• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer

Hire a Scale Architect | Get Certified | Log In

Scale Architects

Scale Architects

Powered by Predictable Success

  • Get Your Free Book
  • Events
  • Assessments
    • Business Growth Stages
    • Leadership Styles
    • Leadership Team Report
  • Articles
  • Find a Scale Architect

Stage 2: Fun

July 14, 2020 by Scott Ritzheimer

The second stage in the Predictable Success Lifecycle is Fun. It's an incredible time for the business. During this time, businesses often achieve double-digit and triple-digit annual growth as they break free from gravity and rocket out of Early Struggle. Here's how to make the most of it!

The second stage in the Predictable Success Lifecycle is Fun. It’s an incredible time for the business. During this time, businesses often achieve double-digit and triple-digit annual growth as they break free from gravity and rocket out of Early Struggle.

The focus in Fun is all about mining the profitable, sustainable market you worked so hard to find in Early Struggle. This means sales, lots of sales. In fact, a business in Fun usually has to divisions (though they are typically informal) sales and sales support. If you aren’t selling or directly supporting or fulfilling purchases, you’re probably not going to be working at the company for long.

When I teach about Fun, some business owners mistake the label as “easy.” Easy is rarely the case. Instead, each week feels like a breathless sprint. As soon as you cross the finish line, you realize you need to start again for the next week. When you’re winning, the sprints are worth it. Your increasing sales and profits are the worthy reward of all your hard work.

Business isn’t necessarily easy in Fun, but winning is fun. It’s fun to lead a business in Fun. It’s fun to work in a business in Fun (Here’s an article about company culture in Fun). It’s also fun to work with a business in Fun. Businesses in Fun are nimble and agile; they are highly responsive to their customer’s needs. This allows a business in this stage to steal clients away from much bigger, more established businesses creating even more significant growth.

Getting into Fun

You’ll remember from the article on Stage 1: Early Struggle that to get out of Early Struggle, you need to find a profitable, sustainable market before cash runs out. You’ll know you’re in Fun if you can stay in the black for an entire quarter even while receiving a fair salary for your position.

For more on Getting into Fun, read Stage 1: Early Struggle

Staying in Fun

Remember those two routes I mentioned in the first article that lead to success? Fun is one of them. Fun is one of only two valid stages for your business to remain indefinitely (the other being Predictable Success). 

For many business owners, Fun is as far as they would like to go. Often, they earn more than ever have before, and they have the freedom to do what they love. Click To Tweet

For many business owners, Fun is as far as they would like to go. Often, they earn more than ever have before, and they have the freedom to do what they love.This freedom maybe something in the business, sales, consulting, or product design. 

It may even be something outside of the business. When appropriately structured, a business in Fun can run with very little input from its owner.

That said, staying in Fun can be a tricky business. As businesses grow, they become increasingly complex until that complexity overcomes the organization’s ability to fight through and win the day heroically. When this starts to happen systemically across the business, you’ve moved into Stage 3: Whitewater.

To stay in Fun, you need to keep out of Early Struggle and Whitewater, and you do that by focusing on sales while limiting complexity within the business. Here are the four things you need to do to make the most of your time in Fun.

  1. Focus on creating a consistent marketing and sales system for your existing market, then scaling it to multiple reps or even offices. Often this means transitioning the sales responsibility from the Founder to a sales team. It’s a tricky transition, but when done right, it can create incredible growth. Learn more about marketing here
  2. Keep other processes to an absolute minimum. Too much process will bog down and complicate an organization fast. Continue to resist the urge to over-process and keep a hard limit on employees who are not directly related to sales or fulfillment. Leaning on contractors is often a great strategy.
  3. Raise up, heroes. Hire and promote Operator types who have a bias toward action. You want to get A-players who think on their feet and know how to solve problems for customers creatively. Pay your top-performers well and share the stories of their heroic deeds with the whole company. We call this group Big Dog Operators, and they are critical if you want to optimize your time in Fun. 
  4. Say “Yes,” a little less. In Early Struggle and even the beginning of Fun, you survived then thrived by saying “Yes” to just about everything. If customers were willing to pay for it, you’d find a way to deliver it. As the organization grows, one of the prime drivers of complexity is saying “Yes” to too much. If you keep your focus on your market and keep new products and services from getting out of control, you’ll be able to keep that additional complexity at bay.

