The CEO Bottleneck: How to Build a Business That Runs Without You

Foreign Scaling a business is one thing. Building 10 and helping thousands do the same is another level. And that's what Allison Maslin has done. Hi, I'm Susan Drum, and this is the enlightened Executive. Each week we explore your personal evolution to fuel stronger leadership at work and in life. And today, we're diving into what really it takes to scale your business. And I'm joined by one of the best in the game, Allison Maslin. Alison is the CEO of Pinnacle Global Network and was named one of Forbes 10 Women Entrepreneurs to Watch. She's author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller Scale or Fail, endorsed by Damon John and Barbara Corcoran of Shark Tank. And in over four decades, she's built companies of her own and mentored over 150,000 founders through her scale it method, helping them grow faster and build businesses they actually love. She shared stages with icons like Richard Branson, Magic Johnson, and been featured across major media and leading one of the Inc. 5000 fastest growing companies. So, Alison, welcome. Welcome to the show. So excited to have you. Tell us a little bit about how did this journey come to be because your success is incredible.

Well, first of all, thank you for having me here today. I'm really excited to dive into all these great topics with you. Well, I started out as an entrepreneur when I was 19 years old. I was still in college. I grew up in a very entrepreneurial family. My father was. He built the largest women's clothing chain in the United States, starting from one store that was actually won in a poker game with my grandfather.

Wow.

Other people. And that's how that all started. And so I grew up kind of watching him put his ideas out into the world and making it happen. And I couldn't hold a job for more than two weeks. So I had to figure out this entrepreneurial thing. And so that's really how it all started. I started with a full service advertising and PR firm, not knowing anything about advertising and pr, just trial by fire. Luckily, I've gotten a little bit more organized since then, but that's how it all began.

Wow. And so when you did that at 19, how long did that first company last for you?

Well, I started out doing personalized poems for birthdays and anniversaries, which evolved to greeting cards, which ended up getting some big corporate accounts for that. And then people just started asking, do you do brochures? Do you do tv? Do you do radio? And I would just hear my dad's voice saying, if you feel like it's worthwhile, say yes. And then figure out how to do it. And so I would ask lots and lots of questions from people that knew what was going on. And so that evolution, by the time I was 25, it was a full service agency. And then I had that agency until I was about 31.

And then what happened? So you had the agency to the 31. And during that time, what did you. What were sort of the, the biggest learnings of running your own business?

So much. So much. Well, first of all, we took on big accounts like Ben and Jerry's and Supercuts and Allstate. And I, I realized that I had a great knack at marketing. And the word got out and I took on a partner and we were growing really fast. I was traveling, I was making money, but I didn't know how to scale a business. I didn't know how to lead a team. I was a control freak. I thought I had to do everything. I also had a little girl who was not quite two years old yet. And so it got to a point where I was so inundated with work that I was falling apart. And I started not sleeping because I was doing ad campaigns till 2 or 3 in the morning. And then I started getting depressed and it just started snowballing from there. And I really thought it was me. I thought, this is my problem. What? You know, you're making money, you should be happy. And so I ended up having, from the stress, from the exhaustion, I had a terrible car accident. I was lucky to survive the accident. And that was just a major wake up call for me to say, allison, what the heck are you doing? Like, you cannot continue this way. And so I ended up handing the business over to my partner. And now I would have done it differently had I looked back from the knowledge I had at that time. But I loved business. I just knew there had to be a better way. So I began to study my clients that had thousands of employees, where you didn't see the CEO standing over everybody, micromanaging. They were out building strategic partnerships. They were focused on the future vision of the company. And I wanted to know what were the systems and processes that they had, how were they leading and structuring the growth of the company? And that became what I call today our scale it method. But I use that for myself to go on and build all these future companies in a very, very different way than I did in that initial experience.

Got it. Got it. So you studied that, and then after you sold the business, how long till you started a new one? And then is that where you Started.

Yeah. Process, yeah. Well, what I knew moving forward was that I wanted to make sure that each company was scaling scalable in that it didn't depend on me to survive. So it was really about bringing on team members that could fill my weaknesses and then ultimately have somebody that would replace me and so that I could just focus on the future vision of the company. So it was about building a team managed company that was all behind the vision, that they were passionate that they could carry it forward and that we would have a more scalable model. It wasn't just Alison creating these things and working with the clients because you know, you're, you're so limited there on what you can actually do.

