You're Not Growing a Business. You're Growing a Bottleneck.

Melanie Barr: Welcome to She Built It. I'm your host, Melanie Bar. Most founders eventually hit a point where the business is growing, but so are the hours, pressure, and decisions that still depend on them. Revenue climbs, but freedom doesn't. Today's guest [music] spent decades helping founders change that. Allison Maslin has built 10 companies, named one of Forb's top 10 women entrepreneurs to watch, and is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Scale or Fail, endorsed by Shark Tanks, Barbara Cochran. Through Pinnacle Global Network, she and her team have helped thousands of founders build the leadership systems and structures needed to scale beyond themselves. Allison, thank you for being with us. Welcome to She Built It. I'm your host, Melanie Bar. Thank you for joining us, Allison.

Speaker 2: I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for having me.

Melanie Barr: Most founders do not realize when they've become the bottleneck. What is the first sign a business has outgrown its founder and the way a founder is

Speaker 2: leading it? Well, it's usually from the founders's experience because in the early days, you're used to being able to get your arms around everything. But as the business grows and expands, there's only one of you. And so, it's really impossible. But generally, the founders continue to try to do that, you know, it really affects their health, their relationships. It becomes all consuming. and they think they're helping by having their eyes on everything, but they're actually choking the growth of the business.

Melanie Barr: It's interesting because many times I think about my own business and I think, what advice would I give someone else if they owned my business? And it's interesting how that shifts your mindset and you look at it completely different because when you're in it, there's so much that you can't see.

Speaker 2: Yeah. Exactly. And a lot of times, you know, like there's that inner voice inside that knows that you need to do something differently or you need to let go of that person or you don't really need to be in this meeting and you could actually stop talking, but there is that inner anxiety often times for business owners because you're so afraid what could happen if I can't find somebody or what if they make a mistake and so that ends up driving the behavior. but it actually is working against the business owner and the company.

Melanie Barr: It's so true. I remember early on I would be worried about losing a key team member and then I'd find someone that brought new energy, new ideas. It's

Speaker 2: You're right. You have to learn to relax into those moments. And it's not always easy, especially if they're a key team member in your business. It's so true. And there's that saying, what got you here won't get you there really applies to the team as well. You may have had some great people that have worked hard, that have been loyal, and have taken your company here, but they just don't have the foresight, the leadership, the motivation actually to take it to that next level.

Melanie Barr: Tell us more about Pinnacle Global Network, what you do, and what it actually looks like for a founder to go through the scale it method. Pinnacle

Speaker 2: Global Network is my 10th company. And when I was ready to decide what was that next business going to be, I started getting a lot of people asking me, "Hey Allison, how do you build these companies? Can you teach me?" And so I started doing that just because I wanted to help. And then I really realized that there was such a need. And I knew that I could only help so many people. And I had learned through my prior businesses how to build a company that didn't depend on me. How to build a more scalable model so you could multiply your reach, your impact, and your profits. And how to build a team-managed company so the founder could be that visionary CEO. And I had learned early on the impact because I nearly imploded personally, emotionally, and financially from doing the opposite. So I spent these years figuring out this model and I built that scale it method which is our signature process but I built it for myself to help me build these scalable companies. When I launched Pinnacle Global Network I really felt like this was filling a need for so many business owners so that they could have a life but they could also truly scale their company. And so this is what we've been doing for 17 years. We have 40 mentors on the team that have also built very successful companies of their own. Some of them have had thousands of employees.

Mentor experience

Speaker 2: They've scaled internationally. They've acquired companies. So just tons and tons of experience and they are matched.

Speaker 2: The founders, the CEOs that come in, we assess them and we match them to their mentor who becomes really their confidant, their strategic advisor for, you know, the length of time that they're with us. And we have many members that have been with us over 10 years. And then we we help them build out their vision, their big picture vision of where they're going, where they want to take the company and that process because most business owners really have no idea. And then we help them reverse engineer that into a strategic plan and really walk them through the process, you know, all the decisions, all the surprises that come along and really keep them focused on the biggest needle movers. and we have an amazing peer-to-peer community of founders all over the world and we do events and all kinds of other trainings.

Melanie Barr: It's great that you're supporting businesses through those challenges because so often someone can look at a successful company and think, "Oh, this just happened yesterday." And they don't see all of the really hard times and the pivots and the shifts that come with growing a successful business.