If you are in Fun, you probably want to enjoy this time and stay there for as long as possible. There’s no rush to get into the next stage, Whitewater. Check out this course, Optimizing Your Time in Fun to learn more about these four steps and how you can apply them to your organization. If you enroll today, you’ll get immediate access to the Predictable Success Playbook for making the most of this great time for your business!

Getting out of Fun

Getting out of Fun really isn’t something you want to do. 

Rolling back into Early Struggle has the obvious discomfort associated with low sales and lower profitability. A fall back into Early Struggle can be caused by some massive external factors, like the COVID-19 crisis in 2020.

However, more often than not, it is the result of decisions or actions made within the business that moves it out of its profitable, sustainable market. An example would be releasing a new product or service that serves a different market. Another example is releasing a related too soon, pulling too many resources, and momentum away from the existing business. Also, disruptions in a new or small sales team can knock a business back. That is why it is essential to develop a sales system that is consistently bringing in new business.

Finding yourself in Whitewater also has its pains. This isn’t a conscious decision to move forward. Instead, it is typically the conscious realization that the game has indeed changed. You can’t push harder and further to get through. You have to stop and re-work much of the organization from the ground up. This is what Whitewater is all about, and we’ll discuss it in great detail in the next article.

Closing

Again, if you are in Fun, you probably want to enjoy this time and stay there as long as you can. There’s no rush to get into the next stage, Whitewater. Check out this course, Optimizing Your Time in Fun. If you enroll today, you’ll get immediate access to the Predictable Success Playbook for making the most of this great time for your business!

If you think you are in Fun but aren’t quite sure, I’d like to encourage you to take the free Lifecycle assessment at https://bit.ly/Lifecycle-Quiz to find out for sure and to see around the corner at what is next for your business!

Prev 1 of 1 Next
  • Welcome to Fun

    Welcome to Fun

    The second stage in the Predictable Success Lifecycle is Fun. It's an incredible time for the business. Businesses during this time often achieve double-digit and triple-digit annual growth as they break free from gravity and rocket out of Early Struggle.
    The focus in Fun is all about mining the profitable, sustainable market you worked so hard to find in Early Struggle. This means sales, Lots of sales. In fact, a business in Fun usually has two divisions sales and sales support. If you aren't selling or directly supporting or fulfilling sales, you're probably not going to be working at the company for long.
    When I teach about Fun, some business owners mistake the label as "easy." Easy is rarely the case. Instead, each week feels like a breathless sprint. As soon as you cross the finish line, you realize you need to start again for the next week. When you're winning, the sprints are worth it. Your increasing sales and profits are the worthy reward for all your hard work.
    Business isn't necessarily easy in Fun, but winning is fun. It's fun to lead a business in Fun. It's fun to work in a business in Fun. It's also fun to work with a business in Fun. Businesses in Fun are nimble and agile; they are highly responsive to their customer's needs. This allows a business in this stage to steal clients away from much bigger, more established businesses creating even greater growth.
    If you think you are in Fun but aren't quite certain, I'd like to encourage you to take our free organization Lifecycle assessment. The link is in the description below.
    Now, in this video series, I'm going to show you how to keep your business in Fun and enjoy it! Then I'll show you how businesses get knocked out of Fun and what you can expect next.

    Read the Article: https://bit.ly/2SlpiO3

    Take the Free Business Lifecycle Quiz https://bit.ly/3umHWTX

    Optimizing Your Time in Fun Course https://mj190.isrefer.com/go/OYTF/focus/

    #business #entrepreneur #focus #people #businessowner #businesstips #businessquotes #businessgrowth #businessgoals #coach

    Like what you see? You can find more great content from Scale Architects here!