And so what was the business then that you started that had those elements in it?

Yeah. So I mean I've had businesses in so many different industries from homeopathy to scuba diving certification to real estate to software to jewelry manufacturing. I mean so many different companies. That next one actually was where I started learning about homeopathy and that was for my own healing because I was such a mess at that point. I was also going through a divorce. So add that on top of it as well. And so just seeking out my own personal healing, I discovered homeopathy and I thought, oh wow, this is so fascinating and it really works. And so I studied that. I ended up opening a practice, building out a whole team of homeopaths. And then I founded the first homeopathic college in Southern California in 1999.

Wow, amazing. And so now you are teaching other leaders how this scale IT model. So let's talk a little bit about what this model is. And I'd also love to, you know, being in the EO community entrepreneurs organization, I'd love to kind of also pick into it a little bit more maybe how it might be a little different than eos, which we hear a lot of entrepreneurs operating system. So tell us a little bit about your model.

Yeah, so the scale up method is a holistic perspective and it encompasses all aspects of the business. So where eos, which is a great system, it really focuses more on the operational aspects. The scale IT method does that too, but it focus on every single aspect, even the leader themselves and their own growth. And so it's the acronym for scale, which is S Strategic vision. And that's really the most important part of scaling a company is having a clear vision. And a lot of leaders have a hard time with that because they just want to get in and fix things. But when you have a great vision, then the team can get behind that. And then the C in scale is cash flow flow. So it's marketing, it's sales, and it's the organization of your finances as well. And then the A in scale is alliance of the team. So that's everything from hiring to culture and just having an aligned team behind the vision. And then the L is leadership, and that's communication, that's mindset, that's money mindset, success mindset. And then the E is execution, and that is your KPIs, your accountability. And ideally, that execution lines up with the vision or even surpasses it. So got it. All five of those pillars and helping the business owner in the business shore up each of those pillars. And then we have five phases of scaling as well. And it is the evolution of the company to get to phase five, which is at that phase we call the visionary CEO, where you are really out of the day to day and you are able to focus on the future of the company and the team is focused on today.

Great. So what, what's the why behind this for you? Why do this versus go and continue to build amazing companies that. Let's say it sounds like a lot of the ones you were focused on were kind of more product focused.

Well, this company really came out of people asking me over the years, alison, can you teach me? And you know, for me, building companies kind of came natural because it's what I learned and what I grew up with. And I never really had any fear around it. I had a lot to learn along the way, of course. But to me, out of all the businesses that I've done and I've loved them all, this is the most rewarding. Like, this is legacy for me because I know what it's like to be so buried in the weeds of your business that you can't even breathe. And millions of business, business owners and businesses operate this way and it affects their health, heart attacks, I mean, just so much divorce. Hey, experienced that myself. So, you know, to me, when we can help these business owners break free and actually have a more scalable, more profitable company, and then they have a life, they get to spend time with their families. So. And I just love my team, I love my community. And so it just is for me, it, it really is such a good feeling when you're living on purpose.

Yes. Yeah. Well, having that is the most meaningful mission, is when you, you're connected to something outside yourself that is the legacy piece of whatever you have created in the world and you're scaling through other people now. Not just your own company.

So yes, it's so fun to help them realize their dreams.

Yeah. How long have you been doing that? That piece of the work?

So this business is 16 years now and we have 40 mentors on the team. You know, we started with two and they, they've all built very successful companies. Some of them have had public companies, thousands of employees, international businesses, and they work one on one with our clients through this method. So they bring their brilliance to the table. But they, they use our tools and strategies and we have a, we have a patented software that they use for their journey as well. And so it's not me, I'm not the one that is working with the clients. I'm really focused on the future vision. Just, you know, like I was just.

Sharing with you, walking your talk. I love it.

Yes.

Well, let's talk about your personal evolution that created your leadership revolution. What were the mindset shifts that you make that also you see other leaders getting stuck in?

Well, I think probably the hardest thing for any leader, any business owner is letting go. You know, you, you built this thing and it is, you know, just like a parent that is having to let go of their kids and let them thrive and, and spread their wings. It's, it's really similar with the business as well. And we think it's our way is the way and we hire these people that we want them to bring their creativity to the table, but we don't actually encourage that or empower them. We get stuck in micromanaging. And so it stifles the company, it chokes the growth of the business. It creates that hamster wheel effect for the business owner. And it just doesn't empower your leaders to do really what they're capable of doing. And so that happens all of the time. Not intentionally, but I think it's, you know, we start the business that way. That's what we're used to. And we're creatures of habit, you know, we do what we know, but the business itself actually has to completely restructure as you grow to make room for this new evolution of the business.

