Hassler (10:20):
even know where to start. Yeah, and the words I
was thinking of is frustrated tothe point of anger, and maybe
not quite to anger, but, man,they're a grumbly person. But
there is that hope, you know,then you're said excitement.
There still is hope, and there'sa belief that this can do
something, that you've startedsomething that you're building,
(10:43):
something valuable and hasimpact and can create legacy. I
think if we don't have that holein our bellies that pulls us
forward and keeps us going, it'sactually really hard to be an
entrepreneur in today's market,in today's economy, you just
don't have enough to keep theengines firing on all cylinders,
(11:05):
but definitely exhaustion. Ithink you've moved past
overwhelmed into juice, feelinga little beat down and beat up
in a lot of ways, but I think,unfortunately, I've been trying
to figure out, how do we getpeople to change without having
to go through a breakdown. Like,how do you get a breakthrough
without a breakdown? I thinkthis might be my subtle life's
(11:29):
work here of trying to encouragepeople not to let the slide get
so deep, to take action sooner,to take steps forward, even
however imperfect now, becausewait and see is not a strategy.
Hope and pray is not a strategy.
All they do is cost you time andmoney. I think we can always
make more money, but you can'tget back time, you know. So
BEATE CHELETTE (11:53):
once you can't get your life back, and you
can't get your relationshipback, and you can't get your
teenage son to talk to you, ifthat's completely blown up, you
know, going in a differentthing. I, to your point, I think
that actually, in my experience,and I've been doing this for
decades, without the pain,there's no change.
Unfortunately, most people justdon't do that. So if we teach
(12:16):
them that there has to be abreakdown to get to the
breakthrough, to get to thebreakout, and we just help them
figure out which of the B's thatthey are at, then they'll
understand this is part of theprocess. So tell me, how do you
recognize that the business isready? I mean, aside from, yeah,
it's a client, and we can makemoney and we can place people,
(12:39):
but how do you see that thebusiness is ready for it? What
do you look for? I'm
Leslie Hassler (12:44):
looking for a variety of things. One thing
that I'm looking for is, forlack of a better term, proof of
concept, meaning you can get theclients, the clients are coming
in. That's not where the problemwholly lies. There's a
difference between I need to get10 more clients, or grow my
clientele by 30% and I can'teven get one person to buy, that
(13:07):
is a very different issue. Sowe're looking for, really, that
that product market fit peoplebuy your stuff. They're
generally happy that that's oneof the indicators we're looking
for, because it means we canstart with something we're not
necessarily building from groundzero, and we can build from
(13:28):
ground zero, but a lot of ourclients have something existing
that we're working on. We'realso looking, unfortunately, for
that breakthrough moment, thatmoment that our business owners
are like, enough, I'm done. Justtell me what to do and let me I
need something that desperatelydifferent. That just means
you're ready. You're not goingto fight us. We're going to be
(13:49):
able to give recommendations,help you, implement them with
their with you, step by step bystep. But you're not going to
ignore the help that's beingoffered. And that's really
important to us, we also lookfor a mindset. It's that belief.
At the end of the day, I thinkHenry Ford said, whether you
think you can or you think youcan't,
BEATE CHELETTE (14:08):
you're right.
You're right either way. Yeah,
Leslie Hassler (14:11):
you're right either way, right? And the truth
of it is, is I can be 100% forour clients, our team can be
100% with our clients. We justcan't be you. We can't do that
voodoo that you do so well as aas the owner and that poor
belief has to be there, becauseif it isn't, it doesn't matter
(14:33):
what we do. And I've had thisproven to me time and time
again, of going that's the onething I can't change, is your
ultimate belief in yourself andyour ultimate belief in the
business. So we're looking for amultitude of items, if you will.
Some of them tangible, some ofthem intangible. That helps us
see whether there's possibilitywe can create change. I'm not
(14:56):
worried about that. We cancreate opportunity, not worried
about that. Really good. And asour team is amazing at what it
does, but I need our clients tocome to the table and be willing
to do the things necessary toget a different result than what
they're getting. So I think it'sreally simple at the end of the
day, we because we work sodeeply, we look for really good
(15:18):
people that are trying to doreally good work, who treat
others with kindness and respectand integrity. I think these are
simple things. They're actuallymuch more common than our
current media stream might allowus to believe. And those are
going to be the people we'rechampions for, 100%
BEATE CHELETTE (15:35):
so how does spirituality or mindset or any
of the concepts we talk about onthe show, come into your work.
Leslie Hassler (15:43):
We often joke that we find ourselves in
position of being therapists.
Now we're not professionaltherapists, but the mindset, the
spirit, the energy, themotivation, that self talk, if
you will, is such an importantaspect of our work because it
goes hand in hand. Well, whatthey don't understand is, in
(16:04):
order for the business to uplevel again, this is a point of
alignment. The person has to uplevel too. Like these two things
cannot happen in a vacuum fromeach other, and oftentimes
you'll get to the point whereyou realize you have to up level
before the business can uplevel. It gets you there faster.
So even myself, I am constantlyworking on my mindset. This
(16:28):
morning. I have i i like to gothrough different I don't know
methodologies, mediums, modes,thought process. If you were I'm
currently doing a journalexercise, seven affirmations
that I'm going through on itevery morning, on and my goal is
seven. I've done Deepak Chopra21 day. You know, gratitude and
abundance. I love that one.
(16:52):
That's one I love to recommendto people. I've done mind
valleys, the six phases, like Iconsume this, and I have to get
variety, because I get a littlebored, and then I get
distracted, and then it's not aseffective. But whatever it is, I
think it's part it's got tobecome so much more of our norm
than the Woo, woo, that peopleare thinking that it is because
(17:14):
it truly is building the inneryou so the outer you can do the
work that you need to do, andthere's so much of an onslaught
of negativity, of fear and hateand just all the, I don't know,
the basis of what's not greatabout humanity that's coming to
our doorstep. It's coming to ourphones. It comes to our inboxes.
(17:37):
It comes to our podcasts that ifyou don't defend against it, if
you don't build up your ownmental muscle, then you will
become subject to it day in andday out. We started this podcast
talking about just how peopleare bringing this into the
business. And the thing Ithought in my brain is, or you
(17:58):
can wake up from the Matrix. Youcan stop participating in the
circus, if you will, and besomebody that owns your person,
owns your mind more than otherpeople do. That's why I think
it's so crucial to be alwaysworking on your mindset. And we
(18:18):
have people that come to us thathave never, ever, ever, ever,
ever, like I start talking aboutgratitude, and they're like,
What do you want me to do? Andthen we have people that where
it is an active practice and itis a journey. I want to say,
tell people that it's a journey.
