23 yrs building the same business. Still here.
Truth is there have been times of "burnout," but I've mostly been able to avoid it. How?
Because as an operator, your role changes like the seasons of the year.
Here are the 11 or so seasons I've been through ⬇️
1. Proof the concept phase:
Designer, developer, sysops, marketing... all me. Biz partner handled sales, copywriting, admin, etc. We made a few bucks while in college.
2. First-hires phase:
Still "do everything", just a little less of some with new teammates onboard. We got a dev, then a designer, then an SEO copywriter. (Noteworthy: 2 of the 3 lead departments for us still today).
3. "We have a business!" phase:
First office, second dev, culture beginning to take hold. Landing bigger recurring contracts. A slight shift to more managerial role while still taking on higher-end client work myself. Targeting New Orleans now as opposed to just our small Louisiana town.
4. Early growth phase:
Local SEO and PPC ads were working well. Lead flow picked up and we hired a few more people. "Roles" starting to become "teams." Still hopping from team to team, in the weeds, to fill in as needed.
5. Learn to delegate phase:
This was HARD, but a major unlock. Time to start putting trust in team members (and the training, SOPs that got them there). Zoned in as head of the dev team. Began assisting in sales. Design and SEO teams (mostly) run on their own.
6. Real "SMB" phase:
Rebranded. Added a senior dev, customer success rep, in-house ads team. Team at about 14 people. Still leading dev direction (less code), still helping in other areas, but leaning more into sales, admin. Branched out in to Houston & Dallas.
7. COVID "boom" phase:
Killed the office, went 100% remote. Unlocks: no rent, hire best ppl from ANYWHERE. Zoom became cool, so virtual meeting became socially acceptable. Allowed us to market anywhere. Hit $1M in revenue for first time. Teams all running on their own now. Trying to clean up ops, etc. and realize we need help.
8. Get an "Advisor" phase:
Shoutout to
@patrickdichter for crushing it as our advisor for a few years. Helped us find bottlenecks, prioritize efforts, brainstorm on "website as a service" model. Partner and I both shifting into shared hybrid "visionary/integrator" roles. Focus on making team leads successful. Very little "day to day" action.
9. "Grow up" phase:
Full-on visionary/integrator/admin role: Clean bookkeeping, get a fCFO, expand the team (now 20 ), add offerings (Meta Ads, etc.), document processes, created scorecard, proper hierarchy, etc.
10. New business model phase:
Went from the "$20K web design agency" to the "$399/month custom site unlimited updates forever" model (WaaS).
Shift to recurring revenue was huge. Much more predictable. Risky though! Cash crunch was REAL. Added almost $200K to a line of credit during the transition, but believed in the vision.
Result: Much stronger business. Less stress. Win-win-win for all involved, especially clients.
11. The "AI" phase (current):
Completely in a "work on the business" not "in the business" role. So fun and yet challenging. That said, I do tinker with ai "vibe coding" for side quests because it's too powerful not to.
Currently integrating AI in all ways that result in a better product and more efficient team, without sacrificing quality or human touch. Making huge strides!
Excited about our shift in vision for the next 12-18 months, where we "reinvent" the website-as-a-service model and take it to far greater heights.
Very cool stuff in the works!
If you're still here, thanks for reading. I've got plenty more to share (and lots to learn), so let me know if a particular phase or topic interests you.
Always appreciate a follow
@joebenson if you like this kind of content.