743. What Stops Handmade Product Businesses from Hitting 1M (& How to Break Through!)

Have you hit the point in your business that you're thinking, I can't possibly do more ceiling. Like, you have a big goal for your business, but you're like, there's no way I can even break past this goal or hit that next goal that I have because I can't possibly do more or make more. And you know that ceiling that we're talking about? Maybe you've proven that your product works. You've proven that people want what you sell. You're getting sales. Maybe they're coming from shows online. Maybe, maybe you've got a little wholesale trickling in. And on the outside, it all looks like a success. But behind the scenes, you're thinking things like, there's no way I could double this without completely burning out. I can't hire. I don't know what to hand off. It's all handmade. How could anyone else possibly do it? Right? Cause I know a lot of you are thinking, I can do it, but no one else can do it as good as I can. Right? You might be feeling a little called out right now, or, I'd love to get to a $100,000 business. Actually, today, in one of my live calls with our students, someone said, I don't even want $100,000 business. I just want a little bit of a side hustle, because it feels like such a burden as a handmade business to grow the thing. The other thing is, you might be thinking, I'm already maxed. I'm already doing everything, and there's no way I could possibly do more. So if you've been talking like this, thinking like this, any version of this, I want you to just take a breath, because here's the truth that no one really says out loud until you're actually living it. I want you to hear this. The way you built this to the level that you're currently at is not the way you're going to grow past this level and get to the next level. It's just not possible. So whether you're a maker or a small manufacturer, there is this revenue point. There is this place that you get to in your business where the old way just breaks and we've got to find a new way. And that's what I call the breaking point. Right? It's not a sign that something is wrong with your business. It's not a sign that there's something wrong with you. The breaking point is your invitation to level up. The breaking point is your invitation to say, all right, this thing has stopped working. What do I get to do now, what kind of support do I need? What new structure? What new processes? What is available to me on the other side of this breaking point? So you can still be a handmade business. Hear me on this. And if you're watching this on YouTube, you'll see it, just not with your own two hands. Your own two hands will get you only so far and then you get to have other hands helping you. Now, I want to be clear right from the beginning. I'm not saying that you have to turn into some massive company and I'm not saying that you need a team and I'm not saying that you need to outsource everything, everything and become someone who you don't recognize or spend money on the things that you don't need to spend money on. This is what I'm actually saying. There is a moment in every product based business where your demand outgrows your personal capacity. Shall I say it again? There is a moment in every product based business where your demand outgrows your personal capacity. And if you don't change that structure, you're to going. Your structure is going to feel like it's crushing you. So today I am going to give you what I call the break point and the three shifts that will move you from being trapped inside of your own success and having those limiting beliefs that this isn't possible. To be able to grow without losing what you want, right? Without losing your life first way. Without losing your want to keep it handmade, without losing the things that you cherish the most. And I want you to listen to that part that makes you feel seen and called out at the same time. Because that's usually the part that's true. So if you're like me, that's true. Okay. Hi, I'm Jacqueline Snyder and this is the Product Boss podcast. I've helped launch and grow thousands of product based businesses, even one of my own. And over the last 20 years, I've seen behind the scenes of businesses just like yours. Whether they are makers, manufacturers, artists or food and beverage businesses. I have spent so many, many hours studying it all. I've discovered what makes them successful, what mistakes they could have avoided, how did they turn their ideas into successful business and what are the strategies that they have used to make more sales and be discovered by more customers. And this is what this show is all about. Whether you're just starting out or you're looking to become a million dollar product boss, I'm here to give you the permission to chase your dreams. No matter how big or small? All you need is the right mindset, a little courage, just strategy and support. And you too can be the next million dollar Product boss. Let's do this. Hey everyone. I'm Jacqueline Snyder. I'm the host of the Product Boss podcast. I am so glad that you're here. I have been in this industry for the last 20 years, not only with my own product based business line, Cuffs Couture and Lily Mark, which I sold, but also in being the brand maker, the person, the strategist, the consultant, the behind the scenes on thousands of brands that you know and love today, including all the amazing small businesses that I get to work with here at the Product Boss. So here at the Product Boss, we support makers, manufacturers, people who source products. If you make and sell something, you are in the right place. And I want you to know this. It doesn't matter where you are in the world, it doesn't matter what you sell, it doesn't matter where you sell it. Because here at the Product Boss, I teach you real business strategies, strategies that can be used across the board, whether you're selling online, e commerce, shopify, whatever platform you're using, whether you're selling on Etsy or other marketplaces, in person markets, wholesale, Amazon or a mix of all of those. So if that's you, you're in the right place. And let's dive in to today's episode. So let's start with the big idea that the main, like the meat and potatoes of this episode, right? Every product business is going to hit a break point where demand is going to outgrow your personal capacity and yes, blessed, everything that you wanted, right? We all want to grow. I asked this, right? I'll run my challenges and I'll talk to people. I'm like, what do you all want? And the thing that's like