I happen to be kinetic. I happento be visual. I don't do well at
closing my eyes and sittingstill, all those things we
(18:39):
thought meditation and mindsetwas growing up, you know, on 50
over 50. So growing up in thelast 50 years, it's none of
that. It can be whatever youneed it to be. That's why I do.
I love doing Deepak Chopra whenI go for a walk, you know,
because I like that kineticpart. I like the activeness of
my brain. That doesn't mean thatI can't go somewhere in my mind
(19:02):
at the same time. So I knowthat's a I gotta I feel like I
had a soapbox moment for just asong.
BEATE CHELETTE (19:11):
You're exactly where I actually hoped you were
gonna go there. Because thisway, why I love the concept of
of the show so much is that wecan talk about very tactical,
practical things. We talkedabout strategies to grow. We
talked about markers on theroad. That's very clear. It's
like, if you're making 350,$600,000 you don't have another
(19:32):
person in your business that hasC level expertise in any area
you are heading toward trouble.
That's very clear, verystrategic, very, very, very
straightforward. But then thepart comes what you said, at
every level, you have to uplevel. And I think that's the
part that most people miss inthe business. What got you here
will not get you there. Andwe've heard this a million
(19:54):
times, and you don't know whatit means until you are there.
And. And news for you, it neverends ever because then you
you're never there. What happensis you leave the matrix more and
more behind, because you realizethis is the same stuff over and
(20:14):
over and over again, whetherit's this president or that
President, or it's far on theleft or far on the right, most
people really would love to bein the middle, and they would
love to have a a conversationabout contribution and receiving
and and gratitude and connectionand community. We see this when
(20:36):
catastrophes are happening. It'salways the community that brings
people together, so that youtalk about this on this level,
and say you need to be cognizantof that is incredibly powerful,
I think, for the show to lookat. So it wasn't even a big
soapbox that was maybe just likea little an inch of a step,
Leslie Hassler (21:00):
well, and I was laughing, because I remember, in
my first business, this is mysecond business, I was working
with a coach, and I went inthere, and I was like, when
exactly do I get to stop workingon me? I'm so tired of working
on me. Why don't everybody elseout there? Why aren't they
working on themselves? Why is itme? And he was like, you want to
keep growing? And I was like,Well, yeah. And he goes, Yeah,
(21:22):
you're gonna work on you. And Iwas like, I don't like you right
now.
BEATE CHELETTE (21:25):
Yeah, that that was, you're absolutely right.
And then the second part, yousaid that meditation, or
spiritual work. And again, thisis one of the reasons I made
this show so heavily about thisis it's not one thing. It is
many different things. I wasjust at a conference, and people
(21:45):
are doing now, visualexperiences that mimic a
psychedelic experience withoutthe psychedelics, which is
definitely a company I want toinvest in, because I think
that's why we are we. That'swhere we're going, understanding
on how our brain works and howwe have more control over what
(22:06):
we think, and the outside mediais designed to distract you from
your clean thought process thatwill allow you to create
anything you want, because ifyou are distracted with Creating
what somebody else wants becausethey're controlling your mind,
you'll always be somewhere else,other than other than here. So
(22:27):
let's go back to what you do. Soyou wrote a you talk about
sustainable growth. What exactlyis that
Leslie Hassler (22:38):
sustainable growth is, is growth fit won't
kill you in the process. Itwon't grow you out of business.
Now that's not to mean that Idon't believe in exponential
growth. I wholeheartedly believein rapid exponential growth. But
what I don't believe in is itdone in such a way that it it
burns through every resource,including yourself. Now, there's
(23:01):
different scales. There'sdifferent scales of thought.
When you go out there, there's aconcept called Blitz scaling,
which is basically burn throughas much money as you possibly
can to get big enough to whereyou have critical mass, and
while you're there, beateverybody to the punch. Now that
is the methodology that has madea lot of billionaires in the
world. That's what our VC, ourPEs are all focused
BEATE CHELETTE (23:23):
in the unicorn concept. Throw everything at it.
Leslie Hassler (23:28):
Right? Throw everything out. Well, that's out
of the reach of, I don't know,90% of our
BEATE CHELETTE (23:33):
small I think it's more like 99, 99% I think
the unicorns are falling.
They're they're not that many ontheir clients. Well,
Leslie Hassler (23:42):
they burn up and die really fast, right? It's
like a star that burns toobright, too fast, and it burns
it burns itself out. That isunsustainable, unhealthy growth
in my my vantage point, becauseit's not respecting the people.
It's not respecting theresources. Now, on our other
edge, our other spectrum, is anold concept, an old paradigm
(24:03):
that basically said, goodgrowth, excellent growth, is
growing 14.4% year over year, sothat in five years you double.
Well, that's antiquated, becauseactually the the momentum that
is in our marketplace
BEATE CHELETTE (24:20):
that sounds very cockey, if you know what I mean.
Leslie Hassler (24:24):
Oh, it's very it's very antiquated, right? But
I see people at either side ofthe spectrum is either going
crazy, let me burn througheverything I can, and hopefully
I'll make it there, and then theothers that are saying 14.4 now
here's the reality, any growthis good growth. I'm not going to
knock that, but what I am goingto say is you might be losing
(24:44):
out on your potential. And wehad a client come to us a couple
years ago where they wereclipping good, you know, 10, 12%
that type of growth. And whenwe're working with them and and
work asked what their goalswere, it really wasn't even a.
About more money or biggerbusiness. It was truly about
(25:05):
better work, life, balance, abetter quality of life. Said,
great, but what? What sizebusiness do you need in order to
make that fiscally possible? Andthey just didn't know. So we're
like, okay, let's play the game.
