116 — The Scale Scorecard & Growth Audit Revealed: 35 Key Ingredients to Scale, Exit, or Step Back
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This week, I talk about transforming your business with the Scale Scorecard: a tool to identify and close gaps in your business so you can achieve your goal of stepping up for investment, stepping back to install management, or stepping out for a full exit.
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In this episode, I introduce the Scale Scorecard, a diagnostic tool I’ve developed to help Founders self-assess their business’s scalability, sellability, and overall growth potential. I have identified 35 key ingredients critical for successful scaling and put these into a free tool that gives Founders clarity and actionable steps towards achieving their dreams of attracting investment, stepping back from daily operations, or preparing for a profitable exit.
In the podcast, I talk about:Â Â Â Â
- Why Founders hit growth ceilings: Founders often reach a point where business growth becomes unsustainable without foundational improvements. I discuss how weak systems, lack of delegation, and undefined roles limit scalability. Strengthening these foundational elements prevents Founder burnout and sets the stage for a smooth, profitable scale-up or exit.
- The Scale Scorecard: The 35-question diagnostic tool that evaluates seven key areas, including strategy, execution, leadership, team, financials, offer, sales, and support, revealing strengths and pinpointing areas for improvement.
- Real-world application - Sam’s story: I introduce "Sam," a $14M business owner who uncovered critical insights about his business's execution, sales, and support systems. After taking the Scale Scorecard & a free Growth Audit, Sam was able to identify gaps in his business and prioritise his next moves, resulting in greater scalability without burnout.
- Growth Audit insights: Completing a Scale Scorecard unlocks the option for a free 45-minute Growth Audit with me. Through this Audit, Founders receive tailored advice on their top priorities for the next 90 days and beyond, translating insights from the scorecard into actionable steps.
Don’t miss this impactful episode. Listen now!
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ABOUTÂ OURÂ GUEST:
Sean's not a startup guy.He is an expert in buying, building, and scaling businesses.
With his teams, he developed growth strategies and execution plans that led to the creation of over $100 million in new revenue for 4 companies over 8 years.
These companies included both large and small businesses, so Sean is uniquely positioned to understand the challenges Founders face at different stages of their scaling journey.
Sean now shares his methodology and frameworks for preparing for investment, installing management and full exits for 1m-30m businesses through his advisory services, podcasts and education programs.
The founders Sean mentors personally grow revenue by an average of 43%, EBITDA by 94% and enterprise value of 111% over the first two years.
He brings over 15 years of experience in growing businesses to the table. He’s integrated 7 brands into larger structures, scrutinised over 200 acquisitions, and consulted with ASX-listed companies on their acquisition strategies.
Sean is also the host of the ScaleHQ Podcast where he shares his methods, interviews successful entrepreneurs, experts on scaling, and Founders striving to scale.
About Sean Steele
Sean has led several education businesses through various growth stages including 0-3m, 1-6m, 3-50m and 80m-120m. He's evaluated over 200 M&A deals and integrated or started 7 brands within larger structures since 2012. Sean's experience in building the foundations of organisations to enable scale uniquely positions him to host the ScaleUps podcast.
