SCALING FROM FAMILY BUSINESS TO GROWTH COMPANY

When my father retired from our business, it was still built around him- his instincts, his skills, his processes. As Brad Fisher, an expert in scaling small businesses, often quotes Jim Collins, it was a “genius with a thousand helpers” model: every decision ran through the CEO. That structure is common in founder-led companies, but it isn’t built to last. To grow, our business needed a more scalable model- a shift Brad calls the Second Leap. Here are lessons- my own and Brad’s- on making that transition responsibly.

PEOS CAN EXPECT TO LEARN

• Why founder-centered businesses hit a ceiling.
• How culture, structure, and leadership enable responsible scaling.
• What pitfalls can derail a company trying to grow beyond the founder.

MINDSET: BUILD A BUTTERFLY

Scaling isn’t about doing more; it’s about creating capacity and repeatable processes that handle growth without breaking. Think caterpillar vs. butterfly. A caterpillar can crawl to the food—slowly, with risk and fatigue. A butterfly flies there—fast, with less strain. Scaling isn’t about building a faster caterpillar; it’s about transforming into a butterfly while still running today’s business.

EMPOWER A LEADERSHIP TEAM

Peter Drucker wrote that management’s task is to “make people capable of joint performance.” The leap from founder-led to team-led is non-negotiable. A common trap, Fisher notes, is the next CEO acting like the “star of the movie,” hoarding answers and control. The real job is to attract, assemble, and develop a leadership team—and then lead that team, not the whole company directly.

CULTURE AS ANCHOR

Early at Ready, we wrote down the mission and values that had served us for 20 years, then added a long-term vision unique from the founder’s. Together, this “purpose set” became a compass once the founder was no longer at the center. It anchored our decision making to scale while honoring the legacy that made the business successful.

STRUCTURE MATTERS

Sounds simple but the right org chart is an essential scaling tool. Don’t start by mapping today’s people into boxes. Start with the structure you’ll need tomorrow; then show who covers each role today—even if one person spans several boxes. That clarity reveals gaps, drives accountability, and guides investment. People-based charts (“Bob’s box, Bonnie’s box”) create black boxes where responsibilities are opaque. A position-based chart isn’t bureaucracy; it’s how growth becomes smooth and people do their best work.

MAP IT OUT—EVEN IF IT TAKES YEARS

Growing before you have systems, product–market fit, or repeatable processes can backfire. Sequence your moves deliberately by planning which lifts come first and when to invest in each layer of capacity. Fisher’s Six Scalabilities framework underscores this step-by-step strength building. At Ready, we started with key leadership hires, spent two years on systems, then built the right capital base. Only then did we rebrand. Had we led with a rebrand, we risked signaling growth we weren’t yet prepared to deliver.