Let's figure this out. Turns outwe within one year, we did about
54% growth. I think that's thenew average, growing 50% growth,
year over year, is definitelydoable at a healthy rate that
(25:29):
produces cash that you actuallysee, that allows you to do the
things. Maybe it's systems,maybe it's process, maybe it's
team, and make those investmentswhich really start to invest in
the max level of growth. You dothis compounding year over year,
and what you're effectivelydoing, and this is the way I
think of it, in my own business,the moves that I'm making this
(25:51):
year aren't about my businessthis year. They're about my
business in two years. They'reabout my business in four years,
the business decisions that I'mmaking are not based on the size
of my business today. They'rebased on the $10 million
business I have in my brain. Soit gets you thinking further out
with bigger possibility. Andwhen you do that, I think
(26:16):
timelines collapse, and I thinkthat's the power we have in
today's market, everything'smoving so much faster than it
ever was before. I challenge youto find one person who won't say
that about something in life.
But why can't we harness it?
That's really what a healthygrowth, a sustainable growth,
(26:36):
looks like, is, how do we notjust do it this year, but how do
we do it in a way that succeedsyear after year after year
without burning through our
BEATE CHELETTE (26:48):
resources? Yeah, and we subscribe to the same the
same methodology. We believethat unless we are clear what
you want to achieve and how thatfits into the lifestyle you want
to live. We don't know what weare creating, so that needs to
be in place. I had aninteresting conversation with
someone where I was in amoderator training, and they're
(27:11):
like, Yeah, you know the goalis, like, scale, scale, scale,
scale, scale. And I said, it'snot. I said, you have it? I
said, it is one of the goals. Iwork with a lot of women, and
about 50% of my clients arewomen. And when I have a woman
that comes through to me that'ssomewhere in her 30s, but my
first question is, where are youat with children, family? And
(27:32):
then I had somebody, and shesaid to me, Well, I'm waiting
for the moment until thebusiness will allow me to have a
child. And my hairs, I mean, I'mlike, Oh no, no, no, no, no, no.
We that's not the way thisworks. We now need to figure out
what you want and what needs tohappen for this to happen.
Because if you're not havingchildren, or you postponing and
(27:54):
postponing and potentiallyrisking your entire fulfillment
of your life based upon thenotion that your business has to
do something. We are really offthe rails already. So how do you
work with a client to figure outsort of this unique desire which
you already hinted on? Is therea process that you do? Maybe we
can give our audience a tip ortwo to say, how do I put myself
(28:17):
in the center of this? How do Ifigure out what I want and then
create the business model aroundthat.
Leslie Hassler (28:22):
Yeah, we do have a process. And I will say,
especially with new clients, thefirst thing we ask them to do is
a series of visioning exercises,of dreaming again, if you will.
And what we'll find is we'lleither uncur uncover that dream.
And I was thinking in yourstory, this is what people do
all the time, is they put thedream on hold for some magical
(28:46):
signals that now's the time, andwe want to flip flop it. We want
to flip it, flip flop it, tounderstand that you can
actualize the dream sooner thanyou think. And it's about
bringing the business intoalignment with the dream, not
the dream into alignment withthe business, because it's
almost then it's their competingcommitments. We want to bring
them into alignment where theythey can play. And so sometimes
(29:09):
it's through asking what we callwicked questions, the thing that
takes those two opposites andtries to bring them together in
collaboration. And other times,we see people that have, I won't
say, lost the ability to dream,but have been, have gone through
enough that they feel what theyneed to do is be realistic, and
(29:34):
realistic is often settling, andso sometimes people aren't quite
ready to dream until we can showthem that things can be fixed,
and we have to have the visionconversation more slowly over
time, but we need some elementof like you were saying, like,
what's the target? Why are wedoing this if I had a magic
(29:56):
wand, and sometimes thisquestion works really well, if I
had a magic. Wand, what wouldyou fix instantly, and why? Why
does that matter? And then I'llask the opposite question, if I
was going to triple yourbusiness in the next 30 days,
what would break those twoquestions on both sides, the
positive and the negative, if wewill, those elude so much
(30:21):
opportunity that we really canget to work. So sometimes it's,
I, like I said, there's aprocess. People tend to fall in
one or two buckets, buthonestly, start dreaming again.
And don't be afraid to dreambig. And here's, here's the why,
here's the reason why. I want toshare a personal story that I
had. I went to, we go toconferences, right? This is what
(30:42):
we do. But I was in a conferencefor my own edification, and I
was looking around the room, andthe room was full of guys, which
is fine. There just were maybe20 women in a room of 1000 men.
And of those 20 women, I couldcount on one hand how many women
business owners. So first off, Ithink this is the room I need to
be in, right? Because I want tochallenge my thinking. And as
(31:06):
I'm listening to speaker afterspeaker, panel after panel, what
I find is, is that that room washaving 10 million $100 million
conversations. And as women, wetend to have million dollar
conversations. And I was like,hmm, isn't that interesting? And
(31:27):
I asked myself, like, what isthe conversation I want to have?
What is the conversation Ibelieve I'm is possible for me?
And if I'm going to sit here andtell you on this episode that
you need to dream bigger, thenwhere's my dreams? Where do I
start and stop? And that hasbeen a really huge guiding force
over the last three or fouryears, since that when I say
(31:49):
it's it's 10 million now, butI'm already starting to go, what
would 100 million look like?
Like? What what you get isthere? And how easy could I make
that happen? And those are thequestions that keep my brain
really active in solvingproblems in the company and
making bold moves and maybeseeing past, Oh, where am I
going to get money to pay forthat? Hmm, well, if money wasn't
(32:11):
a with money wasn't an issue,what would I do? Oh, I do it
anyways. Okay. Well, I can make,I can make money. So I'm going
to do the thing that I mighthave had that gut reaction of
like, I don't know if I canafford that. Well, I'm going to
go do it now, because I have to,because money was no object.
(32:33):
Then I get it done. If I'm goingto build the $2 million
business, then am I going toworry over $10,000 decision?
Doesn't mean I'm going to besilly. It doesn't mean I'm going
to fiscally put my business ormy family at risk, but it is
meaning I'm going to find thesolution to fund everything. And
we use that word all the time inour own company and with with
(32:54):
our clients, is, let's find away to fund that. Are we going
to fund it? Not? How are wegoing to pay for it? What are we
going to have to give up? Howare we going to fund that next
move? Because I think that'struly what business growth
BEATE CHELETTE (33:09):
is about. It's a different mindset, approach,
yes, yeah, definitely, wow. Thishas been amazing. So for
somebody now wants to get yourbook or learn more about you,
where should we send them?