my chat just keeps going, going, going, going is I want consistent sales, I want predictable sales. In fact, I had a student last year, she's a student in the accelerator, she's a student in the collective. And she was like, I really, really, really want this really big deal to come through, right? It was a big deal with a big corporation. She's like, I really, really wanted to come through. I just talked to her yesterday and she's like, I want to make $50,000 in the next 30 days. How do I do it? That was the conversation. I said, okay, hold. I love this for you. I love the zest, I love the plan, I love all of that. But you've hit a capacity Point, you actually don't have enough product to sell the $50,000. So she's at this break point where her company is growing, but she does not have the infrastructure or the systems yet to, to be able to grow to that. So really exciting, right? One, I love the energy and the potential. Really, really exciting because your business is feeling like it's working. Congratulations. It's everything that you wanted. You know, I say it, I joke. I'm like biggie smalls, right, 90s child over here. And I'm like, mo money, mo problems. So what happens is in the very, very beginning of your business, you might be really just trying to make that first sale, that next sale. You're getting your feet underneath you, you're establishing the brand. But then we start to take this like this shift and this change where it starts to work. It starts to work. There's focus, there's this energy, there's this momentum and it's starting to work. And you're like, oh my goodness, this is working. This is everything I wish for. And then it becomes, oh my gosh, it's working and I can't breathe. Oh my gosh, it's working and it is breaking because the systems that we use to get us to that first place, right? Maybe it's the systems that you use to get to your first $10,000, your first 50,000 DOL, 100,000, your first million. The things that work to get you there are going to snap and break. And I actually, I'll tell you where I see this the most. I believe that you can get to your first hundred thousand dollars. Kind of playing around, messing around, like just getting like you're going to learn as you go at $100,000, things are going to feel like they break. And maybe even before that, right? Like maybe you've been doing things in a certain way and you start to have $2,000 months, $5,000 months, you get to your $8,000 months, you're like, things are kind of breaking. So $100,000 things break. It's time for a level up. I'll see this again at around $300,000. 300,000 is another place where things kind of like what got you there is not going to get you forward. Then we get to our million dollar mark. A million dollars, great breaks again. $3 million great breaks again. And then really you can get all the way up to $10 million and then 10 million breaks, breaks again. So I know you're hearing me say these insane numbers for some people or like really amazing numbers for some people. But that's really what I see is, like, every time you kind of level up and you get to the place that you want to get to, something's going to break and you're going to say, all right, I got here this way, but I have to make a change. There's little things that you can get away with when you're just starting, for example, right? There's little things you can get away with when you're kind of rolling this out. But when you start to grow your business, that's when it's going to start to cost you more. That's when you're gonna start to look at this and be like, mm, I can't keep doing it this way. And the hardest part of that break point is that you literally cannot see how to grow because you're buried in the doing. My friend, she said this example, I loved it. She's like, well, you can't read the label when you're inside the bottle. It's hard to see you've been doing it right, because maybe you're starting to feel overwhelmed and buried in production and fulfillment, in customer service. You're buried in, like, content, because you're doing the content or markets and shows and the day to day. So your brain keeps asking the same question. How can I keep doing all of this and grow? It feels like crushing. It feels so hard and difficult. Because I'm telling you at every level, if you're a solopreneur, you will get to the point that this feels heavy. You have a small team. You'll get to the point where you're like, I need to hire more. I mean, it keeps this is the whole level up. And that question of, like, I can't keep doing all of this and grow, that's gonna be the thing that's the trap. Because let's just be a hundred percent honest right here. You can't. You can't keep going this way, right? You can't keep going this way. And I'm saying this with so much love because literally, I've been an entrepreneur for 20 years. I've had my businesses hit 100,000, half a million. I've gone into debt. I came back out of it. Ninety thousand, a million, multiple million. Like, it doesn't matter. It breaks, things happen. And it's again, it's this reflection point of what needs to change. Who do I need to be? Like, who do I get to be to have what I want? And one of those things is actually looking at the business and saying, okay, can't all be on me. It can't all be on me. Something's got to give. So we're going to kind of talk about replacing that question today instead of asking, how can I keep doing all of this and grow? Because honestly, a lot of you might be thinking, I can't grow. Like, you're making definitive statements. You're like, I can't grow, I won't grow. I will never get to whatever that number is because I can't. Because I can't possibly make more, do more, be more. You're really asking and stating the wrong thing. So really what you get to say is like, what has to change in my business to grow so that I'm not doing it all so that I can keep taking things off of my plate. So just this tiny language shift, this tiny way of looking, like, at your business and. And your brain is going to start to open up solutions instead of panic. It's really that, like, what if question. Not, I can't. Not these absolutes. I can't. I always, I never. But really the like, what if, what if I could change things? What if I could be supported? Or what has to change so that this happens? I know it feels scary. I did an episode on fear and pivots and change. But this is what you get to do if you're really thinking, okay, this is where I wanna go and this is how I wanna build, but I don't know how to get there. So here's the first shift. So shift number one is accepting that