Yeah, I think I, what I hear, you know, at one point I interviewed the top delegators like as the people said, like God, they're great delegator, they're known to be really good at this. And I wanted to understand their mindsets. And then I interviewed the ones that either self admitted poor delegator or others said, God, they're a terrible delegator. And as I was listening to what got in the way for them and what the other ones did. I started to pull out some of these sort of core beliefs and core mindsets. And one of the ones of the terrible delegators was people aren't as committed or motivated like I am. And I think what you're getting to is this belief that if I don't do it, like, nobody cares as much as I did because I started the business.

Yes.

So how do you, how do you help entrepreneurs and other leaders? Because this is true whether you're an entrepreneur or leader, like believing that because I manage this team or because I run this company, nobody cares as much as I do.

I totally get where they're coming from, but I, and I used to think that way, but I definitely don't agree. I think that when someone comes to work for your company, they are looking for a home. They're going to be spending more time with you than their family in a lot of cases. And so they want something that they're passionate about that they can get behind. But if they don't have someone that is empowering them to own it, then, you know, they're just going to be a robot and after a while they're going to lose their passion. So I think one of the first things that you can do to shift from being this boss to being a leader is that when your team comes to ask you questions and you know, you're like the Google of the company. You know everything, don't give the answer. And this is really hard.

Yes.

And I tell, I tell, I tell our clients, you know, put duct tape over your mouth, just do not answer or say things like, well, what would you do in this situation? How would you handle it? Or why don't you come up with three ideas and present them to the team or put a plan together, you know, this is your domain, what would you do? And you start to empower your team. You will see these leaders start, start to emerge, these shining stars, and then they will start to think that way. You know, they'll start to ask themselves, gosh, I wonder how we could create more profits for the company, or I wonder how we could design a better customer journey to improve retention. And so instead of coming with questions, they're going to bring ideas and solutions and they'll start looking at the company that way.

Yes, yes. I've also seen people have in their values like think like an owner of the business, but they don't actually live it if they're not empowering people to make decisions like an owner.

Yes.

And so allowing people the room to also take some risk, I think is also where many business leaders and entrepreneurs run into trouble. What are your suggestions around thinking about risk taking and how we empower teams to make decisions?

Yeah, I think that, you know, one of the programs that we actually have is called Scale Leader, and It is about 6 scaling. We have a scale team and a scale Leader. And it's really empowering your leaders to learn how to make strategic decisions. One of the challenges in business is that the business owner often is the one that's looking at all aspects of the business. They see the gaps and they're able to make strategic decisions on the spot. But they only have so much time, and because they're not always available, that means that they're the bottleneck and things get backed up. And so what you need is you need people on the team that are empowered to actually make decisions, not wait till they have a meeting with you to decide if this is something to go. Now, if it's a major decision of the company, like, okay, we're going to add another revenue stream or, you know, it's a whole new division of the company or a major investment, of course they're going to run those things by you. But how freeing is it when you actually have people on the team that they are empowered to make those decisions within the sector that they're, you know, leading in the company? Yeah, it feels amazing. And it's. You have this level of trust with the team, but that's why you bring these people on. And if you don't allow them to do it, then you're really kind of missing out on all of the opportunity and growth for your company.

Yeah. Yeah. I think in those instances, what people are really needing is to also understand what the boundaries are are. Right. That you actually have free reign within these parameters.

Yes.

And if people know that, then they're like, great. Right. There's. There's a study that a. A fellow speaker friend of mine mentioned that they, they did a study even of kindergarteners and looked at how they played on a playground, and if there were no borders around the playground, the kids just stayed very tightly on the typical swings and slide. But if there were borders around the playground and they were told you can go as far all the way up to the wall as you want, they actually found that their play was more creative and innovative. They were, they. They spread out. They were more innovative in how they were playing because they knew the boundaries.

Right? Yeah.

And so I think what you're highlighting is this Concept that, like you as the leader, need to get clear of what those boundaries are and then let.

