Grow Without Hiring

[00:00:00] Ken: You are not going to change the world in the next 30 days, and you don't even need all of this month to figure out what I'm about to tell you what you already know this. You just keep pretending. That this time will be different. You're not gonna launch a YouTube channel, start a podcast, grow a newsletter, or become famous on LinkedIn, all while writing a book in one year.
[00:00:27] Ken: And what makes this dangerous? None of those goals. Sound unreasonable on their own.
[00:00:34] Ken: Why we often struggle is that we tell ourselves our goals are reasonable and attainable.
[00:00:41] Ken: But what's happening is actually quieter than that. You carry around an invisible scorecard that you never actually agreed to. It's why you feel like you're behind on platforms and you felt that way for years. Follower counts that you're quote unquote, supposed to hit. [00:01:00] The idea that this month has to carry the weight of the entire year, and the worst part, nobody ever told you these were the rules.
[00:01:10] Ken: You just absorbed quietly over time.
[00:01:14] Ken: Here's the reality. When you approach the next 30 days like you have in the past, you're not gonna be happy with almost any of it by the end of this year. Not because you didn't work hard, but because you aimed at things you don't control. You'll either feel behind or disappointed or confused. Why you put in so much effort and still feel stuck.
[00:01:40] Ken: And this isn't because you are a normal human who can't stick to resolutions or goals. You just happen to decide to also run a business, which only compounds. The problem. No, not because you're doing it wrong, but because your surface area is bigger.
[00:01:58] Ken: There are more things to [00:02:00] do, more comparisons, more pressure to do everything. You're not just an entrepreneur. You are a spouse, you're a partner, you're a parent,
[00:02:09] Ken: you are a friend. You're trusted by all of your clients. So today I wanna help you with your next 30 days, not with another plan. Not with a laundry list, but with a different way of deciding what even deserves your attention, what should be in, what should be out,
[00:02:28] Ken: and of course, how to approach moments like this one in a way that actually helps you grow your business without hiring.
[00:02:36] Ken: Now you come here for the real talk. So if you keep setting goals that live outside your control Anything you do this year, this time within this window, will feel exactly like the last one, no matter how motivated you are. And you know what that looks like? It's your audience size, it's your visibility. It's the popularity [00:03:00] milestones,
[00:03:00] Ken: it's growth that depends on permission from those lovely algorithms that we often discuss. Platforms and timing.
[00:03:09] Ken: if the thing you're chasing requires someone or something else to say yes, first, you've already given up control without even realizing it.
[00:03:19] Ken: Now, why am I on my soapbox today is because this is real for me. I've seen this play out regularly in my own life and my businesses. I have been a fan of reflection and planning my entire life. I've kept journals, although that changed a lot after becoming a father.
[00:03:37] Ken: But as I would look back across all of that work. I would just see these recurring themes around, beating myself up for things that I did not accomplish year after year, after window after time again.
[00:03:51] Ken: So for a long time I weighted myself down with impossibilities. And this business itself is now just over three years old. And when [00:04:00] I look back at how I approached planning early on, it was all about numbers. I hadn't yet earned follower counts. I hadn't reached my email list size. And the reality is marketing tactics that would take a small team to execute well, and I know because I used to have an entire marketing team that I built.
[00:04:19] Ken: Within my $5 million a year consultancy,
[00:04:22] Ken: so at one point I had to have this discussion first with myself, and I would say in some ways it would make me uncomfortable, but really it actually became more comforting.
[00:04:34] Ken: What I realized is that I was planning my business in a way that made even major successes feel like failures. I would hit new revenue levels, or I'd sell a new offer that I worked on for a while, but at the end of a year I would see. A bunch of things that I set out to do that I had not accomplished.
[00:04:56] Ken: So by the end of 2023 especially, it [00:05:00] was clear that this approach wasn't serving me,
[00:05:02] Ken: and it made me feel upset, frustrated, and even angry. Every time I'd wrap up another year of business.
[00:05:10] Ken: So I really stopped focusing on numbers and started building what I call a strategic plan that I revisit throughout the year.
[00:05:19] Ken: And one of the biggest shifts is that I didn't have more in it. It had less, instead of targets, it focused on models, observations, initiatives, and signals I would be seeing in the market. and this is so important for you.
[00:05:35] Ken: They are things that I personally could respond to, not forces I couldn't control.
[00:05:41] Ken: Now if this sounds familiar. It's because it's part of a longer rhythm that I've talked about before in another conversation, episode 10 called Sprint and Rest.
[00:05:51] Ken: I walk through how I actually plan and reflect over time and how we adaptthe seasons, to the rhythms, [00:06:00] to the ups and downs of business and life. So it's not always about constantly pushing forward.
[00:06:06] Ken: Often it's about being present in what's happening, reflecting on patterns and deliberately building in rest.
