Scaling Back: As Important as Scaling Up

Building a company isn't just about charging ahead—it’s knowing when to slow down and recalibrate.

Yes, this is another thing I learned the hard way.

In the early days of growing clickOn, we skyrocketed from $1M to $10M in just two years. But behind that rapid growth were costly mistakes that nearly brought everything to a halt.

One of the toughest lessons I learned came during a crisis that almost destroyed the business.

I often share these insights during my 1:1 calls, but today, I want to open up and share the five biggest mistakes I made—so you can learn from them and avoid the same pitfalls.

1. Scaling UP without Scaling BACK — and losing 105 employees

All the advice I consumed was about growth—more employees, more ads, more revenue.

No one warned me about the cost of scaling too fast, or what could happen if things went sideways.

In 2016, we faced our own internal pandemic. Half our revenue vanished overnight. We had to downsize from 150 employees to 45 just to survive.

The good news? By 2020, we had built in Treevotion (my 2nd company) a structure that allowed us to downsize in a WEEK.

That same experience allowed me to help my coaching clients.

The lesson? If you don’t learn how to scale back, you won’t survive long enough to scale up.

2. Ignoring core values and core purpose (thinking it’s an old-school cliché)

For years, I thought defining core values was just corporate fluff.

But when it came time to decide who to let go—and later, who to hire for future ventures—I realized this was my north star (especially when we had to downsize from 150 to 45 people).

This is the truth: when done right, core values and purpose don’t just inform your mission statement—they become your most effective execution tools for DAILY use.

They shape your company’s culture, influence team dynamics, and drive decision-making at every level.

These values aren’t just useful for determining who should stay, who should go, and who shouldn’t have been in your company in the first place—they help ensure your choices are in alignment with your long-term vision.

Without this foundation, it’s easy to lose focus on what really matters.

Hint: I have a free guide that you’ll love to define your core values fast, reply this email if you want it!

That’s why defining and living by your core values isn’t just a good idea—it’s a necessity for building a sustainable, scalable business.

3. Thinking the CEO needs to be both a visionary and an integrator

I used to think that as the founder, I had to do everything myself.

It was my company, my vision, so I took on every task—big or small—even the ones I absolutely hated. I thought it was part of the job.

But the reality? I burned out. I felt exhausted, overwhelmed, and, after months of juggling it all, stuck in a never-ending cycle of tasks that drained me.

I wasn’t growing the company; I was just managing the chaos. A true fire-fighter.

Then I discovered the concept of the “Visionary” and the “Integrator” (I went deeper into these roles in a previous newsletter, so if you’d like to get a copy, just shoot me an email, and I’ll forward it to you).

That’s when everything started to click.

When we hired an Integrator to handle the day-to-day execution, I was able to fully focus on what I do best—growing the company.

Suddenly, everything changed. My energy was focused on scaling, driving innovation, and pushing the business forward. The difference was night and day.

If you’re a Visionary like me, your role isn’t to get lost in the weeds of execution. Your job is to see the big picture, strategize, and GROW the company CONSISTENTLY.

The key is to hire someone who thrives in the details and execution—someone who can turn your vision into reality.

Once you make that shift, you’ll find that growth becomes not just possible, but inevitable.

4. Avoiding Co-Founder disagreements until it was too late

Co-founder misalignment doesn’t happen overnight—it builds gradually, like a slow-moving snowball gathering momentum and turning into something much more dangerous.

Each avoided conversation, every unspoken concern, and every moment of hesitation adds another layer of misunderstanding and miscommunication.

At first, it feels manageable, but over time, those small cracks widen into major fractures.

In the early days, I avoided tough conversations, thinking they could wait or would resolve themselves. But as the pressure mounted, so did the tension.

Eventually, what could have been addressed with a single difficult conversation became a much larger issue. If you're avoiding tough conversations today, just wait—over time, they will grow into challenges you may not be able to recover from.

5. Not investing in the right advisors—For my business and my life

Early on, I tried to save money on hiring advisors. The result? I got cheap advice that cost me millions.

Even in my personal life, I saw the difference:

15 years ago, a nutritionist told me to eat diet products to be healthier. Years later, I hired one of the best fitness coaches in the world.

In the first week, he gave me life-changing advice. Since then, I’ve lost 5% body fat, gained 3kg of muscle, and completely transformed my health.

The takeaway? You get what you pay for. Cheap advice is the most expensive mistake you’ll ever make.

Your mistakes are costing you!

Growing a company is HARD. But from my biggest mistakes, I made my biggest progress.

I went on to sell $65M online—and now I help founders remove blockers and scale again.

If you’re struggling with one of these challenges, don’t waste time making the same mistakes.

Let’s talk. Schedule a free call, and let’s fix it together.

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