what got you here won't get you to your next level. Amazing. Incredible. It's like we're leveling up in Mario Brothers, right? It's like, doo, doo, doo, doo, and you get to the next level. It's like, do, do, do, and you get to the next level. Awesome. Amazing. This is exactly what you wanted. But this is also really hard because what got you here is usually your own two hands. Your time, your hustle, your creativity, your problem solving, your willingness to do whatever it takes. And honestly, that's legitimately your superpower as entrepreneur. You have a superpower, but I don't want your superpower to become a ceiling when your business requires more capacity than your body has. I mean, trust. I am 44 going on 45, and I do not have the energy I used to have. I mean, blessed. I guess I'm in midlife blessed. I remember a few years back, my friend was like, I was with all these women and they were 50 year olds and they had, what did you say? Like $100 million companies. And they were CEOs. And she's like, they were literally all taking drugs to stay awake. I was like, that will never be me. Now I'm like, can I drink coffee at 11pm but can I drink coffee at 3pm no, because I won't go to sleep. But also, I need it. As my niece says, I need it. Okay? And so that's the thing. Our bodies can't keep up. Our nervous systems can't keep up this massive hustle. It's fun until it's not. It's enjoyable until it's not. So if you're at a break point in your business, I want you to hear this, right? This is not a motivation problem. This is not a discipline problem. This is not a if I just try harder problem. This is actually a structure problem. And a structure is solvable. Yes, Right. But only if you stop trying to scale the old version of you. The old version of your business. It's like, this was my breakdown. This last year is like, actually in the last two years. I think I talked about this on the last episode. I'm gonna bring in some more personal stories because I'm like, you know what? You guys get to hear what I've been going through. Obviously, there's grief and loss of my parents, but there's been so much change. So much change. I bought this business from my ex partner. Okay. Beautiful. Breakup paths diverge. If you listen to any of these episodes, she's in the majority of them. And bought her out of the company. I took over. I had a vision for the company. I have a vision of where I want to go. I have a vision of the impact I want to create in the world. And our paths just diverged. But what my mistake was was I kept trying to grow the business in the old way, in the way that we were doing it together. That honestly wasn't working for both of us. Then I was like, all right, well, okay. Like, okay, so she like, we did it. So I'll just take the thing and I'll keep doing it this way. And it's like, actually, no, it needed to change. It needed a complete overhaul. And if you've been with me for a while, you've seen it. We've changed the podcast art. I'm launching a new website soon. We rebuilt the programs. I launched new program. I launched the collective, because guess what? I am a coach. I am a strategist. I'm an advisor through and through. I could talk to you guys all day about business. You know this. If you're one of my clients, you know, I'm like, I'm calling you sometimes being like, hey, let's talk about your business. So I love it. And so with the collective, that was like, my massive breakthrough. I was like, I can't keep trying to do this old version. Like, what is this new version that I get to be more involved in? In. In the growth of your businesses? Like, you get to be more supported. We get to build advisory teams that are there supporting you every step of the way. Right? Like, what do I want? And what does 2026 require? Not 2025, 2024, and anytime before that, what is this new version of my business? And so what is that version for you? Because there's a version of you that built this business with your own two hands, with your blood, sweat, and tears, especially tears. And there's a version of you that will lead this business to the next level. But the way you're gonna do this is by building support around those hands, building support around you. Because, honestly, we're not meant to do this alone. And I know that could bring up a whole bunch of thoughts. Like, but it has to be me. Like, I'm the artist. I'm the creative. Like, if I don't do it, they can't do it, or no one can do it. Like, I do it, or they're gonna mess up, or my customers want it because I made it, right? Like, my. Like, they'll only buy this thing because it's handmade and it's made with my own two hands. Or if I hire, quality will drop or I won't be able to afford the person. Right? These are so many great thoughts that our lovely brains like to have. We're worried about wasting time, wasting money, people making mistakes. Letting go of control is really what we're worried about. And if we let go of that control, everything will fall apart. So I just want to say it. The break point is actually bringing up control. It's bringing up identity. It's bringing up fear. It's bringing up all the things. So I just want to give you a quick little exercise. If you're watching this on YouTube, you can see me do it. And if you're not watching on YouTube, come follow the product or subscribe. Like, and subscribe, as the kids say, to the product boss podcast over on YouTube. And I'm going to show it to you, okay? So I want you to. And if you're listening, listen and try this out. As long as you're in a safe place, because it's going to require using your. Your own two hands. All right? So put your hand out in front of you, and I want you to imagine that I'm placing sand in your hand. Okay. I'm taking a pile of sand, and I'm placing it in your hand. And now I want you to take that sand. Okay. And I'm gonna place the second pile of sand, and I want you to take that sand. I want you to grip it. I want you to squeeze that sand as hard as you can. Squeeze it. