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March 5, 2025 35 mins

We talk a lot about scaling in the business world – growing bigger, reaching further, making more. But what happens when you realize that bigger isn’t actually better for you anymore?

Enter Tracy Matthews. After decades of running multiple seven-figure businesses, she found herself at a crossroads: stay on the path of relentless growth, or embrace a radical shift – *de*scaling. In this candid conversation, Tracy shares her journey of stepping back so she can move forward in a way that aligns with her next evolution. 

Listen to part 2 next!

What's Inside This Episode: 

  • The surprising way burnout showed up for Tracy – and why it wasn’t just about overworking
  • How to break out of the ‘wait and see’ trap that stalls business owners from making decisions
  • The moment of truth that made Tracy realize she was serving her business more than it was serving her
  • The key distinction between scaling back and strategically descaling to create more alignment
  • How the pursuit of scaling at all costs created an unintentional bottleneck in her business
  • The sneaky way fear of past failures shaped her decisions (without her even realizing it)
  • What it means to build a business from joy instead of trauma—and how she’s shifting her approach
  • What she wants every entrepreneur to know about recognizing when it’s time to change


About Tracy: 

Tracy Matthews is a Creativity, Branding, and Reinvention Expert, a Best-Selling Author, and the Host of the Top-Rated Thrive By Design Podcast. As a serial entrepreneur, she’s reinvented herself several times and built several multiple 7+ figure businesses. She believes creativity is the biggest gift for navigating challenges, living a more fulfilled life, and having fun while creating wealth. Notable media placements include The Today Show, Entrepreneur, InStyle Magazine, and Elle. Through her podcast, blog, social media platforms, coaching, and programs, she inspires over 200,000 people weekly to launch, grow, and scale successful creative brands. She just released a new private podcast for women who are in a season of reinvention. You can download it for free here!

Connect with Tracy: 


Resources:

  • Predictable Sales: a secret podcast around making predictable – even daily – sales
  • Your First 10 Sales: a secret podcast perfect for if you're not making consistent sales yet

Connect with Adriane:


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