Speaker 2: Oh yeah. I mean, it's not for the faint of heart and you've got to build a level of resilience. And you know, we work with business owners at that have hit that seven figures and up because it's it's a whole different level of foresight and strategy. You know, you're dealing with a lot more people on your team. But by that point, you know, the business owners have already experienced a lot of stress, making a lot of mistakes. So, you do at that point build more resilience. It's important, I think, for anybody listening here, whoever whoever you work with, don't be afraid to ask for help. and you're so close to the business. You don't see the blind spots. I mean, you might have a million-doll answer or a $10 million answer right at your under your nose, but you're you're operating out of habit and you're missing it all together.

Speaker 2: And often when you have hundreds of employees, sometimes it's challenging to find that right person to go to and you can feel like you're alone on an island. And you're right. Yes, you're right. You can't go to your team necessarily or a family member.

Speaker 2: Yeah. And you know, from the outside, people think you have it all together. And if you start complaining, they're looking at you like, "What's your problem? You have this great business and you're making money." So, yeah, it's definitely important to surround yourself with people that get you and that speak your language. And when our community comes together, they often say, "Oh, it feels like coming home."

Speaker 2: Or, "I was so surprised that they go through a lot of the same things." And in totally different industries. It could be someone in the beauty industry and then someone that's developed some engineering widget that goes onto a part in a grocery store. They all have teams. They all need to market. They all need to sell. They all need leadership. So having the support is critical. You

Melanie Barr: mentioned you've built multiple companies. What do founders consistently misunderstand about scaling beyond themselves?

Speaker 2: I think that there's a lot of guilt involved. I think especially with women more so when we are delegating and asking other people for help or we're getting out of the day-to-day and we're focused on the future of the company stepping into that visionary role. A lot of times for women they feel like no I got to get into the trenches. I I need to show them that I am working as hard as they are. but it's actually you're in the way of your team being able to do their own magic to be creative and to bring that innovation to the table. From

Melanie Barr: what you've seen when an established company hits a gross ceiling where do you usually look first leadership systems revenue models or somewhere

Speaker 2: else? It's different for every person, but usually they are in their own way in most cases. Like they know they need to hire that next leader, but they're afraid to make the move. They're afraid to get out of the meetings and let somebody else run them. We can be our own worst enemy. And then the other piece is really learning how to step into leadership. How do you move from being a boss to being a leader? Instead of micromanaging, you want to be empowering your team to own it. So instead of giving them the answers when they constantly come at you with questions, uh when you're doing that, you're just training them to think like you, but instead saying something like, "What would you do in this situation?

Speaker 2: How would you handle it?" Or, "Why don't you put a plan together and present it to the team?" So now you're treating your team like they own their role. They own that part of the company. And so there's a whole energetic shift that changes in the business. And you start to see these leaders emerge so that they can step back. So yes, it's systems and processes. Yes, it's cash flow and operations, but it starts at the top and everybody is going to mirror you.

Melanie Barr: How are you using AI inside Pinnacle today and where do you think AI can most change the way a company scales? I mean

Speaker 2: we are using it through every department, every aspect of the business and you know part of it is getting your employees comfortable with using it and not intimidated but we really work to make sure that everybody is utilizing AI in the different projects that they're working on. We use Claude and we have the whole Claude on team and we use Claude co-work and we're communicating together through that. But we have also built several of our own. For instance, our scale it method. We have a Scale It Method software that our clients use with their mentor. That's how they work together and track their business and so forth. Of course, we built that the year before AI became so accessible. So, it was, you know, many, many hundreds of thousands of dollars. We have now rebuilt that. So everything is powered through AI which helps the CEO so much.

Speaker 2: It just saves so much time. Uh but we've just been really getting creative with it and utilizing it on so many different strategies and tools to bring those

Melanie Barr: And thank you so much for saying both of those things because we are shifting towards community because AI can't replace that. And some businesses might not be around anymore if they don't especially if they don't make those needed shifts that you mentioned.

Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean it's already happening. Mh. And so you got to find out where's your strength outside of just a knowledge base cuz people can get those answers. And so it's really going to be that customer experience, that customization, that individualization that they feel.

Speaker 2: And AI can be so fun, but it's also there's so much coming at us at all times. There's so many different platforms to use. And I love it. It's so much fun to learn, but some days I just have to say, "Okay, I'm putting everything away. I'm gonna [clears throat] go for a walk on the beach and not think about technology.

Melanie Barr: I know. It is so true. It's I I'm I'm in a few groups myself with other leaders of of communities and we share things and sometimes it is just they're blowing up with you know the latest and the greatest and it it can be a lot for sure.

