Advertise on podcast: Simplify to Scale Show

What if all the advice to niche down is limiting your growth? When you're multi-passionate, trying to fit everything you do into one narrowly defined niche can mean leaving behind some of your greatest strengths and passions. And while having a clear focus is important for your audience to understand what you do, there's a way to bring your diverse experience and interests together without limiting what your business can become. In this week's episode of Scale Differently, I sit down with Angela Gerber, founder of The Marketing Apothecary, who spent years trying to fit herself into traditional niches before discovering how to bring the full range of her expertise into her business. We explore how to embrace everything that makes you unique while keeping your business clear and compelling to your audience, including: Why niching down can hold multi-passionate entrepreneurs back How to find the connective thread across your different interests and expertise How to make your diverse offerings feel cohesive to your audience How to bring more of yourself into your business as you evolve As your business grows and you evolve, the things you want to be known for and the work you want to do can change too. Angela shares a different way to approach your positioning that gives you room to evolve while making it clear to your audience how everything connects.   Links to connect with Angela: Website: https://themarketingapothecary.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themarketingapothecary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/themarketingapothecary/                                   Want to share your thoughts on this episode or ask me questions? Connect with me on Substack: https://scaledifferently.substack.com/ Interested in working with me? Book a call so we can explore working together: https://www.leanscaling.com/consult Have questions? Want to explore partnering together to scale your business? Connect with me on my personal Instagram @cristagrasso or LinkedIn and let's start a conversation.   If you loved this episode, please help us spread the word and reach more business owners like you by leaving a 5-star rating and review. Hit subscribe to be the first to listen to new episodes each Tuesday.

What will make the biggest difference in how your business grows next year? When you're setting big goals for your business, it's natural to start looking for the strategies and changes that will help you achieve them. But reaching those goals involves a lot of interconnected things within your business, and some of the biggest influences on your results may be things you haven't thought about yet. In this week's episode of Scale Differently, I'm sharing three things to consider as you plan for the new year, including: Why the most obvious solution isn't always the one you need How small changes can lead to much bigger results Why the goal itself is only part of what matters What becomes possible when you look at your business as an ecosystem Finding the right support to realize your vision and goals There are so many different ways to grow your business and equally as important as if you reach your goals is reaching them in a way that's aligned for you. And if you're looking toward 2027, knowing you want to grow your business in a way that's aligned and fulfilling, I'd love to partner with you inside Threshold. Applications are open at https://www.cristagrasso.com/threshold  Want to share your thoughts on this episode or ask me questions? Connect with me on Substack: https://scaledifferently.substack.com/   Interested in working with me? Book a call so we can explore working together: https://www.leanscaling.com/consult   Have questions? Want to explore partnering together to scale your business? Connect with me on my personal Instagram @cristagrasso or LinkedIn and let's start a conversation.   If you loved this episode, please help us spread the word and reach more business owners like you by leaving a 5-star rating and review. Hit subscribe to be the first to listen to new episodes each Tuesday.

Why do we often resist the changes we know we need to make in our business? Despite wanting something different, most people naturally gravitate towards what feels familiar and known. And that can become a challenge when you have a big vision and goals that require you to be thinking, leading, operating, and scaling differently. In this week's episode of Scale Differently, I dig into how to get past any resistance to change so there is nothing standing between you and your vision, including: Why knowing what needs to change isn't always enough Where resistance often shows up as you scale Why we naturally gravitate towards what's familiar How to step out of what's comfortable & into the unknown A different way to think about accountability The bigger your vision, the more likely it is to require things from you and your business that you haven't done before, which makes your willingness to embrace change an important part of realizing it. And if you know your 2027 vision is going to require you to think, lead, operate, and scale differently, and you want support making those shifts a reality, I'd love to partner with you inside Threshold.  Now accepting applications at https://www.cristagrasso.com/threshold  Want to share your thoughts on this episode or ask me questions? Connect with me on Substack: https://scaledifferently.substack.com/   Interested in working with me? Book a call so we can explore working together: https://www.leanscaling.com/consult   Have questions? Want to explore partnering together to scale your business? Connect with me on my personal Instagram @cristagrasso or LinkedIn and let's start a conversation.   If you loved this episode, please help us spread the word and reach more business owners like you by leaving a 5-star rating and review. Hit subscribe to be the first to listen to new episodes each Tuesday.

