Yes, You Can Grow Your Business Profitably Without Selling Your Soul

“Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.”

Dolly Parton may not be your traditional business guru, but she certainly understood how to prioritize living life to the fullest.

Her quote sums up one of the biggest challenges I see in companies: entrepreneurs and leaders who feel that profitable growth and happiness are two opposite ends of a spectrum. Sometimes it feels as if we have to “choose” one or the other: do we grow a massively successful business that generates tons of profit or do we choose happiness, balance, and time with our family? In order to grow profitably, do we have to…sell our soul?

Allowing your entire life to revolve around your business may feel like the best direction for profit-fueled success. But ultimately, it is a strategy that hurts in the long run.

I would know. I built a business that grew exponentially in a short period of time. We generated a healthy profit margin and were speeding down a runway toward serious revenue. Along that journey, I got dealt a serious blow: burnout hit me (hard) - and it forced me to re-evaluate my health, my time management, and where my energy was going.

I grappled with the question for years:

Can an entrepreneur really achieve massive business success without selling out on the things that matter to them?

Burnout and exhaustion are long-term consequences coming from short-term choices and reactions. A recent study shared by Forbes in 2021 confirmed that burnout is on the rise: over 60% of entrepreneurs reported experiencing burnout in 2021, up from 43% the year prior.

I’ve learned that robust mental health and clear systems for managing ourselves are not only contributors to profitable growth; they are absolutely critical to long-term success.

We can grow a massively-successful, high-profit company without selling ourselves out in terms of health, time, or values. Here are 4 ways to do it - and they’ll make sure you never lose the love you have for your business.

1. Clarify Your Purpose

All companies nowadays are used to having their corporate values on their website or hanging on the wall of their office. While authentic values are absolutely critical, it’s your purpose that will keep you going in a hard moment. Clarifying your purpose and keeping it top of mind at all times will help remind you why you’ve been building your business.

Likely, the real reason (your core purpose) you started the company had nothing to do with profit, money, or EBITDA. If it was a dream you had, a drive to create something specific, or a feeling you wanted to encapsulate forever, it’s hidden somewhere in your core purpose. Focus on reminding yourself what your core purpose truly is. Profit will come after that - and it will come with the meaningful and passionate business idea you dreamed of creating.?

2. Play the Long Game

Growing a profitable business comes down to playing the long-game: thinking in systems, processes and longevity frameworks that help us generate slow and sustainable profit, not fast profit.

True success never happens overnight - but setting small goals and celebrating the wins along the way is key to seeing progress against a long-term growth continuum.

Implement structure to ensure your company is on a steady upward trajectory and focus on a handful of incredibly key metrics (cash flow, operating profit, working capital, LER) that will speak less to bottom-line dollars and more to long-term, steady growth.

However, as much as observing your investments slowly grow is so important, be sure to take a certain amount of profit out so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor.

3. Invest in People & Culture

All companies today claim to “care about employee health” - but so few actually live it. Tell yourself that your company will be part of the few: make health, well-being, and sustainable personal growth part of your core mission.

Ensuring people do not burn out and are happy within their daily working life is not only the “right thing to do”; it’s good for business. Any whisper of an unhappy employee should absolutely take up both your time and focus. It will send the message that you walk the walk when it comes to happiness and team satisfaction within your organization, above profits.

?If you lead with true empathy and kindness, teams and customers will feel it - and profitable growth will follow.

4. Take Care of Yourself

Huge sales revenue does not mean selling out your time and balance.

One of the things I see regularly (and relate to the most): entrepreneurs and business owners who are driving themselves into the ground on the path to financial success, thinking “I’ll be happy when…”

The “when” needs to start today - and it can.

Practicing mindfulness, taking clear time off away from the business, and shutting down on evenings and weekends will stop work from controlling your entire life. Setting clear rules and guidelines in terms of lifestyle work balance are important and will help your business and well being much more than it will hurt. Regular exercise and spending time outside can also be great not just for mental health but for strategic clarity which your business will directly benefit from.

Keep your purpose at the forefront of your mind; take care of yourself and those around you; embody a “champion of wellness” role for your teams; and remind yourself that true profitable growth means you are playing the long game. Do these things and you will never feel as if you are ‘selling your soul’ for your business’ growth - I promise you!

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Shawn Johal is a serial Entrepreneur & the Founder of Elevation Leaders, a Business Growth practice helping companies 10X their business valuation.