When 10x is NOT easier than 2x
At the end of the year, you’ll see a number of “best of” business book lists, and the book 10x is Easier than 2x, by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy, is probably on the lists.
What I appreciate in this book is the concept of driving towards leverage. To taking the activities that you do today and paring back to the most profitable offers, clients, or activities that unlock tremendous leverage and create growth.
“It’s an operating system you deploy for:
Dramatically expanding your vision and standards
Simplifying your strategy and focus
Identifying and removing non-essentials
Developing mastery in unique areas
Leading and empowering others who excitedly share your vision
10x is the vehicle for transforming yourself and your life.”
However, I want to look deeper beyond the title of the book.
Who is 10x for? When does this lens make sense? What is really called for when you shift to this mindset?
And why not every year is a 10x year.
What are the shifts when you go 10x and scale?
In the book, the 10x examples narrow down to three key leverage decisions:
Shift in pricing or a focus on a single profitable product (requiring a shift in your target market)
Change in business model (going from 1:1 to 1:many, or running a single location to running a division)
Hiring someone to take on tasks (”Letting go of your 80 percent generally involves hiring Whos to take over your 80 percent, and to systemize and organize what is repeatable so you can innovate what isn’t repeatable.”)
“Going for 2x growth means you can keep 80 percent of your existing clients, roles, behaviors, and mindsets. Only minor tweaks are needed. Going for 10x growth means you must eliminate 80 percent of your existing clients, roles, behaviors, and mindsets.”
But what’s addressed somewhat - but in my opinion, insufficiently, is what’s required to make that shift.
What’s really required to make that shift as outlined?
Resources
To make a 10x shift, in the book it outlines letting go of 80% of the clients, the tasks, or the mindset that you currently have.
This sounds great in theory. But you know what it requires to say no to clients, to hold out for higher prices, to hire a team?
It takes resources. It takes money, time, existing connections, energy. It takes having support around you in case it takes longer than you expect for you to bridge the gap.
As Chad did when he committed to only working with clients with $100,000 or more to invest, for a period of time, you’ll struggle reaching and clawing toward your new commitment, with many bumps and bruises along the way. This is the commitment and courage phase of Dan’s 4C’s.
Make sure to ask yourself - what resources are available, funded from your business or from other sources, to help sustain you before your new pricing, your new target positioning, your new sales strategy takes hold?
Personally, I couldn’t give up 80% of my clients to focus on the most leveraged segment of my business at this point - even though I have a solid financial cushion in my business. I choose to keep the business profitable enough to pay my salary as I build towards the future. And not everyone has a cushion - 2023 has certainly tested our financial resilience as a collective.
Preparation
Before making the 10x leap, you’ll want to prepare versus leaping blindly.
The business development cycle or audience growth timeline can be years, and I’d personally want to start that clock long before I needed to have the money flowing in.
Have you tested this new price point? Have you laid the groundwork and begun networking with the new client profile who will see value in this offer?
Do you know what you actually need for this new model (audience size, connections, etc.) to be successful - and by when?
Nervous System Regulation
In many of the examples in the book, there were more “no’s” before they got the “yes” at the higher price point.
And it’s real - as you evolve your messaging, your business model, or pricing you’re going to get more “nos” as you shift. Or you take on new roles (like management) you might not be great at yet, with team members that are new and need additional guidance.
But all of those changes can be hits to an already taxed nervous system. It’s hard to get a lot of tests while you’re bringing forth this new vision!
So before making the shift, consider if you have the internal and external support systems to keep refining, keep checking and adjusting, and stay the course during this shift.
Be patient while you build a new identity.
We return to the familiar (job, relationship, way of creating, taking care of everybody else, not tending to our own work) because it saves brain resources and feels safe. Your brain is not interested in feeling insecure or challenging who you think you are - the brain says “waste of glucose no thank you.” Which makes perfectly good evolutionary sense but can make for a disappointing and boxed-in life.
To stay with a desire, we must build a new identity. This takes far more time than we think it will. Are you allowing enough time to become the person who can embody this dream? I will bet you a hot chocolate chip cookie the answer is no. - Jen Louden
What to do in a 2x year to prepare
So we know leverage is incredibly powerful… but maybe you’re looking at the steps above and thinking “yes, I will trade 10x freedom for security for the time being because I need to pay my mortgage.”
But you can take the approach to leverage and start preparing now.
Shore up your resources
Start saving more of your profit, raise your prices (in a way that doesn’t require a shift in your target market), and take a hard look at your expenses. Bank your cash and build your buffer.
Resources include social, financial, emotional, physical resources - not just money. So start building your ecosystem and network now. Gather your strength for the build. Find your peers. Look for help at home.
Lay the groundwork
Want to shift your pricing? Start networking now with your target market. Write out your new offer suite, outline the new value proposition. Build your profitability model and target price points. Hone your sales skills and refine your sales process.
Want to shift to a one to many leveraged model? Focus on audience growth far in advance of when you’ll need to launch. Be regularly visible, have a proactive mindset on making connections, build a regular practice of showcasing your expertise, and start building assets (SEO, workshops, resources) that can sell and deliver in a more scalable fashion.
Want to hire? Act as if you are going to hire now. Build rhythms for planning, prioritization, time and task management. Start documenting the tasks you’d want to hand over.
(if you need help with all of this? pssst.)
Cut the 20%
I’m not advocating for a wholesale ditching of 80% of your clients, or handing off 80% of your tasks to someone else. But it’s time to prune the 20% that really isn’t serving you.
Because if there’s no white space or margin at all… you won’t have the time or energy or cash to start shoring up your resources or making investments in the groundwork.
Do you have some clients that aren’t working for you at their current price points?
Are you on social media platforms that are a time suck without return?
Do you have manual processes that you can automate - or set up processes to solve some downstream problems in your business?
Do you have tools or subscriptions, communities or memberships, that you could cut back on that you really aren’t using or engaging in?
And after pruning, can you hire for a very specific role to take on the next 20% that helps you create margin in your calendar?
Your “2x” year is the year to tighten up your business and close financial, operational, and energetic leaks.
Ensure your business is running as efficiently as it can before you start to grow. Potentially consider taking time to rest if you’ve been running at a sprint for 3 years now.