Do you ever feel like you're revisiting the same things in your business over and over again? You evolve an offer, rethink your team, update a system, or make changes to your business model, only to find yourself doing it again. As you scale, there are very few things in your business that are static or "done".  They continue to evolve as the business grows and what you want changes. And every time you enter into a cycle of revisiting and evolving your business, you're doing it from a new vantage point and entering what I think of as the 'scaling spiral'. For this week's 300th episode of Scale Differently, I'm sharing some of the biggest lessons from the past 300 episodes and what they can teach us about how we approach our next cycle of growth and scale, including: Why scaling happens in a spiral What changes each time you move through a cycle Why the pace of those cycles is accelerating The four stages of the scaling spiral The energetics and mechanics and scaling The faster things change, the more important it becomes to be clear on what you want for yourself and your business, so you can be intentional about what you carry forward, what you reimagine, and what you evolve as you move through your next cycle.   Ready to decide what you want your business to become in 2027? Learn more and apply for Threshold10: https://www.cristagrasso.com/threshold  Want to share your thoughts on this episode or ask me questions? Connect with me on Substack: https://scaledifferently.substack.com/   Interested in working with me? Book a call so we can explore working together: https://www.leanscaling.com/consult   Have questions? Want to explore partnering together to scale your business? Connect with me on my personal Instagram @cristagrasso or LinkedIn and let's start a conversation.   If you loved this episode, please help us spread the word and reach more business owners like you by leaving a 5-star rating and review. Hit subscribe to be the first to listen to new episodes each Tuesday.

What causes something in your business to start feeling disconnected from what you really want? There are a lot of things that can contribute to that feeling, but there's one common root cause I see underneath it again and again. And it's something that can happen so gradually that you may not even realize how much it has changed the way you run, lead, grow, and scale your business. Maybe you adjusted an offer because of what a specific client needed and years later you're still delivering it that way. Maybe you structured your schedule around a particular team member or season in your business, and even though things have changed, your schedule never shifted. Individually, none of those things may seem especially significant. But when enough of them stay in place, they can create a much bigger sense of disconnect over time. That's what I'm exploring in this week's episode of Scale Differently, including: The common root cause behind feeling disconnected How misalignment ends up compounding over time How something temporary can become the new norm Ways to challenge and shift what's out of alignment How to avoid overwhelming yourself with change You can have a business that is successful and still feel increasingly disconnected from the way you actually want to run, lead, grow, and scale it. Understanding what created that disconnect is the first step to changing it.   Looking to make some changes, achieve some big goals, and scale your business differently as we look to the new year? Learn more and apply for Threshold 10: https://www.cristagrasso.com/threshold Want to share your thoughts on this episode or ask me questions? Connect with me on Substack: https://scaledifferently.substack.com/   Interested in working with me? Book a call so we can explore working together: https://www.leanscaling.com/consult   Have questions? Want to explore partnering together to scale your business? Connect with me on my personal Instagram @cristagrasso or LinkedIn and let's start a conversation.   If you loved this episode, please help us spread the word and reach more business owners like you by leaving a 5-star rating and review. Hit subscribe to be the first to listen to new episodes each Tuesday.

What if your marketing and sales process felt as aligned as the work you deliver? So many of the tactics that have become standard practice are built around pressure, urgency, and getting someone to make a decision as quickly as possible. But if you care deeply about the transformation someone experiences once they become a client, the way they arrive at that decision matters too. Your marketing and sales process can reflect how you want to do business, how you want people to experience your work, and the kind of relationship you want to create from the very beginning. That's what I explore in this week's episode of Scale Differently, including: Creating a marketing and sales process that feels aligned Why the way someone says yes matters as much as the yes itself The three states to move a buyer through (from THEIR perspective) The critical thing that should happen after someone says yes Creating a stronger beginning to the client experience The way you market and sell is part of the experience people have with your business. I believe it should feel as sacred as the transformation you provide once someone says yes to work with you.   Want to share your thoughts on this episode or ask me questions? Connect with me on Substack: https://scaledifferently.substack.com/   Interested in working with me? Book a call so we can explore working together: https://www.leanscaling.com/consult   Have questions? Want to explore partnering together to scale your business? Connect with me on my personal Instagram @cristagrasso or LinkedIn and let's start a conversation.   If you loved this episode, please help us spread the word and reach more business owners like you by leaving a 5-star rating and review. Hit subscribe to be the first to listen to new episodes each Tuesday.