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. Okay. Probably sand's coming out the sides if we're imagining it in real life. And you open up your hand, and how much sand is left? A lot less than the sand I put in your hand. Your hand, when squeezed so tight, can only hold so much. Okay, now let's practice this in a different way. I want you to open up that same hand, and I'm gonna put a pile of sand on it. I'm gonna put another pile of sand on it. And another, and another and another. I'm gonna stack that sand up. Now keep your hand open. How much sand can you hold when your hand is open? When you're relaxed, when you're like, okay, I'm open to more. So much more. When you're not tightly gripping control and making it so small. But rather, you're in this receiving, you're in this place that you can hold more. That is the visual I want you to take forward with you in this. The thing is, is that to get you from where you are to where you want to be, it cannot come from just one person. It cannot come from that tight grip, that control. It's just not gonna work. The idea of support can feel like maybe you're betraying what made it special. That idea of support could be like, I can do it myself, right? There's so many things of like or again, scarcity. So we really have to think about, like, what does it look like to be open to receiving? So then the second thing I want to talk about, especially if you're a handmade business, and this actually goes back so far at the product boss, we used to have a training called scaling handmade. And here's the deal. We got to redefine your concept around handmade. There are a lot of handmade makers. Makers got to make. Blah, blah, blah. Okay? Makers got to make money. You hear that? Makers got to make money. Makers got to make time to sleep. Makers got to get Supported. All right. I'm just going to add on a whole new bunch of lines. So handmade does not need to mean that you cut every piece that you paint, every base coat that you sew, every seam, that you pour, every candle that you pack, every order that you answer every customer's emails, that you stand in every booth. The definition of handmade or a small business is beautiful. And it's also a recipe for burnout once you hit the break point. So here's a new definition of handmade that's going to support you in getting to your next level. Ready for it. Handmade can mean your designs, your standards, your techniques. They're documented, they're taught. And that you can train and teach a team of hands to execute under your direction. I know, crazy, but you can train this. In fact, I was just coaching a student. She has one person that works for her, and this one person, bless her, does all the things right. Shipping, fulfillment, customer service, emails. And she's a handmade business that paints things. And she was trying to teach this person, can you paint? And so this client of mine was like, really, like, in doubt. Like, I, I, I don't know. I don't, I don't know. Like, I can't get to this next point. And she's like, I was trying to teach her painting, but like, she doesn't understand. I was like, well, she an artist. I was like, are you putting a round peg in a square or a square peg and a round hole, however you want to say it. Just like, oh my God, I am. The thing is, is that, and I'm an artist and a designer. Like, as a child. My kids are currently in this house right now making the most amazing artistic creations. It's unbelievable. My daughter's making nails. My son is doing 3D printed helmets and painting them. I mean, artistry is not like you can learn to do it, but there's also this under this underlying element that you know this. Cause you're all creatives listening that like, you have that other people don't necessarily have. It doesn't mean not everybody has it. It just means that some, we're like, trying to force somebody into something they're not good at. And so she's like, oh, you're right. I was like, how? Like, this person might be better at something else, but not necessarily painting. So you may want to hire someone who's an artist. Do you know how many artists and creatives are out there that don't want to have their own small business? And they're looking for someone just like you to give them the gift of a job where they get to use their creative talents. Like, how lucky are they and how lucky are you? I have a company that I worked with, a pottery company. She employs 20 potters for her $2 million pottery brand. There are potters out there. There are people who are artists that are creatives that all day long, they would love to be making and creating your beautiful things. They would have never started their own business. They would rather be in your business. So know that as you're thinking about growing your business, there are people out there that you get to call in and help you continue to still make the things that you're making. Because handmade can still be handmade. Handmade can still be handmade. It just doesn't have to be with your own two hands. And gonna say this as well, because I've come. I come from the fashion industry, like, my life. I was raised in the fashion industry because my parents were in it. I'm a fashion designer. I work for big brands. I've launched 2,000 fashion brands, including my own in downtown LA. And people talk about handmade all the time. And I'm like, the only thing that is a hundred percent handmade in fashion. And I'm gonna say handmade, like, literally, like, ladies are hand stitching, and hand sewing is couture, which is why those garments are like 10,000, 20,000, $30,000. Right? Think about those crazy things walking down the Runway. But fashion is still handmade. Maybe there's a laser cutter cutting out the fabric. Maybe there's machinery being used, but there are human beings sewing. They're human beings turning, like, fabric inside out, putting on labels, putting hang tags, covering things. Like, handmade is still handmade. It's just not that, like, maker's mindset of handmade. So I really want you to start to think about, if you're struggling with this identity shift from, like, craftsperson or makers gotta make. And, like. And that same thing comes with that sort of, like, badge of honor, but also the thing that's keeping you stuck, that I also am the person that has to do all the work, that has to create all the things. And I'd love for you to start to really think, like, how do I get to step into being the creative director of a handmade brand? In fashion school, you know, we were hired out of school. We were assistant designers, designers, lead designers, right? There was all these different levels that we were when we worked for other companies. I ended up becoming a head designer and then left, became an entrepreneur. My friends, though I have friends at Nike and Abercrombie and Gap brands. I have one friend right now who is literally was the creative director, one of the main creative directors at Nike and then moved to another massive brand. Like newspaper articles are written about her. She's amazing. And that's actually the goal. So as a designer, we actually eventually would move out of designing and go into creative director. Because then it gets to