Leslie Hassler (33:19):
Sure. So I am going to say, come on over to
our website. So we have aspecial page just built for your
show. So it's going to beyourbizrules.com, forward slash
B, G, A, S for the BusinessGrowth Architect Show, and
you're we've got a nice littlefree gift. If you want the book,
there's a quick link there. Andif we can be of help to you.
(33:41):
There's a way for you to reachout and chat with us about that
BEATE CHELETTE (33:44):
Excellent thank you so much. I love that we
started so strong on thestrategy and the tactics and the
logical and then we ended upreally in the visioning and the
mindset and the creating thebusiness that you actually would
like to rule in to use yourwords. So thank you so much for
being
Leslie Hassler (34:00):
on the show.
Well, thank you for having me. Ireally enjoyed
BEATE CHELETTE (34:03):
it. Thank you so much. And that is it for us
today. So if you know somebodywho is at this point of perhaps
being a little bit angry becausethey're so overwhelmed, you know
what to do, send them a link tothe episode of this show so that
they can hear Leslie andpotentially find some help to
solve this immediate problem.
And as always, we're gratefulfor you to be here. We know you
have a choice where you spendyour time and what you listen
(34:25):
to, and we deeply, deeply ingratitude that we are here to
serve you in whatever capacitywe can. Thank you so much for
listening to or watching thisepisode. And with that, I say
goodbye. That's it for thisepisode of the Business Growth
Architect Show Founders of theFuture. If you're done playing
small and ready to build thefuture on your terms, subscribe,
share and help us reach moreTrailblazers like you. And if
(34:48):
you're serious about creating,growing and scaling a business
that's aligned with who you are,schedule your uncovery session
at uncoverysession.com. Leadwith vision. You. Move with
purpose. Create your future.
Well, howdy, everyone. This is Leslie
(00:01):
Hassler, author of "ScalingRich" and "Founder of Your Biz
Rules." And on my episode withthe Business Growth Architecture
Show, I'm going to reveal someways to reignite your vision,
bring every part of yourbusiness, meaning your team,
your clients and your systems,into alignment so that you can
scale for not just profit, maybefor even more. So you're going
to want to check out this entireinterview, because what if the
(00:24):
real secret to scaling yourbusiness richly is hidden in the
one place you've forgotten?
BEATE CHELETTE (00:30):
This is the Business Growth Architect Show
for founders who don't followtrends, they set them for
entrepreneurs who aren't here tofix the past, but to build the
future they actually want tolive in. Hi. My name is Beate
Chelette. I'm a Palisades firesurvivor strategist and the
entrepreneur behind a multimillion dollar tech exit Tuva
(00:51):
Gate. And every week I bring youthe fire real guests, real
strategy and the real talk onhow to control your mind move
fast and create your future.
This is where strategy needsenergy, because your next level
needs both. Let's grow. Hello.
(01:12):
Welcome back. This is your host,Beate Chelette. Today with me is
Leslie Hassler from "Your BizRules." One of the reasons I
wanted Leslie on the show isbecause she solves a big problem
that a lot of business owners,when they are entering growth
and scaling have, and that is,who do we need to bring into the
company to scale it rapidlywithout getting killed by the
(01:38):
expense that It takes to hirereally good people. Leslie, I'm
excited to have you on the show.
Leslie Hassler (01:43):
Welcome Howdy, I'm excited to be here. I can't
wait for our conversation. It'sgonna be so
BEATE CHELETTE (01:48):
good. All right, let's dive right in so with
somebody who does not know whatyou do, what do you do and what
problem do you solve for yourclients?
Leslie Hassler (01:58):
Sure. So what we do is "Your Biz Rule" is a
fractional C suite firm. Now youmay have heard fractional
before, fractional CFOs,fractional CEO, and those are
individuals and great companiesthat can help you build your
business. What we do, though, iswe are basically the one stop
shop. We have the expertise onteam to fulfill multiple roles
(02:19):
in your growing business so thatyou're just you're making one
investment instead of fourinvestments. And that really
works out strongly for ourclients, because what we do at
the end of the day is we helpbusinesses be cash positive. It
means profitable with enoughleft over. At the end of the
day, we help them grow and scalein a way that's just sustainable
(02:41):
and healthy.
BEATE CHELETTE (02:42):
Let's go through some of the specifics. So what
exactly is a fractional C suite,or a fractional CMO or a
fractional CFO? What is it?
Leslie Hassler (02:52):
So for a lot of businesses, they're just not big
enough to hire one full timeemployee and then fill out all
the C suite. So if you were tothink about the largest possible
size that your business could beand who would be in your
leadership team, you likelywould have someone over
operations. Now, operations cancover a huge gamut. You would
(03:13):
have somebody over yourfinances. Maybe you have someone
over marketing and sales,because that's a vital element
of your business. Perhapstechnology, perhaps processes.
There's so many different areasthat every business can use. And
what's crazy is no one you know,if you took two businesses and
compare them side to side,they're not going to need the
same kind of leadership. What wehave found is this model. Most
(03:37):
of our clients have a majorneed, one that is just the
burning need. Oftentimes it's inteam, it's in sales and
marketing, or if it's it's anoperations as a general and then
finances. Those four tend to bethe big four, if you will. But
no one problem that you'refacing as a small business owner
is only about the overt thing,the thing on the outside of the
(03:59):
cover, if you will. Usually whenwe get in, peel back. It means
we need to bring in thisfractional CFO, because maybe we
need to run some projections.
Maybe we need to look atforecasting. Perhaps you've got
a big, crazy goal.
BEATE CHELETTE (04:12):
Leslie, you said that the idea of a fractional C
suite is to instead of trying tofigure out who I need to hire,
and then stressing out that Ican't afford a C level executive
because I don't have that kindof work yet, but it'll allow me
to hire multiple people, maybefor the salary of one person,
(04:35):
but I have a full suite, soWhen, at what point does this
matter in my business? Becausethat's a pretty bold move. Most
people think about an operationsmanager or a coordinator or a
social media person. I think isthe right term. When do I need
(04:56):
somebody like the people you arerepresenting? Yeah. So there's
Leslie Hassler (05:01):
not a hard and fast revenue size, if you will,
although there's a range inthere, I will say, though it's
much more about what you'regoing through in your business.