Is your business still dependent on you in ways it may have already outgrown? What your business requires from you at seven figures can be very different from what it required from you at $100K. Every stage of business comes with a different set of needs, but it's easy to keep making the decisions, solving the problems, and filling the gaps you've always handled, even when your team can take more ownership and figure things out without you. In this week's episode of Scale Differently, I sit down with Heather Roberts, who has scaled multiple businesses past seven figures and learned firsthand how much has to change as your business moves from one stage to the next. Heather compares business stages to raising kids, and by taking us through her own journey with her own businesses, we dive into what that shift looks like, including: What it realistically takes to get out of day-to-day operations How your involvement should change as your business grows How to decide what you still want to own and what you're ready to hand off How keeping your business lean can give you more flexibility How to shape your business around what you want from your life If you want to reduce how much you're working in your business and how much depends on you, you won't want to miss this episode. Heather now works 2-3 hours a week in her business and she breaks down how she made that possible. Links Website: https://heatherroberts.life/ Book: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-nurture-method-heather-roberts/1149899363?ean=9798895762035 Substack: https://www.nowwhatyall.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heathersroberts/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sonowwhatyall/   Want to share your thoughts on this episode or ask me questions? Connect with me on Substack: https://scaledifferently.substack.com/   Interested in working with me? Book a call so we can explore working together: https://www.leanscaling.com/consult   Have questions? Want to explore partnering together to scale your business? Connect with me on my personal Instagram @cristagrasso or LinkedIn and let's start a conversation.   If you loved this episode, please help us spread the word and reach more business owners like you by leaving a 5-star rating and review. Hit subscribe to be the first to listen to new episodes each Tuesday.

If you were reimagining your business today, knowing everything you know now, would you make the same choices? Would you sell the same things? Structure your team the same way? Spend your own time the same way? Market, sell, and deliver the same way? So much of what exists in an established business is the result of decisions made at another point in time, based on what made sense then. But what if you gave yourself a clean blank slate and reimagined what you would choose today, based on what you want now and what you can see becoming possible in the future? That's what I explore in this week's episode of Scale Differently, including: How to reimagine your business from today's vantage point How AI and technology are expanding what's possible A powerful exercise to map out what you want next How small shifts can significantly change the way you scale Want to share your thoughts on this episode, ask me questions, and access a step-by-step guide for reimagining how you scale? Connect with me on Substack: https://scaledifferently.substack.com/   Interested in working with me? Book a call so we can explore working together: https://www.leanscaling.com/consult   Have questions? Want to explore partnering together to scale your business? Connect with me on my personal Instagram @cristagrasso or LinkedIn and let's start a conversation.   If you loved this episode, please help us spread the word and reach more business owners like you by leaving a 5-star rating and review. Hit subscribe to be the first to listen to new episodes each Tuesday.

Have you ever finally created some much-needed space in your business… only to immediately fill it right back up? Someone leaves your team, and you start looking for their replacement. An offer runs its course, and you start figuring out what you'll sell next. You delegate something that gives you back 10 hours each week, and somehow those hours quickly get reallocated to something else... Sound familiar? As business owners, we're naturally great at solving problems and moving things forward, so when something opens up, our instinct is usually to figure out what belongs there next. But what opens up if you don't rush to fill that space? I've been thinking about this a lot since getting back from a trip Mallorca, where I intentionally gave myself far more open, uncommitted space than I normally do. What emerged from that experience reminded me how much can become visible when we give ourselves enough capacity for something we couldn't have planned for. In this week's episode of Scale Differently, I explore: Why we're so quick to fill every opening in our businesses What leaving something open makes possible in your business Understanding the key difference between a void and an opening My personal experience in Mallorca and what came out of the open space Why your best ideas and opportunities aren't always pre-planned We spend a lot of time making sure we have capacity for the unexpected problems that inevitably happen in business. But what about leaving capacity for the unexpected magic? You can't receive something new into a space that's already full. Want to share your thoughts on this episode or ask me questions? Connect with me on Substack: https://scaledifferently.substack.com/   Interested in working with me? Book a call so we can explore working together: https://www.leanscaling.com/consult Have questions? Want to explore partnering together to scale your business? Connect with me on my personal Instagram @cristagrasso or LinkedIn and let's start a conversation.   If you loved this episode, please help us spread the word and reach more business owners like you by leaving a 5-star rating and review. Hit subscribe to be the first to listen to new episodes each Tuesday.