be our vision. We get to direct, we get to see the whole thing, we get to kind of vision what it is and then lead others. My friends, like namesake brands. Okay, let's just go to. I'm just gonna throw out like Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs. Tom Ford and Marc Jacobs are not sitting there hand sketching every single thing. They're not sourcing every single thing. They have hired other designers. I was a designer that was working for major brands, like, to continue doing it. So I want you to start to reposition yourself as creative director of a handmade brand, right? CEO, boss, leader, whatever word resonates with you. And I want you to notice what happens in your body when I say that. Because for some of you, it's gonna be like, oh, that's cool. That's a cool title. That's relief. I'm like, I'm like, what's her name? Miranda from Devil Wears Prada. Or for some of you, you're gonna be like, I what? I'm who? My identity is tied up in this. There's so much more pressure on that. So what this is doing is really asking you to let go of this version of you who did it all, of this version of you that identified in a very certain way. I know this can feel like triggering or emotional, but doing it all is how you built your business. Great. And this identity of the one who can. But it's also the thing that's keeping you stuck from saying, well, I could never get to $100,000 business because I could never make that much, or I could never get to a million dollar business because I could never make that much. It's never meant for you to do this alone. You get to be supported. You get to hire when you get to that break point. And I say this again because I'm not saying hire right now. If you're not making money, you're like, I gotta hire. No. But as you'll see, okay, so your business will start to make money. You'll start to hit capacity. If you're hitting capacity, you're making money. So you take Some of that money and you'll hire help. The two places that I believe that product businesses will hire for, first one will be making, so getting you out of being the bottleneck in making, and the other one will be in fulfillment. Because those two places you can be replaced and they're just like a bottleneck of time. We need to keep you leveled up in a higher level strategy. So let's say you start to get orders. Of course, course you'll be able to ask for help. Of course you'll be able to hire someone. Maybe it's a teenager that's going to put labels on and take stuff to the post office. Maybe you're hiring the friend next door to put labels on your bottles. But we get to start to move you out of bottleneck. Now, if you are in one of my programs, right, the sales accelerator, the collective, and you're in the container because we want to offer you advice and strategy and be really supportive. This is something that we walk through with you. We walk through like these limiting beliefs and also ways to move your way out of it. But it's piece by piece. It's not all at once. You get to say, I'm not the one who does everything. And maybe right now I don't have it all figured out, but I will figure it out as I go. You get to be the one who leads. You're the leader. You get to be the one who gets to set the vision and the design and the creativity you get. You get to be the one who protects the quality of the brand, the one who makes the decisions. Because the one who builds the business is who you get to be so that it can hold the life and the vision that you want of freedom, of freedom of finance, of freedom of time. And if you're listening and your brain is like, okay, but how good? Amazing. We're gonna go there. Because shift number three is the most practical shift. Shift number three is decoding where you must stay and where you must get out of of the way. This is where we stop talking in vague terms like I need help and we start to get specific. Because the reason many of you can say I can't hire is not actually because you can't hire. It's because you don't know what you would hand off. You don't know where help would actually help. And when you're at that break point, the whole business can feel like one tangled ball of yarn. Am I right? So let's simplify this into two questions. You ready for it? So question One is, where is my highest value? Where is your highest value? In other words, what is the work you can do that actually moves the business forward? You get to get out of the way. So for a lot of product based business owners, your highest value is one of these things. It might be designing the collections, setting the brand vision, storytelling and selling, building key relationships with stores, shows, collaborations, partnerships, right? You get to make the decisions on what to focus on next, the vision for the company. You want to protect the customer experience, want to create the offers and the strategy. And that's why you're here and listening to the show. And that's why you might be a student of mine because you're like, I get, I get to be supported in this. That is your highest value. You get to be the captain. Okay, question number two is where am I the bottleneck? Where am I clogging up the system? So this is the work that is repeatable, predictable, trainable, right? Work that you get to do because it's familiar, because you're fast at it, because you trust yourself, because it's the best use of your brain. And so common areas that you're clogging up or bottlenecking look like this. Repeatable production work, packing and shipping, answering every customer's email. You inventory counts and organizing, ordering supplies and managing vendors and updating listings and printing labels and scheduling content, blah blah, blah, blah, right? All of these things that are micromanaging or little things that could live in a checklist. And so I want you to remind yourself that you get to get out of your way. You get to look at these places and say, okay, do I have to keep doing them? Can I delegate them? Can I delete them? Can I automate them? What do you get to do? And in fact, I'm actually going to add in that training and workbook for free for you all here in the product boss show notes so you can download this and get the video@theproductboss.com. i'll put a link in the show notes so you can click it. And I'm just gonna give you this training from one of my programs. Cause I'm like, I think you need this. I keep giving it to some of my clients that I'm working with, where it's going to be. Let's look at all the tasks you're doing, identify where you're at and then decide on your next moves. Because when you