So if typically, what we'reseeing is, when clients come to
us is they've had a period ofgrowth that they've gone
through, like they've had somesuccess, but they've spent the
last one, two, maybe even threeyears of bits spinning the
(05:22):
wheels like they can't getenough traction to get over
wherever they're at. And thatnumber does look different,
because it's a littledeterminant on, you know, what
the price point is of whatyou're selling, what your
current capacity is, but it doestypically happen, I will say
between 300 and 600,000
BEATE CHELETTE (05:39):
somewhere the number would be, probably, in my
experience, about a half a mil.
Because, yeah, in my experience.
And pardon for interrupting you,but I think this is really
critical, because of all thework that I've done for the
entrepreneur organization, wherethe whole goal is to get them to
a million dollars. Right? Youcan run a business up to a
million dollars pretty much onyour own, but it's not pretty,
(06:04):
and you will kill yourself inthe process, and your social
life and your health and yourfriendships.
Leslie Hassler (06:09):
Yeah, I was gonna say you can do it. That's
a lot of different choices,isn't
BEATE CHELETTE (06:13):
it? Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. I see it all the
time. It's like around the930,000 that's literally when
they start to go, I can't dothis anymore. I'm going to just
quit and blow it all up. And I'mlike, no, no, no, no, no, you
missed the hiring plan, becausethe hiring plan has to be part
of growth. So you say, let'ssay, between 350 and $600,000
(06:35):
what is the marker that I needto watch out for?
Leslie Hassler (06:39):
How we understand that question a
little bit better. So what isthe marker that would tell you
that you're ready for somethinglike this? Or what is the
marker? Okay, what's the mark?
Yeah, I think it really has todo about the plateau or where
you're finding I think peopleget caught. I call it the
between the rock and the hardspot to where you're you
physically go. I can't workanymore, so I can't earn
(07:01):
anymore. But if I don't earnanymore, I can't do this other
thing that I need to do. And youjust constantly feel post the
pillar, if you will. There's notenough time or not enough money.
And I think you're right. Youmentioned it when people hit 1
million or close to 1 million,if they're doing it again, this
same situation if you don't fixit, happens again right at that
(07:21):
seven figures. It's just anindicator. But I think if you're
in that space where you don'tfeel like you have choice, I
want to tell you that the signsyou're seeing and the experience
that you're having is actuallycounter intuitive to what you
think you should be doing, andwhat you think you should be
doing is waiting and seeing ifyou can get over the hump.
(07:41):
That's costing you more time andmoney and energy and motivation
than you really will understand,until maybe they get to nearly
the seven figures, like yousaid, and they're ready to blow
it up. I am speaking fromexperience of doing that in a
business, basically explodingone business, starting this
business. Now I don't regret thedecision, but hindsight, looking
(08:04):
back, I go, Hmm, maybe I couldhave done that a better way, but
it didn't know what it didn'tknow at the time, and that
hopefully, if you're listeningto us today, we can save you
from that, because you wereexactly spot on in telling the
person who was at 930,000 not toblow it up, is you've achieved
so much more for where you are,if you just look at the business
(08:28):
stats, if you're a womanbusiness owner, I think it's
only two to 4% ever make it intoseven figures. That's primarily
to do with the type ofbusinesses that people have, but
also whether or not they'rewilling to ask for help. Now, if
you want to look at from startupto a million, well, only that
18% you know, get past thatfirst six figures, and then are
(08:50):
headed towards a million. So ifyou're already here, please
don't blow it up, please. Let'sjust fix it. It can do so much
more for you. But I will say,the longer that people go at it,
they're by themselves. I thinkwe have this concept that we get
this gold star to you know, did,how did you get there? I did it
all by myself. Congratulations,gold star. I I don't see an
(09:13):
entrepreneurial award for that.
I don't know if you've comeacross it yet.
BEATE CHELETTE (09:19):
Oh, and I've never gone to any cemetery where
it says did everything bythemselves? Ah, exactly, right.
I mean, and you know why?
Because nobody, nobody's at thefuneral of those people. Yeah,
you can search nobody there.
Leslie Hassler (09:32):
There's nobody to give you a Novation at the
end of the day. So why is itthat entrepreneurs so stubbornly
feel the need to do it alone.
It's very interesting to me.
It's one of the things we studya lot. But to your point, it is
around this half a million mark.
If you don't fix it here, you'regoing to hit it really hard at
nearly the million mark. It isnot something you can skip.
You've got to fix thescalability of the business, and
(09:56):
oftentimes that's about bring.
It into alignment with who youare and who the business is
today.
BEATE CHELETTE (10:04):
Talk to me about the psychological state of mind.
Somebody comes to you at so I'mI'm estimating that there's a
part of them that's completeexhausted, a part of them that
is incredibly excited, and apart of them that is so
overwhelmed they don't
Leslie Hassler (10:20):
even know where to start. Yeah, and the words I
was thinking of is frustrated tothe point of anger, and maybe
not quite to anger, but, man,they're a grumbly person. But
there is that hope, you know,then you're said excitement.
There still is hope, and there'sa belief that this can do
something, that you've startedsomething that you're building,
(10:43):
something valuable and hasimpact and can create legacy. I
think if we don't have that holein our bellies that pulls us
forward and keeps us going, it'sactually really hard to be an
entrepreneur in today's market,in today's economy, you just
don't have enough to keep theengines firing on all cylinders,
(11:05):
but definitely exhaustion. Ithink you've moved past
overwhelmed into juice, feelinga little beat down and beat up
in a lot of ways, but I think,unfortunately, I've been trying
to figure out, how do we getpeople to change without having
to go through a breakdown. Like,how do you get a breakthrough
without a breakdown? I thinkthis might be my subtle life's
(11:29):
work here of trying to encouragepeople not to let the slide get
so deep, to take action sooner,to take steps forward, even
however imperfect now, becausewait and see is not a strategy.
Hope and pray is not a strategy.
All they do is cost you time andmoney. I think we can always
make more money, but you can'tget back time, you know. So
BEATE CHELETTE (11:53):
once you can't get your life back, and you
can't get your relationshipback, and you can't get your
teenage son to talk to you, ifthat's completely blown up, you
know, going in a differentthing. I, to your point, I think
that actually, in my experience,and I've been doing this for
decades, without the pain,there's no change.
