Right now, I’m onboarding a startup founder into a £30k branding project.
For a long time, I thought scaling meant doing more. More clients, more team, more launches – basically doing more, all at once. I don’t really love the word ‘scaling’ but to keep this easily understood, I won’t rebrand it just yet. 👹
PS: I’m not turning my back on my ambition.
I still want a wealthy and juicy business. I’m not suddenly fantasising about crochet and a £3k/month lifestyle. (Although I do love crafts.)
But I’ve changed my mind about what big actually means, and more importantly, how I’ll get there.
By the end of this year, I want that number to be at £50k. Not to prove a point (but, to show myself that it’s possible.) but also because my time is p r e c i o u s.
Because I’ve spent time working alongside founders who invest millions into their brands, so I know that it IS possible when you speak to the right people. And I believe in myself, deeply. and I want even more time freedom.
Here’s how I’ll do it:
Lets talk about the deliverables
The project I’m working on isn’t really logo + web + packaging. That’s the scope, not the project. I’ve said this many times before, but the HOW isn’t important.
Brand founders know they need branding, we don’t need to sell them on that.
But instead, this founder is launching into a saturated market and needs to become the obvious choice. If that works, they generate repeat revenue on a million-dollar scale. I have to be trusted to handle that expectation.
What they’re investing in is the gap between where they are now – the idea, funding, launching – and where they need to be which is recognition, reputation, revenue, and category presence. The deliverables are just how we get there.
“Scaling”, for me, means being able to speak to this risk and reward like the founder who plays at that level.
One offer priced with conviction.
I used to have multiple packages. It works when you’re testing your market and trying to catch a budget-fish but the £50k founder doesn’t want to choose between tiers.
What they want is for YOU to tell them how you’ll solve their problem.
That’s a different question, and it requires a different answer. High-value clients are deciding who to trust. Giving them options reduces the conviction you hold in that solution.
“Scaling”, in this sense, is about narrowing rather than expanding. It’s standing behind one clear offer and having the conviction to back it versus trying to please each price point.
Scaling in this sense, means being ballsy. 😈 I’ll double down on ME
Like I said, the £50k client already believes in branding. They’re launching a brand with a capital B, which is why they’re investing in it properly, versus buying a logo.
The decision is: Is Laura the right person to trust with their money and their business in order to multiply that 50k?
The answer is yes, obviously. 🌝 But, that comes down to How I See Me.
So many creatives hold back on charging more because they don’t quite believe that they can hold that number…. I don’t mean in a metaphysical sense of ‘holding’ the number but I mean – you might assume that more money means more work and more responsibility.
You might think, what if I do a shit job?
THIS is where confidence and inner work comes out to play.
What if I told you that I do the ✨exact same✨ with the 30k projects as I used to at 2k? you.do.not. need to do more to earn more! Sometimes, I do even less, because I’ve streamlined some things and these days I work smarter not harder. 🌝 heh 😈
Much of what I’ve been working on in the last year is building the internal capacity to hold the expansion without letting it rattle me -whereas in the past, I used to feel stressed and frantic and worrisome about doing the most, fast and for everyone; the more money I made.
Today – scaling = steady.
If we are rebranding ‘scaling’ – it’s growth, it’s expansion. It’s inner and outer wealth. It’s not an office.
But the unapologetic pursuit of what you want and being the person who can hold it, and keep it. Scaling makes you bigger, expanding makes you freer.
What this actually comes down to:
The old version of scaling was: book more, hire more, volume. I don’t think that’s wrong, but I don’t think it’s the whole picture either – especially not at the lifestyle level I’m aiming for.
The shift that’s changed things for me is moving from ‘how do I get more?’ to ‘how do I hold more but do less at the same time?’ Not “do less”, in like a lazy-less.
But smart, less. Steady, less.
I know some of you are itching to grow your businesses, but you know that your next level isn’t about turning your creative business into a machine.
If that’s the case – I think you’ll like it. No, love it. (and no, you don’t need to be charging £30k – that’s just my story, yours will be different. Come as you are.)
To begin, start with this: “The Client Attraction Framework That Has Nothing To Do With Going Viral… Finally.” 👀
the podcast and workbook that goes deeper than viral. (ahhh, virality. another more is more thing from the internet 🙄) In my part of the internet, scaling isn’t about shouting louder or going viral.
It’s about becoming so fucking steady in your conviction that you don’t need it.
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