can identify that, that's when you become, that's your breakthrough, right? That's where you get to breakthrough. So we're gonna give that to you. It's free. Just all you're gonna do is put your email address in, then we'll give you the training, and you're gonna get this framework and this worksheet. And I want you to do this, okay? And I'm gonna say to you here, if you wanna track everything that you're doing for seven days, just kind of write it all down. And then the training is gonna tell you, okay, this is how. How I look at this. Like, do I keep doing it? Do I delegate it? Do I outsource it? Some of you might be like, well, this is just my. This is where I am now. But when I can hire, when I can get support, when I can outsource, that's what I'm gonna do. So, you know, I like to talk about our businesses like a mirror, because it's literally, our businesses are holding up a transformational moment for us. It's saying, hey, this is what you get to Breakthrough. So here's the question. I want you to, like, imagine you're looking in a mirror, and you get to ask yourself this question. If you keep running your business exactly the way you are right now, how many more orders could you realistically handle before you break? So if you keep running your business exactly the way you're running it now, how many more orders could you realistically handle before you break? Just pick a number, okay? You know the weeks, you know the days. You know what it is. How many. How many more orders before you're staying up too late? How many more orders before you're snapping at people you love? How many more orders before you're resentful of this business? And I've had clients tell me, like, I actually don't want any more orders because I can't do it. I can't keep up. How many more orders until you're crying in your studio or your bathtub? Then I want you to ask yourself if that number is anywhere near your real revenue goals. So you might be like, I want to hit this business, but I actually can't because I'm stuck here. I have a student of mine right now I'm working with in the accelerator, who is, at this point, she's crushing it, but she cannot take any more orders. So she actually can't get to the revenue goal she wants. So this is what we get to look at. So because a lot of people set goals that require a structure that they don't have, we want the business. We want the revenue but we don't have the structure. And then they think the problem is them. It's not you, my friends, it's just the structure. It's just the level up that is happening for you. Okay, so question number two. This mirror moment, right? You get to look in the mirror and say, am I secretly counting on a future version of me who magically has more time, more energy and more capacity while doing everything the same way? I mean, literally, we're all just getting older. I don't know, when I get to 50, will I have more energy? No. So me and probably a lot of you, this is like a fantasy we like to carry around, right? Maybe you're thinking, well, when the kids get older, when they get out of this stage, when they get out of this stage, when I'm less tired, when I'm less stressed, when I have more money, when the season is over, when things calm down, of course, when. But here's the truth. Things are not going to calm down on their own. We get to be in full ownership and responsibility that we calm things down with. Changing the structure, changing how we show up. So if you've been waiting for a future version of you who to save you, like she's going to fly in from the future and save you now, let's come back to reality. The version of you right now is the version of you that gets to show up and give you the support that you need, right? The version of you right now is the one that gets to create that structure. And then let's get into question number three, which is what is one area where everything starts to fall apart when you get busy? So this is actually a really key question. What is one area where everything starts to fall apart when you get busy? We've just come out of the holiday season. We, we're going to be rolling into other busy seasons. So what broke as you're inundated with orders, right? As your business is growing and maybe life was happening, maybe your kids were off of school like mine for three weeks, you know, things happen. So what area starts to fall apart? Production, shipping, customer service shows, inventory, your website, your house, your laundry's piling up, your relationships. Because that fall apart area is actually your break point. That's where your business and your personal life are snapping. And it's also where you need support. Next. So here's how to apply this, right? Here's what you get to do. We get to name your breakpoint area and then we write down one sentence. Just one. Okay, one sentence. Ready? If I Had support here, everything else would get easier. That sentence is going to become your first priority, I'll tell you. When my kiddos were young and I was growing the product boss and I still had Cuffs Couture, my son, we were living in la, we had support from family, we had a nanny, we moved to New Jersey. And all of a sudden we were pretty solo. My daughter was young, we put her in daycare at a younger point. She was like 18 months old. And I literally cried the night before she went to daycare. Cause I was like, for her, I'm sending her to daycare, I should be with her. But my coach at the time said, you need to pay for the support that you need. Because the time that I spend right now building my business means that I get to spend quality, relaxed time with her when she comes home from preschool. That I get to be a calm, loving mom, that I'm building this thing for our future. And it was so funny because she goes into her first day of preschool and I'm thinking that she's gonna have this massive break. And instead she's like, peace, bye, Mom. And she just walks off, right? She's like, peace. I'm like, oh, my God, she was built for this. She wants this. She wants to be around people. And so looking at that, where I needed to be supported, the place that I needed to look at when my kiddos were young, if I had support with taking care of my kids, everything else would get easier. So that's where I started. Next might be if I had support with my calendar, everything else would get easier. If I had support with my laundry, everything else could get easier. If I had support with responding to customer service emails, everything would get easier. If I had support with somebody shipping the products for me so I don't have to stop and do