Is the part of your business you're giving the most attention to the part that will help your business grow? For Celi Arias, a scaling strategist and the founder of ScalePilot, the shifts she wanted to see in her business started happening when she realized that she'd spent more time giving attention to the parts of business she loved, but didn't give enough attention to the areas that determined whether the business could truly grow. Shifting her focus towards the things that really help a business grow has helped her change how she grows businesses today. In this week's episode of Scale Differently, Celi shares how she approaches scaling now, including: The downside of only leaning into your strengths The lessons she learned after selling her first business What skills you need to develop for long-term growth What you need to start making better decisions What patterns informed a new way of scaling If you feel like you've hit a ceiling and are not sure what else you need to do to take your business to the next level, this conversation will give you a perspective that can help you make the necessary changes for growth. Connect with Celi: •    Website:  https://celiarias.com/ •    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/celigrowsbusiness/ •    Twitter: https://x.com/IamdonCelia •    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/celiarias/ Want to share your thoughts on this episode or ask me questions? Connect with me on Substack: https://scaledifferently.substack.com/   Interested in working with me? Book a call so we can explore working together: https://www.leanscaling.com/consult   Have questions? Want to explore partnering together to scale your business? Connect with me on my personal Instagram @cristagrasso or LinkedIn and let's start a conversation.   If you loved this episode, please help us spread the word and reach more business owners like you by leaving a 5-star rating and review. Hit subscribe to be the first to listen to new episodes each Tuesday.

Is the way you're scaling your business still aligned with the vision you have for your business (and your life)? Over the past couple of years, I've watched so many business owners pause to reflect on whether their current business matches what they really want. Some are choosing to go deeper with a smaller group of clients, focusing on more connection and increased impact. While others are using tech and emerging opportunities to expand their vision in totally new directions. The one thing they all have in common is that everyone is looking for a way to expand their business in a way that feels more sustainable and more aligned with who they are and where they're going next. In this week's episode of the podcast, I share what it looks like to scale differently, as well as share a big announcement that you'll have to tune in to hear about, including: What's underneath the strategies that stopped working How to realign your business with a different vision Redefining growth and success for your current season If you've been feeling pulled toward a different way of scaling your business, you won't want to miss this episode (or the announcement). Want to share your thoughts on this episode or ask me questions? Connect with me on Substack: https://scaledifferently.substack.com/ Interested in working with me? Book a call so we can explore working together: https://www.leanscaling.com/consult Have questions? Want to explore partnering together to scale your business? Connect with me on my personal Instagram @cristagrasso or LinkedIn and let's start a conversation. If you loved this episode, please help us spread the word and reach more business owners like you by leaving a 5-star rating and review. Hit subscribe to be the first to listen to new episodes each Tuesday.

Have you ever been triggered by something and wondered why you couldn't quite let it go? We experience minor triggers all the time.  Whether someone does or says something that annoys you or you have a frustrating experience, most of the time you are able to move on with your day without a second thought. But every once in a while, something sticks with you far longer than it should and replays in your mind on repeat. When that happens, that is usually a sign to look beneath the surface because there is often an important takeaway. In this week's episode of the Simplify to Scale Show, I dive into what it really means to get to the root cause of your triggers and understand what they're trying to tell you, including: What your triggers reveal about what you're avoiding The link between your reactions and your business decisions The powerful questions to ask yourself beyond the obvious Simple steps for turning triggers into growth as you scale Give yourself the space to pause and get curious the next time something bothers you... there's often a much deeper story underneath. Want to share your thoughts on this episode or ask me questions? Connect with me on Substack: https://scaledifferently.substack.com/ Interested in working with me? Book a call so we can explore working together: https://www.leanscaling.com/consult Have questions? Want to explore partnering together to scale your business? Connect with me on my personal Instagram @cristagrasso or LinkedIn and let's start a conversation. If you loved this episode, please help us spread the word and reach more business owners like you by leaving a 5-star rating and review. Hit subscribe to be the first to listen to new episodes each Tuesday.

