One of the best ways to scale your business is to start breaking sh….I mean, the rules.

While there are rules in place for a reason, are you following some that aren’t serving your business?

The key to succeeding at marketing and sales is to continuously ask yourself, “What if I tried a different way?”

There are rules in every industry and business. And we often comply with them blindly. 

Don’t comply. Defy!

Look at me starting a revolution and breaking your businesses. There are key aspects that most companies base their brand on and build from there. The best insight I can give when approaching these however, is to get different. Really different. So different you’re breaking the rules in your industry.

Great offers need different marketing.

Now here’s the confusing part. Do what doesn’t scale – because no one else will do it. You have to look at how you can scale your offer differently than others in your industry to stand out and  truly serve your clients.

Before you start your grand plans, hit the refresh button and take a few minutes to answer the following:

• Who are you?
• Who is your customer?
• What’s your purpose?
• What’s your product?
• How will you get there – what systems are in place?
• Is your team ready?

Now, try this this step by step exercise to start scaling your small business:

1. Ask yourself, “What if? What if you weren’t concerned about scalability? What if the inability to scale something was just an industry myth, and you can in fact grow your business? What would you offer, or how would you deliver your offer differently? What if you simply did what can’t be scaled in your industry and filled the gap with raw effort? That just might be your secret sauce. 
2. Ask yourself who benefits from the product or services you provide. Beyond your customers, there are vendors, suppliers, contractors, and others in the food chain. Document all the other people who participate in the creation or delivery of what you do. They are the beneficiaries. Now ask yourself, “How else can they be partners?”
3. Create a list of all the things in your industry that cannot be scaled. Ask yourself what the industry doesn’t do because people say it can’t be done. Then pick one and actually do it.

What if you bucked conventional wisdom, or set aside industry norms, and tried something completely out of the box? When you reimagine the big stuff – what you sell and how you sell it – you just might discover your true calling. 

Break a few rules. You, your business, and your clients deserve it.

– Mike