Unfortunately, most people justdon't do that. So if we teach
(12:16):
them that there has to be abreakdown to get to the
breakthrough, to get to thebreakout, and we just help them
figure out which of the B's thatthey are at, then they'll
understand this is part of theprocess. So tell me, how do you
recognize that the business isready? I mean, aside from, yeah,
it's a client, and we can makemoney and we can place people,
(12:39):
but how do you see that thebusiness is ready for it? What
do you look for? I'm
Leslie Hassler (12:44):
looking for a variety of things. One thing
that I'm looking for is, forlack of a better term, proof of
concept, meaning you can get theclients, the clients are coming
in. That's not where the problemwholly lies. There's a
difference between I need to get10 more clients, or grow my
clientele by 30% and I can'teven get one person to buy, that
(13:07):
is a very different issue. Sowe're looking for, really, that
that product market fit peoplebuy your stuff. They're
generally happy that that's oneof the indicators we're looking
for, because it means we canstart with something we're not
necessarily building from groundzero, and we can build from
(13:28):
ground zero, but a lot of ourclients have something existing
that we're working on. We'realso looking, unfortunately, for
that breakthrough moment, thatmoment that our business owners
are like, enough, I'm done. Justtell me what to do and let me I
need something that desperatelydifferent. That just means
you're ready. You're not goingto fight us. We're going to be
(13:49):
able to give recommendations,help you, implement them with
their with you, step by step bystep. But you're not going to
ignore the help that's beingoffered. And that's really
important to us, we also lookfor a mindset. It's that belief.
At the end of the day, I thinkHenry Ford said, whether you
think you can or you think youcan't,
BEATE CHELETTE (14:08):
you're right.
You're right either way. Yeah,
Leslie Hassler (14:11):
you're right either way, right? And the truth
of it is, is I can be 100% forour clients, our team can be
100% with our clients. We justcan't be you. We can't do that
voodoo that you do so well as aas the owner and that poor
belief has to be there, becauseif it isn't, it doesn't matter
(14:33):
what we do. And I've had thisproven to me time and time
again, of going that's the onething I can't change, is your
ultimate belief in yourself andyour ultimate belief in the
business. So we're looking for amultitude of items, if you will.
Some of them tangible, some ofthem intangible. That helps us
see whether there's possibilitywe can create change. I'm not
(14:56):
worried about that. We cancreate opportunity, not worried
about that. Really good. And asour team is amazing at what it
does, but I need our clients tocome to the table and be willing
to do the things necessary toget a different result than what
they're getting. So I think it'sreally simple at the end of the
day, we because we work sodeeply, we look for really good
(15:18):
people that are trying to doreally good work, who treat
others with kindness and respectand integrity. I think these are
simple things. They're actuallymuch more common than our
current media stream might allowus to believe. And those are
going to be the people we'rechampions for, 100%
BEATE CHELETTE (15:35):
so how does spirituality or mindset or any
of the concepts we talk about onthe show, come into your work.
Leslie Hassler (15:43):
We often joke that we find ourselves in
position of being therapists.
Now we're not professionaltherapists, but the mindset, the
spirit, the energy, themotivation, that self talk, if
you will, is such an importantaspect of our work because it
goes hand in hand. Well, whatthey don't understand is, in
(16:04):
order for the business to uplevel again, this is a point of
alignment. The person has to uplevel too. Like these two things
cannot happen in a vacuum fromeach other, and oftentimes
you'll get to the point whereyou realize you have to up level
before the business can uplevel. It gets you there faster.
So even myself, I am constantlyworking on my mindset. This
(16:28):
morning. I have i i like to gothrough different I don't know
methodologies, mediums, modes,thought process. If you were I'm
currently doing a journalexercise, seven affirmations
that I'm going through on itevery morning, on and my goal is
seven. I've done Deepak Chopra21 day. You know, gratitude and
abundance. I love that one.
(16:52):
That's one I love to recommendto people. I've done mind
valleys, the six phases, like Iconsume this, and I have to get
variety, because I get a littlebored, and then I get
distracted, and then it's not aseffective. But whatever it is, I
think it's part it's got tobecome so much more of our norm
than the Woo, woo, that peopleare thinking that it is because
(17:14):
it truly is building the inneryou so the outer you can do the
work that you need to do, andthere's so much of an onslaught
of negativity, of fear and hateand just all the, I don't know,
the basis of what's not greatabout humanity that's coming to
our doorstep. It's coming to ourphones. It comes to our inboxes.
(17:37):
It comes to our podcasts that ifyou don't defend against it, if
you don't build up your ownmental muscle, then you will
become subject to it day in andday out. We started this podcast
talking about just how peopleare bringing this into the
business. And the thing Ithought in my brain is, or you
(17:58):
can wake up from the Matrix. Youcan stop participating in the
circus, if you will, and besomebody that owns your person,
owns your mind more than otherpeople do. That's why I think
it's so crucial to be alwaysworking on your mindset. And we
(18:18):
have people that come to us thathave never, ever, ever, ever,
ever, like I start talking aboutgratitude, and they're like,
What do you want me to do? Andthen we have people that where
it is an active practice and itis a journey. I want to say,
tell people that it's a journey.
I happen to be kinetic. I happento be visual. I don't do well at
closing my eyes and sittingstill, all those things we
(18:39):
thought meditation and mindsetwas growing up, you know, on 50
over 50. So growing up in thelast 50 years, it's none of
that. It can be whatever youneed it to be. That's why I do.
I love doing Deepak Chopra whenI go for a walk, you know,
because I like that kineticpart. I like the activeness of
my brain. That doesn't mean thatI can't go somewhere in my mind
(19:02):
at the same time. So I knowthat's a I gotta I feel like I
had a soapbox moment for just asong.
BEATE CHELETTE (19:11):
You're exactly where I actually hoped you were
gonna go there. Because thisway, why I love the concept of
of the show so much is that wecan talk about very tactical,
practical things. We talkedabout strategies to grow. We
talked about markers on theroad. That's very clear. It's
like, if you're making 350,$600,000 you don't have another
(19:32):
person in your business that hasC level expertise in any area
you are heading toward trouble.
That's very clear, verystrategic, very, very, very
straightforward. But then thepart comes what you said, at
every level, you have to uplevel. And I think that's the
part that most people miss inthe business. What got you here
will not get you there. Andwe've heard this a million
(19:54):
times, and you don't know whatit means until you are there.
