Within four years of starting my design and marketing business I went from $0 yearly revenue to multiple 6 figures in my fourth year.
But scaling and growing, for me, is not only about the revenue... equally important is my time and location freedom as well as the impact I am making for my clients, my team, and on the world.
My intention with this post is to share some of the things that helped me grow and scale my business.
Finding a Niche
In July 2019 I launched Virtuwell Balance and in the beginning, I worked with ALL kinds of clients (anyone who wanted my services).
My goal was to help them grow their businesses, maximize their time, and improve their bottom line all while focusing their energy on what they love to do.
With Instagram and LinkedIn being my main sources for finding clients, I started out by offering all kinds of virtual assistant services until I was able to hone in on what I really enjoyed and what my zone of genius was – website design.
I quickly became passionate about helping heart-led entrepreneurs in the health and wellness space and decided to position myself and my business as "expert website design for health and wellness businesses".
I didn't know it at the time, but creating this niche was one of the best things I did for success in the early days of my business. With my background as a Yoga Teacher and Holistic Nutritionist, this niche just made sense for me, and clients wanted to work with me because of my experience in the industry. This made it WAY easier for me to establish a personal connection with potential clients which is always a key element in sales.
It took me about a year of trail and error working with clients to figure out the best processes, procedures, platforms, pricing, packages, etc. And for the first year of Virtuwell Balance, I was doing everything myself… this got overwhelming fairly quickly and I was becoming the bottleneck in my business. I started to understand why most businesses fail within the first 2 years.
The solopreneur stress and hustle in the first 1-2 years of business was REAL. I soon realized that I would need to hire help and grow a team if I wanted to work with more clients and make a bigger impact (and get my time back!).
Mindset Shifts when Transitioning from Solopreneur to Agency/Team/Group
I put off hiring for a long time and felt super scared about having anyone other than ME be client-facing in my business. I used to think “nobody else can do it like me or as good as me”, “nobody else will care as much about my business and my clients as I do”, but of course those are just limiting beliefs that fed into my fear of losing a business that I worked so hard to build.
A book that really helped me with this mindset shift is called Run Like Clockwork, I highly recommend reading it if you are thinking of hiring! The advice is applicable to any type of business.
Assuming that I needed do everything myself was actually restricting the number of people I could help and the value I could provide. Learning to give up some responsibilities and hire support has been a huge transition for me because my business is my baby and I love all my clients so much.
Looking back now, I wish I hired sooner. Yes, it was hard to let go, but now, instead of doing ALL the things, I'm able to focus on things that I enjoy and hire people for positions that THEY enjoy. It’s great because everyone is working in their zone of genius and doing what they are good at.
Thankfully, I have been able to build a team with amazing ladies who are just as passionate as me. Everyone I've hired has been connected to me/my business network somehow. I've never hired a complete stranger who simply applied to a job posting. They were either referred by someone we both know, we worked with common clients or business coaches, or we've been connected for some time via social media. I feel that hiring people who I already have some type of connection with has helped with the loyalty in our company culture.
The Importance of Company Culture + Leadership
Stepping into my role as a team leader and developing a company culture was not something I ever thought I'd need to do, but I did understand the importance of this from the beginning.
I have seen (and worked in) other agencies that lacked company culture and team leadership. Nobody felt like they were collectively working towards a bigger goal or mission, and the company had a very high turnover rate with their employees/team members.
Not only was I responsible for showing up for my clients, now I also have team members to support. I have to set the precedence for how we communicate with clients, the quality of our work, and the values we uphold as a company. I take pride in our work and client satisfaction, but I also find it very rewarding to build a business and company culture that people want to work for.
This is still something that I work on becoming better at every day and something I believe only gets strengthened by time and experience. Since we work fully remote, I find that hosting group Zoom meetings with the team really helps to keep everyone connected with the pulse of the business and develops a company culture that they all want to be a part of.
Benefits of Having a Team
The crazy thing is that I never planned on having a big mission and growing or scaling my business to this level. All I wanted from the beginning was to make money online doing something I enjoyed that would give me the freedom to travel or live abroad. After achieving this within my first two years of business, I knew the next level of growth would come from my team.
My team has enabled Virtuwell Balance to work with WAY more clients than I ever could have done on my own. I am not just talking about the revenue we bring in, but the impact we are making on the world. When I hear our client success stories and how they are able to grow their businesses and support their own clients through a health/wellness journey, I know that we are making positive change.
Another amazing thing about hiring a team is that I have been able to offer specialized services that I myself could not deliver on, like SEO for example. Search Engine Optimization is something I only have basic knowledge on, but now I have an SEO Specialist on the team and this is a popular service we offer our website design clients. Copywriting is another example. When it was just me in the business, I would offer “copy writing support” but now I have a Copy Specialist on the team and we offer a variety of different copy writing services for websites and digital marketing.
And on a personal level, growing and scaling my business with a team has given me my time back. I am able to have a successful business AND enjoy slow mornings and hobbies on weeknights - yes, it is possible!
Lessons Learned
Don't be afraid to ask for help and hire support.
I’m so grateful that I learned to be gracious and flexible enough in my business to listen to demand and make changes as I go. Moving with the flow and following the path of least resistance ended up being the path of my greatest joy. I love managing and supporting my team and being in charge of the business operations over the client work.
I realized that growth inherently involves adaptation, trying new things, and taking a risk on others. Embracing change and pursuing your passions while staying grounded in your values can lead to extraordinary outcomes.
I think back to when I worked at the hospital before starting my business and how badly I wanted change in my life, but had no idea where to start. It’s so important that we take time to reflect on how far we have come... this will give you motivation to keep moving forward.