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Tag: Scaling up

  • I Turned My Hobby Into a Global Startup for Writers — Here’s the Playbook | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Since childhood, I’ve been a bookworm. My all-time favorite books include a mix of non-fiction and finance. However, this didn’t stop me from transforming my biggest hobby into My Passion, the top-2 e-book platform globally.

    The platform already has over 1,000 books, and every two weeks we release another 2–3 bestsellers. For entrepreneurs wondering if their passion could become their next startup, here’s exactly how I did it — and the framework that can work for you too.

    Related: AI Won’t Wait for Your Strategy — Why Should Your Leadership?

    Define your ‘Why’

    86% of people who started a hobby-based business report higher job satisfaction. But here’s what they don’t tell you: satisfaction doesn’t equal success, and most hobby businesses never scale beyond side hustles.

    Don’t quit your job just because you read how Zuckerberg started Facebook as a hobby project for Harvard students, or how Boeing turned his love of aircraft into a billion-dollar company. Instead, consider WHY you truly desire to launch your startup.

    Here’s how I discovered mine.

    For me, reading was more than just entertainment. This is what shaped my worldview.

    Books showed me the world beyond survival — I read about Van Gogh, artists and creators who transcended their environment. This sparked the belief that my background doesn’t define me — a mantra I carry to this day.

    I didn’t just want to open a bookstore, launch an app or write a book for money. My goal was to empower writers globally. Ultimately, storytelling became the DNA of my startup, Holywater, which unlocks people’s potential by combining their imagination with AI capabilities, from books to streaming and AI-powered series.

    Now, writers worldwide share stories and gain recognition through My Passion. Moreover, books evolve into My Drama’s vertical series with a global reach. We are also developing the PYSHY (WRITE) contest with Vivat Publishing, which creates real earning opportunities for writers.

    We got 444 submissions, 3 were picked for publication and 1 was adapted for a top-performing vertical series.

    You can simply monetize your hobby, for example, by selling your books, paintings or clay crafts. Or you can turn it into a global startup. Your why and scale make all the difference.

    Connect your passion with a real-world solution

    Your passion must translate into value for others, not just personal satisfaction. The reason 42% of startups fail is misreading market demand. Simply put, founders spent money and time launching a product that no one needed.

    Identify what other people’s problems or needs you can solve by turning your hobby into a startup. Consider how successful founders made this connection. Etsy transformed the love of handmade crafts into a global marketplace for unique goods. AeroPress turned one coffee enthusiast’s quest for the perfect brew into a portable solution for coffee lovers worldwide. These founders connected their passions with unmet market needs, creating products that solved real problems and resonated with millions.

    Through my reading journey, I realized a fundamental gap: people love stories, but they lack the tools and support to tell them well. Writer’s block, pacing issues and structural gaps limit creativity, and working on a book alone is exhausting. After all, professional storytellers have entire teams of editors, plot consultants and visual artists.

    Launching My Passion together with Anatolii Kasianov, we applied AI to democratize storytelling support, giving every writer access to plot development, visual elements, structure recommendations and pacing advice. Support that was previously only available to well-known authors is now available to all creators.

    Start with a small community

    Ask yourself: Is this hobby large enough to involve other people? Your passion requires a community to become a sustainable business.

    Many great businesses started as small communities that later scaled. For instance, Reddit began as a platform for niche interests and grew into a global discussion hub, and Duolingo was a small beta community of language learners testing early lessons. Nowadays, you can easily build a community on social media and get feedback there. It’s a great chance to get like-minded people together and test out your idea.

    The beauty of starting small is that it allows you to validate demand without massive investment. You can quickly discover whether others share your passion and face similar challenges.

    Related: How a Side Hustle Led to a $1 Million+ Passive Income Stream

    Don’t let your passion turn into a nightmare

    Understand the stakes and pressure that come with monetising your hobby. When your livelihood depends on what once brought you pure joy, the dynamic changes completely. Deadlines replace spontaneity. Market demands can override creative instincts. Financial pressure can drain the original magic. The result: burnout, which affects more than half of founders.

    What keeps me going? Again, books. Not for market research, but for myself. Besides, I have other passions. For example, I meditate every day and share insights on LinkedIn. It is extremely important for startup founders not to get stuck only in work, especially if their hobby and startup are now combined.

    The line between hobby and business disappears when your work helps others experience the same transformation that once changed you. When writers tell us our platform helped them overcome creative blocks they’d struggled with for years, I know we’ve moved beyond monetizing a hobby — we’re scaling transformation.

    Your greatest obsession might just be your greatest business opportunity, but only if you can preserve what made you fall in love with it in the first place.