    Website: https://www.scalearchitects.com
    Blog: https://www.scalearchitects.com/blog
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/achitectscale
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/scalearchitects
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChLj9yjac5P7UMFxoWuG8Zw/
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/architectscale/
    Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/scale_architect
  • Keeping Your Business in Fun

    Keeping Your Business in Fun

    If your business is in Fun, you probably want to keep it there for as long as possible. This is because Fun is one of only two valid stages for your business to remain indefinitely (the other being Predictable Success). We'll talk about how businesses get knocked out of Fun in the last video in this series.
    For many business owners, Fun is as far as they would like to go. Often, they are earning more than they ever have before, and they have the freedom to do what they love. This may be something in the business, sales, consulting, or product design.
    It may even be something outside of the business. When structured properly, a business in Fun can run with very little input from its owner.
    That said, staying in Fun can be a tricky business. There is a tradeoff to staying in Fun.
    As businesses grow, they become increasingly complex until that complexity overcomes the organization's ability to heroically fight through and win the day. When this starts to happen systemically across the business, you've moved into Stage 3: Whitewater.
    If you are feeling the early effects of Whitewater, you as the founder have a choice to make. You can grow but do it much more slowly than you are used to. Or you can press ahead into the difficult times of Whitewater and onward to Predictable Success.
    If you'd like to stay in Fun, or even just make it last a little longer. Stay tuned for the next video.

    Read the Article: https://bit.ly/2SlpiO3

    Take the Free Business Lifecycle Quiz https://bit.ly/3umHWTX

    Optimizing Your Time in Fun Course https://mj190.isrefer.com/go/OYTF/focus/

    #business #entrepreneur #focus #people #businessowner #businesstips #businessquotes #businessgrowth #businessgoals #coach

    Like what you see? You can find more great content from Scale Architects here!

    Website: https://www.scalearchitects.com
    Blog: https://www.scalearchitects.com/blog
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/achitectscale
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/scalearchitects
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChLj9yjac5P7UMFxoWuG8Zw/
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/architectscale/
    Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/scale_architect
  • How to Make the Fun Last for Your Business

    How to Make the Fun Last for Your Business

    To stay in Fun, you need to stay out of Early Struggle and Whitewater, and you do that by focusing on sales while limiting complexity within the business. Here are the four things you need to do to make the most of your time in Fun.
    Focus on creating a consistent marketing and sales system for your existing market, then scaling it to multiple reps or even offices. Often this means transitioning the sales responsibility from the founder to a sales team. It's a tricky transition, but when done right, it can create incredible growth. https://www.eightfigurefocus.com/blog/category/focused-marketing
    Keep other processes to an absolute minimum. Too much process will bog down and complicate an organization fast. Continue to resist the urge to over-process and keep a hard limit on employees who are not directly related to sales or fulfillment. Leaning on contractors is often a great strategy.
    Raise up, heroes. Hire and promote Operator types who have a bias toward action. You want to get A-players who think on their feet and know how to creatively solve problems for customers. Pay your top-performers well and share the stories of their heroic deeds with the whole company. We call this group Big Dog Operators, and they are critical if you want to optimize your time in Fun.
    Say "Yes," a little less. In Early Struggle and even the beginning of Fun, you survived then thrived by saying "Yes" to just about everything. If a customer was willing to pay for it, you'd find a way to deliver it. As the organization grows, one of the prime drivers of complexity is saying "Yes" to too much. If you keep your focus on your market and keep new products and services from getting out of control, you'll be able to keep that additional complexity at bay.
    If you are in Fun, you probably want to enjoy this time and stay there as long as you can. There's no rush to get into the next stage, Whitewater. Check out this course Optimizing Your Time in Fun, to learn more about these four steps and how you can apply them to your organization. If you enroll today, you'll get immediate access to the Predictable Success Playbook for making the most of this great time for your business!

    Read the Article: https://bit.ly/2SlpiO3

    Take the Free Business Lifecycle Quiz https://bit.ly/3umHWTX

    Optimizing Your Time in Fun Course https://mj190.isrefer.com/go/OYTF/focus/

    #business #entrepreneur #focus #people #businessowner #businesstips #businessquotes #businessgrowth #businessgoals #coach

    Like what you see? You can find more great content from Scale Architects here!