that thing, it would get easier. So I want you to ask yourself that, because that's going to become your first priority, okay? That one supported area is going to create this domino effect for your business. This domino effect, right? That everything's going to start to. You're gonna be like, okay, I did that, I did that, I did that. And it's all gonna start to fall in place. Now I wanna talk to you and talk directly into this belief that I know comes up for so many handmade business owners. And when they're stuck at this break point, okay, so if it's all handmade, how could anyone else possibly do it the way that I do it? That might be a really big belief. Especially if you're an artist. Yeah, of course someone else can't do it like you until you teach them. And that teaching is about, it's, it's not about giving away your magic. It's about teaching and training. Like, think about mentors. I like to talk about this to makers. When you think about the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo did not hand paint the Sistine Chapel by himself. He was not up there for years and years and years all by himself doing that thing. He had apprentices, he had people he taught, he gets all the credit for it. But he didn't paint it by himself. I love that as an example because it really shows you, like this amazing, magical, this art, this creation, this thing that has lasted and lasted and lasted. And Michelangelo gets the credit, but he didn't do it with his own two hands. So that teaching, that mentorship, that's the way that you get to grow. It's really about documenting your standards. It's about creating processes. It's about getting people to do certain parts of the work, certain parts of the production, maybe not all of it, right? It's about creating a repeatable way for your brand so things can get made. This is literally what we do in fashion, right? We create rep production templates, production work packs. And so this is where you get to become the creative director and not just the craftsperson. And if that would feel really big, I don't want you to get really hung up on it. All it means is that you're the keeper of the standard, this is how you want it, and you're the keeper of the process and you're the keeper of the brand. And that can still be deeply handmade. Because handmade isn't defined by suffering and it's not defined by having to be you. It's defined by care and it's defined by your intention. It's defined by the qualities defined, how you teach people to do it. Right? Quality can be taught. Think about all the things that we buy. Look around your house, look around your room. Everything here, right? Techniques, they can be taught and you can still do the parts that you love most while getting support in the parts that are draining you. So I'm going to give you a really quick example. I had a student once as an artist and she was creating handcrafted paintings of people's pets and portraits. And so she was capping out, she's like, I could only do so many handmade and hand painted pet portraits. So we looked at him, we said, okay, which part of this process can you hire for can someone come in and paint the base? Like, can someone come do the line work? Like, how can you teach someone this? So that's what she did. She hired people and, and taught them. Okay. She's like, I'm gonna draw it. You're gonna get the art on the product, you're gonna outline it from my drawing and then I'm gonna go in and hand paint it. That was a process that she taught and she had someone doing part of it. We can learn techniques if you've ever painted. I mean, like I've painted fake Van Gogh. Real good at it, right? But I've been inspired by their art and I've painted an impressionist. I've painted in all these different ways. Right. We can learn techniques and you can still do the parts that you love most while also getting support in the parts that are draining you. I want to give you a simple way to think about support that doesn't overwhelm you. Because some of you hear team and you go into like, oh my God, team. I have to manage people, I have to pay people. Ah. And so you think it means payroll and you think it means managing and you think it means a big office. And I want to tell you no, because there's a spectrum of support. So support can really be a few hours of help packing your orders during your busy season, maybe getting your kiddos to help you. A virtual assistant. Someone who answers the customer emails or gets your kids calendar in the calendar, right? They're like taking the school calendar and putting it in your calendar. Someone who's helping you with templates and guidelines or someone that's available to help you with part time production. You're just looking for someone to help you. It could be once a week, maybe a couple times a week. It can be a couple hours. You're looking for support at the places that you're discovering you're getting in your own way or that maybe you shouldn't be doing at all, like AKA bookkeeping. Okay. There's so many of you doing your own bookkeeping, let's go hire someone for that. They're way better at this. Your support can start small. It could really start with just like one kink in the chain, one sort of bottleneck that you're like, okay, how can I get supported there? So that's why that do delegate delete framework is going to be awesome for you. So I want you to start with one shift and here's what I want you to think about. You don't need to hire to get Bigger. You get to hire to feel lighter. You get to hire so that you can breathe. You get to hire so that you can lead. You get to hire so your business can hold the next level without costing you your health and your relationships and your job and your joy and your sleep and all the things a lot of us were taught, especially women, that we gotta do it all, we gotta hold it all, we gotta be everything, right? That we got to do it all. But I've gotta be honest with you, like, that's just. Just not the way. We were never meant to do business alone. We were never meant to do this. We all used to live in villages and help each other with each other's kids, right? So your business is really asking you to level up and lead, and your business is asking you to let go of some of the control and be supported so that you can get to that next level. Okay? So let's make this practical in a way that doesn't turn this into a to do list and that you feel like, okay, I can do something. So we're going to make three decisions, and I want you to make these after this episode. Okay? So there's just three. You might want to write it down. You