Does creating thought leadership content leave you feeling drained or energized? If you find yourself dreading content creation or even avoiding it altogether, that's a sign that the framework you're using may not be aligned with your natural strengths and wiring. In this week's episode of the Simplify to Scale Show, I sit down with Macy Robison, a thought leadership strategist who helps people build a platform around how they're naturally wired. We dive into how to build a thought leadership approach that sounds and feels like you, including: Why copying a "proven" playbook doesn't always work How to identify your unique signal and voice Three ways your message lands or falls flat The archetypes that shape how you communicate and get results Using your natural style to build your platform We also reviewed the results of my style from Macy's Resonant Thought Leader Archetype assessment, which was fascinating!   Links Website: https://macyrobison.com/ Assessment: https://assessment.thoughtleaderarchetype.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/macyrobison LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/macyrobison/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/macyrobison/   Want to share your thoughts on this episode or ask me questions? Connect with me on Substack: https://scaledifferently.substack.com/ Interested in working with me? Book a call so we can explore working together: https://www.leanscaling.com/consult Have questions? Want to explore partnering together to scale your business? Connect with me on my personal Instagram @cristagrasso or LinkedIn and let's start a conversation.   If you loved this episode, please help us spread the word and reach more business owners like you by leaving a 5-star rating and review. Hit subscribe to be the first to listen to new episodes each Tuesday.

Ever feel like you've outgrown who you used to be, but haven't fully settled into who you're becoming? That space between the two can feel destabilizing, where you've outgrown the old version, and the new one hasn't fully settled in yet. Most people don't recognize that discomfort for what it is. They assume something is off when really they're just in the middle of an identity evolution that hasn't completed yet. In this week's episode of the Simplify to Scale Show, I share an example of what full embodiment looks like and what to do when you're still in the middle of a change, including: Why the in-between space feels so destabilizing The identity evolutions your business goes through without you noticing How to tell which side of the shift you're actually on How to move through the discomfort instead of staying stuck in it Discomfort isn't always a sign that something is off or misaligned. It often means you're growing into the next level of your business or yourself. Head over to Substack and share your thoughts on this episode: https://scaledifferently.substack.com/    Have questions? Want to explore partnering together to scale your business? Connect with me on my personal Instagram @cristagrasso or LinkedIn and let's start a conversation. If you loved this episode, please help us spread the word and reach more business owners like you by leaving a 5-star rating and review. Hit subscribe to be the first to listen to new episodes each Tuesday.

Ever look back at a decision or compromise that felt small in the moment only to realize how far it took you away from the path you wanted to be on? Founders make so many decisions every day, and even ones that don't feel 100% aligned rarely look dramatic on the surface. They look practical, like the sensible choice given everything on your plate at the time, and it's usually only later when you look back that you can see the magnitude of the impact. In this week's episode of the Simplify to Scale Show, I share a few of my own stories about decisions that inadvertently pulled me off course, and walk through how to spot these patterns in your own business, including: How a compromise turns into a habit without you noticing The tell that you've logic'd yourself away from what you intuitively 'knew' Why the people closest to you shape more of your decisions than you think What it looks like when you put yourself in a box someone else handed you How to catch the next fork in the road before you're past it Understanding where these patterns show up for you is the key to avoiding misalignment and getting back on track. Connect with me on Substack: https://leanscaling.substack.com/  Founders: Are you ready to get out of the day-to-day operations of your business? Start by joining me inside our next Scale Simpler workshop, where I help you discover the hidden factors keeping you stuck in the day-to-day. Then join me in Extraction, where we'll spend 4 weeks together developing your founder extraction roadmap to help you finally get out of the day-to-day of the business without things falling apart. Register for Scale Simpler at https://www.leanscaling.com/scaleworkshop and Extraction at https://www.leanscaling.com/extraction   Fractionals & Consultants: Ready to become the strategic partner that small businesses can't imagine scaling without? Apply for our Chief Strategy and Operating Officer (CSOO) certification and become licensed to leverage our Lean Scaling System™ to simplify how you scale your clients' businesses (and your own) and step into the role founders are increasingly searching for.  Learn more at https://www.strategicopsinstitute.com/certification   Fractionals, Consultants, & Leaders: Ready to deepen your strategic leadership skills and differentiate your services to stand out in a crowded market?  Join our SOL Collective community, THE private space centered on strategic leadership, AI enablement, and defining your signature positioning for those who partner with small to mid-sized businesses. Learn more at https://www.strategicopsinstitute.com/collective   Have questions? Want to explore partnering together to scale your business? Connect with me on my personal Instagram @cristagrasso or LinkedIn and let's start a conversation. If you loved this episode, please help us spread the word and reach more business owners like you by leaving a 5-star rating and review. Hit subscribe to be the first to listen to new episodes each Tuesday.