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    Bogdan Nesvit

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  • 3 Crucial Strategies for Sustaining Growth in a Competitive Market | Entrepreneur

    3 Crucial Strategies for Sustaining Growth in a Competitive Market | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    In the early days of a business, there is typically one goal: making sales. Most startups don’t have unlimited cash for their operations, so they’ll quickly fall apart if they can’t attract customers. But those who successfully build a client base face new challenges, including scaling their business for further growth.

    Scaling a business for growth isn’t a simple task. For one thing, startups have limited resources. They can handle only so many sales before hiring more employees or increasing their infrastructure.

    Managers must recognize a specific tipping point as the signal it’s time to boost human or material capital. If they fail to see the signs, the results can be just as disastrous for the company as failing to attract sales in the startup stage.

    If you believe your startup organization is nearing the time when scaling is necessary, take the following steps.

    Related: Want to Scale Your Business? Companies are Using These 5 Strategies Right Now to Unlock Sustainable Growth, And You Should Too.

    1. Assess your staffing needs

    One of the biggest mistakes companies make when it comes time to scale is hiring the wrong employees to do the job. They often end up with bad hires simply because they need people immediately and can’t wait for cream-of-the-crop talent.

    The cost of a bad hire is difficult to estimate, but SHRM places it around $240,000. You’ll incur the expenses of hiring, sourcing and training the employees. If they turn out to be the wrong fit, you’ll need to start the process again, requiring more time, effort and money.

    Additionally, a bad hire can impact your organization, like decreased team morale and lost customers.

    When organizations solidify their plans for eventual expansion, they’re less likely to encounter bad hires. They identify the roles they need to hire for well before it becomes time to fill them. They can start their hiring processes early rather than waiting until the last minute.

    Planning ahead gives hiring professionals time to write a thorough job description, conduct lots of interviews and pick the person with the skills to handle the role that best aligns with the company’s values.

    Hiring the right people for your organization is critical in the early stages of a company. They will often form the backbone of the business and set the tone for future employees. A supportive team on board ensures that you start scaling on all four cylinders.

    Related: How to Scale a Marketing Strategy That Works

    2. Make financial arrangements to support your growth

    Scaling a business requires an increase in expenses. There are no two ways around it. You’ll need more equipment, a bigger advertising budget and a larger team.

    If your company doesn’t have the bank account to support all these changes, you’ll need to find the money elsewhere — by taking on debt or finding an investor who believes in your company’s potential for success.

    It’s critical to seek out financial support early. When you know it’s almost time to scale, get your accounting books in order if they aren’t already. If you don’t have a full-fledged accounting team, seek help from a CPA firm that can prepare your financial statements and set up proper internal controls.

    You’ll also want to undergo an audit, as most lenders and investors will want to review approved financials before they provide you with any financing.

    Once you feel confident about your books, you can research funding opportunities. You’ll need to obtain a loan if you don’t feel comfortable bringing an outside investor on board. The SBA provides financing opportunities to small businesses, but you’ll need to prepare the proper paperwork and collaborate with an SBA lender to qualify.

    Carefully consider your funding opportunities and evaluate each to determine which suits your company most. Look for low-interest rates and fair repayment terms if it’s a loan. Business owners who prefer to work with investors should realize that they may need to give up some control in their organization, depending on the terms of the agreement.

    Related: Should You Scale or Should You Grow? (The 2 Strategies Are Not the Same.)

    3. Define your objectives for the future

    Where do you picture your company in six months, one year or five years? Understanding your vision can help you establish the milestones necessary to achieve your objectives.

    You’ll probably need to set several goals, not just one. For instance, you might envision reaching a certain level of revenue, introducing a new product or opening a location in a new region. Some startups aim to grow their company to a specific level before they sell it to interested investors.

    Once you know your goals, it becomes easier to identify what you need to do to meet them. Expanding your revenue will likely require increased marketing expenses, and you may need to bring a few new employees on board. If your goal is opening a new storefront, you must find a property to lease or buy, hire staff and ensure compliance with local laws and regulations.

    The SMART method can help you define reasonable goals to work toward. Under the SMART process, you set specific objectives and a time for meeting them. As you accomplish each milestone, you work toward the next one. It provides a solid infrastructure for your goals that you can easily explain to stakeholders, including employees, clients and financiers.

    Scaling requires planning

    Moving an organization from startup to scaling for growth is possible through adequate planning. Some business owners start the process very early before opening their doors to their first customers. Doing so is a good idea and can help you get on the right footing in the initial days of your business.