[00:06:15] Ken: by building this in and keeping. A change log and putting down what matters. Tracking decisions, signals and moments of friction. When you have time to plan, whether it's for a year or quarter or a short window, like the next 30 days, I promise you that you won't be starting from scratch.
[00:06:34] Ken: Instead, you're filtering, you're asking yourself what worked, what didn't? What keeps repeating and really you wanna see what deserves more space and what clearly doesn't.
[00:06:46] Ken: This reflection process is what made the shift I described possible. Now, today's conversation is not about seasonal planning or taking time off. It is about using that same filtering [00:07:00] muscle anytime you're deciding how to reengage with your business.
[00:07:04] Ken: So please embrace what I'm about to say next. The next 30 days aren't for becoming something new. Therefore deciding what doesn't belong, therefore deciding who you want to be and what kind of business you want to run, and it's only then that you could decide on the tactics to support you and your business.
[00:07:27] Ken: Most people do the opposite. They think about all of the ways to get leads, how to build the offers, how to have a go to market motion, what channels they want to be on when they don't actually first understand their guiding principles that get them up in the morning.
[00:07:43] Ken: And when that is flipped, you treat. The next 30 days like a launchpad, when it needs to be that filter. What's out? What's noise? What's fantasy? What's yours not to control right now?
[00:07:57] Ken: I often tell my clients [00:08:00] addition by subtraction, because subtraction creates speed faster than ambition ever will.
[00:08:06] Ken: And here's why. You're not tearing things down. you're simply redirecting energy,
[00:08:12] Ken: but let's make it a little bit more real, you're saying. Yo. KY This is good stuff, but what does it actually look like for me? Let's talk about these next 30 days and give you some tactical guiding principles.
[00:08:28] Ken: I wanna start with intentions over resolutions. Resolutions are the fantasy that evaporate when newness fades. Intentions are the mindset you bring to each day. To each prospect, call to each decision you decide is worthwhile in your business Intentions, guide, behavior and form habits. They don't demand an overhaul of your business.
[00:08:55] Ken: Number two, modes over goals. You already know this one, but [00:09:00] I need to say it out loud. Goals create pressure. I can remember working with a marketing consultant, and this is a common story, but this one stands out in my mind because they gave me a laundry list of things they expected themselves to do around this time of the year.
[00:09:15] Ken: So I asked them a simple question after doing my prep work, why do you think you have to do all of this work? And what I told them still holds today, and I want to share it almost verbatim. Because it's gonna help you the same way. You don't need to solve everything now or even in a year. Your list includes multiple things that could take a year on their own, building a product, writing a book.
[00:09:42] Ken: I love your ambition, but this kind of list becomes a burden, and then you feel bad when you're staring at the same list a year later, and then two years later.
[00:09:51] Ken: I shared this because this is where I see smart entrepreneurs hurt themselves the most. Instead of weighing yourself down, declare [00:10:00] goals, and to do bankruptcy, go into offline mode. Start your day without being online. Go online without any browser tabs open. Prune your social feed. Unsubscribe from newsletters.
[00:10:13] Ken: It's what I call silence the noise, and it's a protocol that I walk my clients through. I want you to decide what mode you're in, not what things you're going to conquer,
[00:10:23] Ken: and finally progress over perfection.
[00:10:27] Ken: The perfect is the enemy of the good. My intellectuals out there will know the source of that quote, and perfection is often the place we hide when we don't want to start. Let that sink in for a minute. One of the things I require my clients to do. Is share a foundational exercise with me before they even complete it, because here's the psychological shift that I demand of them.
[00:10:50] Ken: The act of sharing is the commitment to begin the completion becomes the easier part. I forced them to work in the open with [00:11:00] me like in a factory instead of agonizing over a perfectly curated museum. That no one will ever see your momentum similarly doesn't come from polish, it comes from motion.
[00:11:14] Ken: So no, you are not going to change the world in the next 30 days or even for that matter, over the next year. But you can stop sabotaging yourself when you make this shift. Growing without hiring pushes back on what business, schools, society, and even well-meaning people tell you is important about your business.
[00:11:37] Ken: By the way, that word matters, your business not theirs. That distinction changes everything. So as we wrap up today, I want you to get rid of your laundry list for the next 30 days. No more worrying about what you can't control. No more saddling yourself with an unattainable stack that represents years of effort.
[00:11:59] Ken: And if you wanna [00:12:00] make this real, send me one word on LinkedIn, not a pitch, not an explanation. Just the mode you're choosing for the next 30 days. I read every response and you can see the link to send me that message in the show notes. So remember, intentions over resolutions, modes over goals, progress over perfection that will help guide you over the next 30 days. I love having these conversations with you and I can't wait to help you continue to grow without hiring.