Picture this: 

You’re scrolling through Instagram, and there it is. Again. That creative entrepreneur you follow just announced their team has grown to 15 people. They’re hosting a 500-person conference. They just hit seven figures. Their launch generated 1,000 new customers overnight (as evidenced by the post-it-covered wall full of names).

And here you are, happily running your creative business that’s… well, exactly where you want it to be. No viral posts. No legion of employees. Just you (maybe a small support team) and a roster of clients you absolutely love.

So why does it suddenly feel like you’re failing?

The Pressure to Scale Is Real 

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room – the pressure to scale is everywhere in our creative business world, especially online!

Social media has turned business success into a performance sport. Bigger followers. Bigger audiences. Bigger teams. Bigger sales numbers. Bigger events. Bigger launches. Bigger vanity metrics like views, likes, and comments. 

All those flashy numbers, metrics, stylish offices, extravagant launch parties, and social media posts showing hundreds of comments from raving fans? They all come with playing in the creative entrepreneur world, especially online where we’re constantly bombarded by these “success markers.”

We live in the time of the influencer. And whether we mean to or not, we all measure ourselves against what we see presented as “successful” on social platforms.

Your Network Amplifies the Noise

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…

…your network is SO important to the long-term success of your business!

But let’s be honest, when you’re catching up with contacts, family, friends, or peers in your industry, it’s way more exciting to talk about:

• The bigger projects you’re taking on
• The new team members you’re onboarding
• Your skyrocketing, super impressive sales numbers
• That video that went viral and all the orders that rolled in

Rather than saying, “I’m good. Things are good. It’s pretty much status quo, I’m holding steady.”

Sometimes it even feels like people are thinking you’re just saying that because you’re not seeing the success they assume you want. It can be hard to say “I’m good” when everyone else out there seems to be chasing more and growing all the time.

It’s so easy to fall into the trap of truly believing that if you aren’t scaling, you’re failing. That if your business isn’t growing, it’s dying.

People say that all the time, and it’s simply not true.

But What’s Behind All That Shiny “Success”?

Success is heavily filtered on social media. And these days? It’s often carefully curated, meticulously edited, and strategically presented to make everything look effortlessly perfect.

But what’s the real cost behind that big team, those high-pressure projects, and that high-visibility lifestyle full of flashy “success indicators”?

For many quote-un-quote “successful” business owners this often means:

• Hours away from family
• Over-leveraging their financial investments
• Stress of maintaining it all and delivering on promises that get bigger and better every time
• Navigating the ever-complex dynamics of a large team
• Managing a big pool of clients (more clients = more likely to have complaints and issues)

With bigger success comes bigger problems. “New level, new devil,” right? These are very real things.

I’m not saying scaling is BAD. I’m not saying all successful brands are deceiving you. I’m not even saying that envying or setting goals to reach those levels you deem successful is wrong.

What I AM saying is this: be very self-aware of what TRUE success looks like, and more importantly, how it FEELS to you and not just from the outside looking in.

Success Should Feel Successful to YOU

Once you’re aware of the compromises required at each new level you can better decide if making those trade-offs aligns with your version of success. If it will feel successful to have that thing that seems so great but also requires these other sacrifices, then GO FOR IT!

I am not in any way asking you to hold yourself back or water-down your ambition.

But if those compromises don’t align with your values? It’s OK to reevaluate and maybe accept that your version of success might look different than the one you’ve been idolizing because it’s in your face.

Your version and definition of success might actually be:

• A little less flashy
• A little slower-paced
• A little less frantic or stressful
• A little MORE full of time and energy to spend doing things you love
• MORE full of the people you love and quality time with them
• MORE full of growing, exploring, and enjoying things outside your business 
• MORE full of freedom from the grind

These are all wonderful, successful things that don’t necessarily show up in our hustle culture or on the algorithm but can actually be more fulfilling than the luxury vacations, dream car, house, or sipping cocktails poolside as money flows in.

Let Me Share a Personal Story

A few years ago, I hit a tipping point in my business. I was completely booked out for both my coaching and COO services and kept getting more inquiries. I hated turning people away, but I had a hard line on what I was able to take on while also being a wife and mom to two young kiddos.

I seriously considered starting an agency and building a team that I could train in my systems and ways, allowing us to serve as outsourced COOs to a higher volume of creative entrepreneurs. I talked to my husband about it, crunched numbers, and looked at different models. I even talked to a peer I trust who had built a successful COO agency to get her perspective.

After soul searching, I decided NOT to start the agency. It wasn’t about control (I’m totally fine with training and delegating). It was about opening my already very full life to additional variables.

If I were to have gone the other route and built an agency, as the owner, I would still be the one making promises to clients. Integrity is my biggest core value, along with client experience. If a team member got sick or couldn’t deliver, I knew I would personally step in. With two young kiddos at home (I was very much a naptime warrior back then), I didn’t want to risk having to choose between my kids and my clients when unexpected workloads inevitably popped up.

Now, it wasn’t about not having ANY team. I do have an amazing support team (shoutout to Sam and Riley) who make Erin Cantwell Co. possible! But, while they do so much for my business, they’re not client-facing. They support behind the scenes, allowing me to show up fully for my clients and my family.

I didn’t want to manage my family + my clients + a client-facing team.

My friend has a big, successful agency. The stuff she gets to do, the people she serves, her metrics, they’re amazing. And I love that for her!

But it’s not right for me at this point. 

I feel successful that I get to pick my kids up from the bus, volunteer in their classrooms, chaperone trips, and spend spring break days with them without work demands pulling me away from the playground or batting cage adventures.

Define Success on YOUR Terms

To make these decisions, I had to be crystal clear on what my definition of success was and how I wanted to measure it.

Without that clarity, it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of scaling and chasing more, more, more because that’s what we’re constantly served.

Without understanding what you would need to realistically give up to get there, and how that influences how successful you’ll ultimately feel, you’ll never understand why those success metrics don’t quite resonate.

The world loves to tell us: “You need more! You want more! You have to keep getting more!”

But I’m here to tell you it’s OK to be content. You aren’t a failure if you’re happy and successful where you are right now.

And remember,  priorities in your life and business come in seasons. What feels right today might change tomorrow. The scale at which you operate and feel successful might evolve as you grow and change. 

That’s perfectly okay too.

Your Definition of Success is YOUR Measuring Stick

So before you beat yourself up for not scaling fast enough or feel that twinge of envy at someone else’s “success,” remember:

Build the business YOU want, not the one “they” expect.

Your definition of success is your guiding light, your measuring stick for growth opportunities, clients, and the direction of your business.

Because at the end of the day, if you’re measuring yourself against someone else’s ruler, you’ll never quite measure up.

Ready to Define Success on YOUR Terms?

Feeling truly successful is something we all strive for. But how we define success is not universal. In fact, it is deeply personal and unique to each individual.

As a creative entrepreneur, understanding how YOU define success can be the secret sauce that propels you AND your business to new heights. It can serve as your guiding compass, helping you more skillfully navigate the twists and turns of your entrepreneurial journey.

As a business coach, I’ve worked with countless clients on redefining their version of success. I’ve honed this process to be not only effective but also tangible and easy to implement.

And now, I want to share it with you.

Click the link below and I’ll send my Definition of Success Exercise straight to your inbox!