    Remember that you’ll likely need to adjust your plan as you learn more about your customers and operations. Remember the two critical considerations in scaling a business: staffing and finances. Start your hiring processes early, and determine the roles you must fill as you grow the organization. You’ll also need to ensure proper monetary backing as you focus on expansion.

    Taking the time to plan thoroughly for the growth of your business will put you in a good position when the time to scale arrives. Your company can avoid many pitfalls when you are prepared.

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    Shawn Cole

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  • 7 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Scaling Your Business | Entrepreneur

    7 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Scaling Your Business | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    In business, the scale-up phase of a company is where, after you prove your concept and establish a solid base, you’re ready to share your offering with the world — setting the stage for exponential growth and success. But in 2023, the entry criteria for this stage look a lot different, demanding a nuanced approach.

    During a period of higher costs with less capital available, the importance of precise timing and frugality has become paramount. Having scaled four companies by 1,000% — two of them during economic downturns — I’ve learned some tough lessons about what not to do.

    Related: 7 Ways To Scale Your Startup or Business

    Mistake 1: Scaling too early

    Fire, ready, aim. Scaling too early these days can be a fatal mistake. If you’re still figuring out your category, your ideal customer profile (like what specific problems you solve) or your best route(s) to market, it’s not time to scale.

    If your unit economics are wildly unsustainable or the nucleus of your core team isn’t in place, it’s not time to scale.

    If you’re not getting pull (inbound demand and word of mouth) from the market you play in, it’s not time to scale.

    Mistake 2: Scaling too late

    Whoops, missed out on that one. On the flip side, scaling too late can mean missed opportunities. If you’re inundated with demand (leads falling on the floor), in the midst of a buyer platform/paradigm shift or have overly superior unit economics, it might be past time to scale. Don’t let competitors with inferior products steal your market share because you’re under-resourced while they’re expanding — especially if you’re in a winner-take-all or major first-mover advantage market.

    Mistake 3: Hiring the wrong leaders at the wrong time

    They were great at that one company. Hiring is a critical part of scaling. It’s also one of the most difficult. It’s about finding the right people for the right roles at the right time. Avoid the temptation to hire people just like yourself. Embrace diversity, and cover different perspectives. Be wary of hiring leaders from companies that are too big or too small. Document what specific outcomes you need next and what requisite skill sets and experiences will deliver those outcomes. And ensure that hires fit your culture. If you’re hiring a sales leader, be especially alert and consider things like your go-to-market motion, stage and buyer.

    Mistake 4: Not delegating

    I tried delegating once, but it was too much work. As a founder, it’s natural to want to control every aspect of your business. But as you scale, you need to let go. Trust the leaders you’ve hired. It’s why you worked so hard to recruit them. Give them the direction and support they need, then step back and get out of their way.

    Related: How to Know When It’s the Right Time to Scale Your Business

    Mistake 5: Overlooking infrastructure and operations

    We’ll get to that someday. As you scale, your infrastructure and operations need to scale with you. Document your core processes; shared documents, checklists and playbooks work great early on. Invest in HR, including hiring the people/HR manager. Try not to skimp on technology, data tracking or analytics. The same goes for sales and marketing operations. And avoid accruing too much product or architectural debt. These are the foundations upon which your scaled business will stand.

    Mistake 6: Getting stuck on the funding treadmill

    More money, more problems. Funding is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Don’t get so caught up in reaching the next funding milestone that you lose sight of your business fundamentals and economics — especially in today’s market. Ensure you’re consistently improving your fundamentals (product-market fit, customer value creation, distribution, growth strategy) and economics (growth rate, margins and profitability, customer acquisition cost and customer lifetime value). Make sure you can see — or at least paint — a clear path to sustainable profitability.

    Mistake 7: Losing your beginner’s mindset

    What got you here won’t get you there. Things change fast. Stay open to new methods and ways to evolve your business. Don’t overlook things that change quickly, like pricing and packaging, your product roadmap expansion, category expansion, market segmentation and targeting, and second and third growth acts. Keep that beginner’s mindset.

    What’s next?

    Scaling a business is exciting. It’s also challenging and complex. But there’s no reason to repeat the mistakes of the past.

    Listen, learn, and plan to grow your company successfully. With awareness and careful planning, you can avoid these common pitfalls. Remember, the goal of scaling is not just to grow bigger but to grow better — to deliver more value to more customers, create more opportunities for your team and make a greater impact on your market. So take the time to scale wisely, and you’ll reap the rewards for years to come. Remain curious, keep that beginner’s mindset, and stay inspired by thought leaders who’ve done it before — while you pave your own way.

    Related: 5 Pitfalls to Avoid When Growing or Scaling a Business

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    Kevin Marasco

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