Melanie Barr: What is Pinnacle's biggest growth challenge right now and how are you

Speaker 2: solving it? We are expanding globally which is very exciting and it's always been part of the vision and so in fact we are getting ready to launch in Paris and we have mentors now in Paris so it's getting everything translated to French and all of our tools and everything we do and of course AI makes that easier but just because something translates to a new language doesn't mean it transfers if you know what I mean.

Speaker 2: Yes. because they the meaning is different. And so we're preparing for this event and and figuring out how we're because some of the speakers are speaking in English, some of them are speaking in French and so we're having the you know, of course the subtitles up on the screen and the headphones and we are expanding all over Europe and Asia and that's yeah that's really exciting for us and it's also a massive undertaking.

Melanie Barr: Yes, I would I would assume and congratulations. I would think that going into different cultures too would be a little bit of a challenge in thinking about what's important to them as it relates to business.

Speaker 2: Yeah, we've always had international clients but we haven't had our mentors with feet on the ground in those countries. And so that's the shift and that is for that exact reason for the economics to really understand that and the culture because very different. I mean even with this French launch the way we offer what we do is slightly different. Mhm.

Melanie Barr: You mentioned that Pinnacle has now 35 CEO mentors or more. How do you scale a hightouch business without losing that quality culture like we were just talking about and trust?

Speaker 2: Yeah, I think the most important thing and this is for all businesses really is vision and leading with vision and that underlying why that is the driver of that vision. And you know whe whether you're small and you can all sit at a table, you've got hundreds of employees weaving that vision and that why from the very beginning from that very first interview. And so it's not uncommon that I get on with the whole team and talk about vision and why we're here and the impact that we're making, you know, as a reminder. And it really is the reason that we've been able to attract all these amazing people on the team. uh because sometimes I'm my mind is blown you know of of the quality of the team but I think the other important piece is to get to know your team members and what are their dreams what do they want in their life what's important to them and so if you can find that intersection between their their vision and your vision and help them see that the company vision can fuel their dreams right so you know there's there's very much a reciprocal energy around that.

Melanie Barr: What is one scaling decision that looks smart from the outside but often creates a problem inside the business?

Speaker 2: It's definitely a balance when you're thinking about scalable models. And that's something that we teach. We teach 15 different scalable models, whether it's franchise or certification or subscription or replacing the talent with a team, you know, like what we do with having a team of mentors. That's a scalable model. It can get very exciting and you're like, I want to do this one and I want to do this one and I want to do this one. And not to say that you can't because if you think of a company like H&R Block for instance, they do taxes, nothing really sexy, but they have certification, they have digital, they have, you know, we'll do it for you, you do it yourself, and they have a whole ladder of choices. So, you absolutely can do that, but you know, you want to get your foundation really strong first. You don't want to start adding all these additions like you're building a house and you're starting to add all these different aspects before you get that foundation because otherwise the whole thing will fall apart. And you can build a billion-dollar company with one scalable model.

Speaker 2: If you look at like Orange Theory for instance, they do franchise master franchise. That's it. So I think that we can get that shiny object syndrome and get, you know, too excited. And I love the creativity, believe me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had 10 different companies. So, I can be like that myself. And I've had to learn to just kind of step back and take a breath.

Melanie Barr: That's so true. Thank you for that reminder about being able to scale with one thing. And I think AI brings in, you know, those shiny new things even more. So, as a leader, you think, oh, it'd be really easy to go and add this. But you're right, staying that course is is so important.

Speaker 2: Yeah, it's it's really really true. And having someone that can kind of call you out on it too, I think is really important. And we definitely do that with our CEO clients. Like, okay, hold on. Let's get this accomplished first. Or is this really moving you to your big picture vision or do we need to put it in the parking lot for now?

Melanie Barr: As you build your business, what is bringing you the most joy right now outside of the business?

Speaker 2: I was not expecting that, but that is so fun.

Speaker 2: It is. But for me, it's almost like a moving meditation because you know business your mind is going all over the place. I got to do this. I got to do this. you know, you're always thinking of what's next. But when you're up there, you have to focus. I mean, it is really critical for your own safety that you stay laser focused. And so that helps me to kind of integrate everything. And then I also face my fear up there. And so I become more courageous on the ground. And that's so fun. So I love that.

Melanie Barr: Yeah. So many I love that uh similarities to business actually.

Melanie Barr: Yeah. So fun. Allison, thank you so much for joining us today. Please share with [music] us how and where we can find you.

Speaker 2: If you want to learn how we help business owners scale, I'm going to be giving everybody a copy of [music] my book, Scale or Fail, Wall Street Journal bestselling book that goes deeper into some of the things we talked about. And so [music] I can share that link with you and you can share it with your guests.