Them go, let them do their thing there. Yes. And the other thing I think that where we can miss the mark is that understanding what success looks like for the role before you place that ad, before you hire someone. And so if this person is successful, if they win, what, what does that look like from a metric perspective? How does that drive revenue profits to your bottom line? You know, retention, new customers, visibility, time back on your, your calendar. And so once if you know those, once you know those metrics and they know those metrics and they know what they're, you're not going to have mismatched expectations because that happens all the time. And then you get frustrated because they're not doing what you want. But it wasn't really clearly communicated or understood from the beginning.

Oh, gosh, I see that so often. Right. We think we've communicated what we need, but we really haven't. Right. And so how do you check for that? Well, what I've seen a lot of leaders do is really ask what the person understands the metrics to be or what the goal is to be, as opposed to just talking about it. Hear from them what comes out of their mouth and then you can see gaps in your own understanding.

Yeah. We have a tool called Hire for Growth where we take them through a process to really get clear on what those metrics are. And, and you know, meet with the, the team member, of course, get their ideas, get their buy in. It's not some secret thing where you're just tracking behind the scenes and then, oh, you didn't miss it, so you're gone.

Right.

So we want to give them the support so that they, they can succeed.

Yeah. Great, great. And what size businesses do you typically work with for scale?

So the businesses that we work with, they're over a million in revenue. We have companies all the way up to 250 million in revenue. But we've got a lot that are, you know, from that 5 million to 30 million range. Yeah. And they grow quickly. It's amazing. I think we're so afraid of change as business owners. We feel like it's going to be so hard. So we keep doing what we've been doing. But once you start restructuring the way you're operating in the company, the growth happens quickly.

Yeah, well, I like going back to your point. Get out of the way and then growth will happen.

Yeah.

You are the ceiling on your business.

Exactly.

That is great. So what's one piece of advice that you would offer to any leader that they could implement tomorrow to start to transform their business.

So I am all about the vision. And in fact, every single morning I have my vision. I read it out loud, I visualize, I put intention toward it. It's a process I call vision crafting. And I have a quote that is make decisions from where you're going, not from where you're at. And what that means is hold the vision of what it is you want to create in your business, in your career, in your life, and then make decisions as if you're there now. Because if we're making decisions from what we see right in front of us, we often play way too small. We limit ourselves because if we hold that vision and we keep walking towards it, that's what we're going to create. So start living from that place now.

I love it. So make the decision. Imagine you have the thing that you visualized and what would you decide from that perspective on what to do next versus here?

Exactly.

It's a little bit like what would you tell your younger self at 14 now that you're, you know.

Yeah.

In your 50s, right?

Yeah. You have to kind of make believe a little bit. You gotta play tricks on your brain a little bit. But I truly believe that, you know, once you imagine it, you can create it.

Well, I've loved having you talk about your vision and the type of work that you do. Where can people learn more about you and your work and maybe tell us a little bit about your network?

Yeah. So first of all, they can go to pinnacleglobalnetwork.com and learn all about what we do and how we work with CEOs and our community of one on one mentoring and masterminding and all about scaling. And then if anyone listening, and we're just going to be doing this for your listeners, Susan, is that you can have an opportunity to have a one on one scale session. And so this is utilizing our scale up method and doing a deep dive into your business, uncovering what are those gaps and roadblocks that are holding you back from scaling. And so they'll help you identify that and they'll give you clear cut strategies to reach your vision. And so we're offering that complimentary and they would just go to pinnacle global network.com forward slash.

Susan, that's wonderful. Oh my gosh. Everyone listening that is running a business today should it's free. So why not learn? Get an outside perspective of how you may be putting on a lid to your business and thinking about how to free yourself up because ultimately there's more for you to create in the world and you're not growing and learning if you can't let go and be able to scale. So I love the example that you've shown us for doing that given the number of companies that you've started and how you're bringing out in the world. So thank you so much for being on the show.

Oh thanks Susan for having me. It was a delight.

And if you like this episode, you're not going to want to miss my interview with Jane Marwillo, an entrepreneur and founder of Sacred Change Makers, a global community that focuses on human consciousness and helping people become authentic and human centered leaders. Let's lead the way. Hope you enjoyed today's episode and I'd like to point you to the next important step. Hit the subscribe button and the bell to get notified when we release new content. I'll see you on the next episode of the Enlightened Executive.