And. And news for you, it neverends ever because then you
you're never there. What happensis you leave the matrix more and
more behind, because you realizethis is the same stuff over and
(20:14):
over and over again, whetherit's this president or that
President, or it's far on theleft or far on the right, most
people really would love to bein the middle, and they would
love to have a a conversationabout contribution and receiving
and and gratitude and connectionand community. We see this when
(20:36):
catastrophes are happening. It'salways the community that brings
people together, so that youtalk about this on this level,
and say you need to be cognizantof that is incredibly powerful,
I think, for the show to lookat. So it wasn't even a big
soapbox that was maybe just likea little an inch of a step,
Leslie Hassler (21:00):
well, and I was laughing, because I remember, in
my first business, this is mysecond business, I was working
with a coach, and I went inthere, and I was like, when
exactly do I get to stop workingon me? I'm so tired of working
on me. Why don't everybody elseout there? Why aren't they
working on themselves? Why is itme? And he was like, you want to
keep growing? And I was like,Well, yeah. And he goes, Yeah,
(21:22):
you're gonna work on you. And Iwas like, I don't like you right
now.
BEATE CHELETTE (21:25):
Yeah, that that was, you're absolutely right.
And then the second part, yousaid that meditation, or
spiritual work. And again, thisis one of the reasons I made
this show so heavily about thisis it's not one thing. It is
many different things. I wasjust at a conference, and people
(21:45):
are doing now, visualexperiences that mimic a
psychedelic experience withoutthe psychedelics, which is
definitely a company I want toinvest in, because I think
that's why we are we. That'swhere we're going, understanding
on how our brain works and howwe have more control over what
(22:06):
we think, and the outside mediais designed to distract you from
your clean thought process thatwill allow you to create
anything you want, because ifyou are distracted with Creating
what somebody else wants becausethey're controlling your mind,
you'll always be somewhere else,other than other than here. So
(22:27):
let's go back to what you do. Soyou wrote a you talk about
sustainable growth. What exactlyis that
Leslie Hassler (22:38):
sustainable growth is, is growth fit won't
kill you in the process. Itwon't grow you out of business.
Now that's not to mean that Idon't believe in exponential
growth. I wholeheartedly believein rapid exponential growth. But
what I don't believe in is itdone in such a way that it it
burns through every resource,including yourself. Now, there's
(23:01):
different scales. There'sdifferent scales of thought.
When you go out there, there's aconcept called Blitz scaling,
which is basically burn throughas much money as you possibly
can to get big enough to whereyou have critical mass, and
while you're there, beateverybody to the punch. Now that
is the methodology that has madea lot of billionaires in the
world. That's what our VC, ourPEs are all focused
BEATE CHELETTE (23:23):
in the unicorn concept. Throw everything at it.
Leslie Hassler (23:28):
Right? Throw everything out. Well, that's out
of the reach of, I don't know,90% of our
BEATE CHELETTE (23:33):
small I think it's more like 99, 99% I think
the unicorns are falling.
They're they're not that many ontheir clients. Well,
Leslie Hassler (23:42):
they burn up and die really fast, right? It's
like a star that burns toobright, too fast, and it burns
it burns itself out. That isunsustainable, unhealthy growth
in my my vantage point, becauseit's not respecting the people.
It's not respecting theresources. Now, on our other
edge, our other spectrum, is anold concept, an old paradigm
(24:03):
that basically said, goodgrowth, excellent growth, is
growing 14.4% year over year, sothat in five years you double.
Well, that's antiquated, becauseactually the the momentum that
is in our marketplace
BEATE CHELETTE (24:20):
that sounds very cockey, if you know what I mean.
Leslie Hassler (24:24):
Oh, it's very it's very antiquated, right? But
I see people at either side ofthe spectrum is either going
crazy, let me burn througheverything I can, and hopefully
I'll make it there, and then theothers that are saying 14.4 now
here's the reality, any growthis good growth. I'm not going to
knock that, but what I am goingto say is you might be losing
(24:44):
out on your potential. And wehad a client come to us a couple
years ago where they wereclipping good, you know, 10, 12%
that type of growth. And whenwe're working with them and and
work asked what their goalswere, it really wasn't even a.
About more money or biggerbusiness. It was truly about
(25:05):
better work, life, balance, abetter quality of life. Said,
great, but what? What sizebusiness do you need in order to
make that fiscally possible? Andthey just didn't know. So we're
like, okay, let's play the game.
Let's figure this out. Turns outwe within one year, we did about
54% growth. I think that's thenew average, growing 50% growth,
year over year, is definitelydoable at a healthy rate that
(25:29):
produces cash that you actuallysee, that allows you to do the
things. Maybe it's systems,maybe it's process, maybe it's
team, and make those investmentswhich really start to invest in
the max level of growth. You dothis compounding year over year,
and what you're effectivelydoing, and this is the way I
think of it, in my own business,the moves that I'm making this
(25:51):
year aren't about my businessthis year. They're about my
business in two years. They'reabout my business in four years,
the business decisions that I'mmaking are not based on the size
of my business today. They'rebased on the $10 million
business I have in my brain. Soit gets you thinking further out
with bigger possibility. Andwhen you do that, I think
(26:16):
timelines collapse, and I thinkthat's the power we have in
today's market, everything'smoving so much faster than it
ever was before. I challenge youto find one person who won't say
that about something in life.
But why can't we harness it?
That's really what a healthygrowth, a sustainable growth,
(26:36):
looks like, is, how do we notjust do it this year, but how do
we do it in a way that succeedsyear after year after year
without burning through our
BEATE CHELETTE (26:48):
resources? Yeah, and we subscribe to the same the
same methodology. We believethat unless we are clear what
you want to achieve and how thatfits into the lifestyle you want
to live. We don't know what weare creating, so that needs to
be in place. I had aninteresting conversation with
someone where I was in amoderator training, and they're
(27:11):
like, Yeah, you know the goalis, like, scale, scale, scale,
scale, scale. And I said, it'snot. I said, you have it? I
said, it is one of the goals. Iwork with a lot of women, and
about 50% of my clients arewomen. And when I have a woman
that comes through to me that'ssomewhere in her 30s, but my
first question is, where are youat with children, family? And
(27:32):
then I had somebody, and shesaid to me, Well, I'm waiting
for the moment until thebusiness will allow me to have a
child. And my hairs, I mean, I'mlike, Oh no, no, no, no, no, no.