    Website: https://www.scalearchitects.com
    Blog: https://www.scalearchitects.com/blog
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/achitectscale
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/scalearchitects
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChLj9yjac5P7UMFxoWuG8Zw/
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/architectscale/
    Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/scale_architect
  • Getting Knocked Out of Fun

    Getting Knocked Out of Fun

    Getting out of Fun really isn't something you want to do intentionally. It is often forced on you by decisions made within the organization or significant events outside of the organization.
    And since Fun is sandwiched between Early Struggle and Fun, movement in either direction can be painful. Here's how it happens.
    Rolling back into Early Struggle has the obvious discomfort associated with low sales and lower profitability. A fall back into Early Struggle can be caused by some massive external factors like the COVID-19 crisis in 2020.
    However, more often than not, it is the result of decisions or actions made within the business that moves it out of its profitable, sustainable market. An example would be releasing a new product or service that serves a different market. Another example is releasing a related too soon and pulling too many resources and momentum away from the existing business. Also, disruptions in a new or small sales team can knock a business back. That is why it is so important to develop a sales system that is consistently bringing in new business.
    Finding yourself in Whitewater also has its pains. This isn't a conscious decision to move forward. Instead, it is typically the conscious realization that the game has indeed changed. You can't push harder and further to get through. You have to stop and re-work much of the organization from the ground up. This is what Whitewater is all about, and we'll discuss it in great detail in a future series.
    In closing, I want to say this, if you are in Fun, you are probably very aware of the many problems in your organization or how big, and successful your competitors are, but don't let that prevent you from enjoying this time. This really is a special time for your business. Enjoy it and try to stay there as long as you can. There's no rush to get into the next stage, Whitewater. Remember, our course Optimizing Your Time in Fun will help you do precisely that. A link for the course is in the description below.

    Read the Article: https://bit.ly/2SlpiO3

    Take the Free Business Lifecycle Quiz https://bit.ly/3umHWTX

    Optimizing Your Time in Fun Course https://mj190.isrefer.com/go/OYTF/focus/

    #business #entrepreneur #focus #people #businessowner #businesstips #businessquotes #businessgrowth #businessgoals #coach

    Like what you see? You can find more great content from Scale Architects here!

    Website: https://www.scalearchitects.com
    Blog: https://www.scalearchitects.com/blog
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/achitectscale
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/scalearchitects
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChLj9yjac5P7UMFxoWuG8Zw/
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/architectscale/
    Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/scale_architect
Prev 1 of 1 Next

 

Category: Focused Structure

About Scott Ritzheimer

Scott is passionate about helping businesses scale and achieve Predictable Success. Having helped start nearly 20,000 new businesses and nonprofits and with his business partner started and led their multimillion-dollar business through an exceptional and extended growth phase (over 10 years of double-digit growth) all before he turned 35.

Today, he’s on a mission to help train and equip coaches, consultants, and internal advisors so they can help architect incredible organizations and personally enjoy immensely rewarding careers!

Previous Post: « Relaunching Your Early Struggle Organization Post COVID-19
Next Post: Rebuilding Your Fun Organization Post COVID-19 »

Business and Nonprofit Leaders

Ready to get started?

It’s time to scale! Click on the button below to
find a Scale Architect near you!

Find a Scale Architect

 

Coaches, Consultants & Advisors

Ready to Get Certified?

Click on the button below to find out how you can
become a Certified Scale Architect!

Get Certified

 

Scale Architects

Helping you find Predictable Success for your organization so you can scale and sustain success!

678-490-8330

Contact Us
Assessments

Lifecycle Stage

Leadership Style

Full Team Report

Books

Predictable Success

The Synergist

Do Scale

Do Lead

Articles

The Seven Stages of Predictable Success

The Three Mistakes All Coaches Make

Keeping Your Business in Top Form for the Long Haul


Privacy Policy · Copyright © 2022 · All Rights Reserved