could listen to it again, but here's where we go. I want you to admit where you're at or near a break point. So we're going to do that reflection and say, this is where I'm at. It's not dramatic. It's just clean and acknowledgement. My current structure is maxed. That's it. Then we're going to go to decision number two, which is decide what absolutely has to change for that next level up to be possible. So notice I did not say, what do I want to change? I said, what? What has to change? What has to change? Because it's telling you right now, it's like going to keep, like I said, beating you over the head until you're like, okay, I got to make this change. Because if nothing changes, nothing is going to change. And that break point will keep breaking you. So let's stop that. And then decision number three is I want you to commit to getting support in one specific area that keeps you snapping every time you get busy. Like I said, when I lived in New York, my kids were little. Yes, I sent, you know, my daughter to daycare earlier than I had really wanted to. We also had our laundry sent out. This is something we did in New York. They'd come pick up your laundry, fluff and fold, bring it back better than I could ever fold my laundry and I paid per pound and it was so worth it versus me being buried in laundry. I use Instacart, for example, still. Because I'm like, I don't go grocery shopping. I would rather pay somebody do the grocery shopping for me so I can be with my kids, so I can exercise, I could walk, so I could create this podcast episode, right? I really get to be specific about the places that feel overwhelming. And I want you to just really think about one area. So I gave you some personal think about business. Like something really simple might be. You might still be like driving your packages to the post office. What if you scheduled a pickup? That could be so simple. So, so one area, not 10. We're just gonna look at one place, one break, break point area. Because when that gets supported, you get to breathe, right? You get that freedom back, the reason you started this thing. And when you start to do that, you start to feel more clear headed and start to think, okay, this is where I get to go. I get to see like, you know when you fly in an airplane and you're. And it's really cloudy and gray down on, on land, but you fly and you're above the clouds. It's all always blue sky above the clouds. And that's what I want you to think about, right? We just gotta get you above the clouds. The ceiling that you're currently hitting is not a sign that you're not capable. There's no way there, that there's no possible outcome. It's just a sign that your current structure has done everything that it can. Congratulations. Oh my goodness. Congratulations. Pat yourself on the back because you're like, yes, this is where I wanted to get my business and now I get to get it done in a different way. It's asking me to do a level up, okay? I get to be the person who leads this business forward. But to grow, you also have to be the person that says, this part is no longer mine to do. My business deserves support. My products can be handmade, just not only by me. I can get the support to grow this business. So if you're listening and you're like, oh, this hit hard, right? Maybe you're feeling resistance, maybe you're feeling like, yes, I finally feel free. Whatever it is, just process that and be like, all right, what parts of this can I take forward? Because not only is this a business shift, but it's really an identity shift. It's letting go of the version of you who did it all and becoming the version of you who could build something that can hold your life and that can align with your life and your vision. So here's my question to you. What would you change right now if you let yourself be supported? Not later, now when you're bigger, not when it's perfect, but right now? Okay, what would you change? What would change if you said, I don't have to carry this alone and then you picked one breakpoint area and you invited support into it? That's the level up. That is the level up. That is the place where you go from where you are to where you want to go next. That is where you get to dream really big and say, I'm going to get the support as I grow. So if this episode hit you in a good way or you see someone else that you know, it doesn't matter what kind of business that they have, but you're like, someone else is just burning herself out. She keeps doing more. Maybe it's even a mom that does all the things. She might be an entrepreneur, volunteering and doing this and that and everything. And you're like, oh, my goodness, like, she can't possibly do more. She going to burn out. Send her this episode, remind her that she's not alone in this and that there's other ways to break through and level up. And I want this to be your permission that you can still grow this business. It can still be handmade, it can still be with two hands, but it just doesn't have to be your own. And you get to grow and level up every step of the way. So, okay, again, reminder, I'm going to gift you the Do Delegate Delete framework and training you. Go to the productboss.com.au or just click the link in the show notes. Make sure you're following the show, whether you're listening on Spotify, Apple, wherever you listen to podcasts. And would you mind coming and following me on YouTube like, and subscribe, as my kids say, because my daughter's like, eye rolling me from behind the camera. Like, and subscribe because you like and subscribe, please. And then you'll also be able to see the little hand motion thing that I did. Okay. Because that's what we watch video now. All right, my friends, I hope this is fine. I hope that you had some breakthroughs and I will see you next week. Thank you for being here and listening all the way through the Product Boss podcast. If you love our show and it has helped you in any way in your business, would you mind doing two things for us? Subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode and leave us a review. Reviews help other product entrepreneurs know that this is the place to be to grow their businesses and realize that they're not alone. And we know that you are all know that a five star and honest review helps you sell more products to more people. So you know that your reviews help us reach more listeners around the world. Remember, what we give is what we receive and we are all about helping each other in the product boss community. We are all in this together. 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