We that's not the way thisworks. We now need to figure out
what you want and what needs tohappen for this to happen.
Because if you're not havingchildren, or you postponing and
(27:54):
postponing and potentiallyrisking your entire fulfillment
of your life based upon thenotion that your business has to
do something. We are really offthe rails already. So how do you
work with a client to figure outsort of this unique desire which
you already hinted on? Is therea process that you do? Maybe we
can give our audience a tip ortwo to say, how do I put myself
(28:17):
in the center of this? How do Ifigure out what I want and then
create the business model aroundthat.
Leslie Hassler (28:22):
Yeah, we do have a process. And I will say,
especially with new clients, thefirst thing we ask them to do is
a series of visioning exercises,of dreaming again, if you will.
And what we'll find is we'lleither uncur uncover that dream.
And I was thinking in yourstory, this is what people do
all the time, is they put thedream on hold for some magical
(28:46):
signals that now's the time, andwe want to flip flop it. We want
to flip it, flip flop it, tounderstand that you can
actualize the dream sooner thanyou think. And it's about
bringing the business intoalignment with the dream, not
the dream into alignment withthe business, because it's
almost then it's their competingcommitments. We want to bring
them into alignment where theythey can play. And so sometimes
(29:09):
it's through asking what we callwicked questions, the thing that
takes those two opposites andtries to bring them together in
collaboration. And other times,we see people that have, I won't
say, lost the ability to dream,but have been, have gone through
enough that they feel what theyneed to do is be realistic, and
(29:34):
realistic is often settling, andso sometimes people aren't quite
ready to dream until we can showthem that things can be fixed,
and we have to have the visionconversation more slowly over
time, but we need some elementof like you were saying, like,
what's the target? Why are wedoing this if I had a magic
(29:56):
wand, and sometimes thisquestion works really well, if I
had a magic. Wand, what wouldyou fix instantly, and why? Why
does that matter? And then I'llask the opposite question, if I
was going to triple yourbusiness in the next 30 days,
what would break those twoquestions on both sides, the
positive and the negative, if wewill, those elude so much
(30:21):
opportunity that we really canget to work. So sometimes it's,
I, like I said, there's aprocess. People tend to fall in
one or two buckets, buthonestly, start dreaming again.
And don't be afraid to dreambig. And here's, here's the why,
here's the reason why. I want toshare a personal story that I
had. I went to, we go toconferences, right? This is what
(30:42):
we do. But I was in a conferencefor my own edification, and I
was looking around the room, andthe room was full of guys, which
is fine. There just were maybe20 women in a room of 1000 men.
And of those 20 women, I couldcount on one hand how many women
business owners. So first off, Ithink this is the room I need to
be in, right? Because I want tochallenge my thinking. And as
(31:06):
I'm listening to speaker afterspeaker, panel after panel, what
I find is, is that that room washaving 10 million $100 million
conversations. And as women, wetend to have million dollar
conversations. And I was like,hmm, isn't that interesting? And
(31:27):
I asked myself, like, what isthe conversation I want to have?
What is the conversation Ibelieve I'm is possible for me?
And if I'm going to sit here andtell you on this episode that
you need to dream bigger, thenwhere's my dreams? Where do I
start and stop? And that hasbeen a really huge guiding force
over the last three or fouryears, since that when I say
(31:49):
it's it's 10 million now, butI'm already starting to go, what
would 100 million look like?
Like? What what you get isthere? And how easy could I make
that happen? And those are thequestions that keep my brain
really active in solvingproblems in the company and
making bold moves and maybeseeing past, Oh, where am I
going to get money to pay forthat? Hmm, well, if money wasn't
(32:11):
a with money wasn't an issue,what would I do? Oh, I do it
anyways. Okay. Well, I can make,I can make money. So I'm going
to do the thing that I mighthave had that gut reaction of
like, I don't know if I canafford that. Well, I'm going to
go do it now, because I have to,because money was no object.
(32:33):
Then I get it done. If I'm goingto build the $2 million
business, then am I going toworry over $10,000 decision?
Doesn't mean I'm going to besilly. It doesn't mean I'm going
to fiscally put my business ormy family at risk, but it is
meaning I'm going to find thesolution to fund everything. And
we use that word all the time inour own company and with with
(32:54):
our clients, is, let's find away to fund that. Are we going
to fund it? Not? How are wegoing to pay for it? What are we
going to have to give up? Howare we going to fund that next
move? Because I think that'struly what business growth
BEATE CHELETTE (33:09):
is about. It's a different mindset, approach,
yes, yeah, definitely, wow. Thishas been amazing. So for
somebody now wants to get yourbook or learn more about you,
where should we send them?
Leslie Hassler (33:19):
Sure. So I am going to say, come on over to
our website. So we have aspecial page just built for your
show. So it's going to beyourbizrules.com, forward slash
B, G, A, S for the BusinessGrowth Architect Show, and
you're we've got a nice littlefree gift. If you want the book,
there's a quick link there. Andif we can be of help to you.
(33:41):
There's a way for you to reachout and chat with us about that
BEATE CHELETTE (33:44):
Excellent thank you so much. I love that we
started so strong on thestrategy and the tactics and the
logical and then we ended upreally in the visioning and the
mindset and the creating thebusiness that you actually would
like to rule in to use yourwords. So thank you so much for
being
Leslie Hassler (34:00):
on the show.
Well, thank you for having me. Ireally enjoyed
BEATE CHELETTE (34:03):
it. Thank you so much. And that is it for us
today. So if you know somebodywho is at this point of perhaps
being a little bit angry becausethey're so overwhelmed, you know
what to do, send them a link tothe episode of this show so that
they can hear Leslie andpotentially find some help to
solve this immediate problem.
And as always, we're gratefulfor you to be here. We know you
have a choice where you spendyour time and what you listen
(34:25):
to, and we deeply, deeply ingratitude that we are here to
serve you in whatever capacitywe can. Thank you so much for
listening to or watching thisepisode. And with that, I say
goodbye. That's it for thisepisode of the Business Growth
Architect Show Founders of theFuture. If you're done playing
small and ready to build thefuture on your terms, subscribe,
share and help us reach moreTrailblazers like you. And if
(34:48):
you're serious about creating,growing and scaling a business
that's aligned with who you are,schedule your uncovery session
at uncoverysession.com. Leadwith vision. You. Move with
purpose. Create your future.
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