A Replacement for the Old Paradigm
If your goal is to scale a business that produces actual wealth (which we’re defining here as freedom in time, money, and influence) and doesn’t chase it’s own tail for 9-10 months out of the year, this article is going to be critically important for you.
So prepare to read it and read it carefully (then re-read it as often as needed to reset your thinking).
We’ll begin with a quick exercise.
- Grab a piece of paper and something to write with.
- Draw a line down the middle of the paper.
- On one side of the line write “Trapped.”
- On the other write “Thriving.”
Now, be honest with yourself for a minute.
On the side marked, “Trapped,” write down the last time something inside of your business made you feel truly stuck and unable to escape.
On the opposite side, under “Thriving,” reflect on the last thing to happen inside of your business that made you feel like you were winning.
Pause. Think about where you are in your business right now. Which side of the line are you on?
If many business owners were honest, they’d be forced to admit that they spend most of their time in the Trapped column. They chase the next big tactic, the next course, the next “silver bullet” to fix their revenue problems. They work harder, burn more energy, and end up in the same place: overworked, underpaid, and wondering why growth feels just out of reach.
What we’re about to tell you can relieve you of having to feel that way again.
Feeling “trapped” stems from a lack of two things. If you understand these two things, and you learn how to multiply them (using a framework like the one we’re about to teach you) you can escape the Trapped column forever.
No we are not exaggerating.
The Issue with Most Scaling Advice – Incompleteness
Consultants are bombarded with half-truths. Spend more on ads. Hustle harder. Copy this script. Hire that coach. It’s the equivalent of throwing ingredients into a bucket and hoping a cake emerges from the oven.
Without the right proportions, order, and timing, you end up with a mess.
In our extensive experience, growth is not a guessing game. There is a sequence to it, a recipe. And when the recipe is followed, businesses move from fragile to durable, from unpredictable to unstoppable.
This is the essence of the framework we’re about to teach you called “The 8 Dials.”
The 8 Dials Framework
Every business operates eight distinct dimensions (or dials).
Three drive revenue at the top:
- Offer
- Marketing
- Sales
Five form a stable base for consistent growth:
- Delivery
- Mindwork
- Balance
- Team & People
- Finance & Cash Flow
Together, they form the architecture of scalable consulting. Let’s break down each one a little further, then explain how understanding their “place” inside of your business strategy and what levers to pull in each when you’re heading towards a stuck place can elevate you beyond ever feeling trapped in your business again.
One – Offer
A weak offer starves everything else. Offers must do more than promise results—they must command premium pricing and deliver undeniable outcomes. This is where consultants often undercut themselves.
That’s why it’s one of the core growth dials. If you fix the holes in your offer, everything else gets easier. A well-structured offer not only sells easier but also creates leverage across every other dial.
Two – Marketing
This is where attention is captured. Without a steady stream of new eyes, even the best offer dies in the dark. Yet most consultants rely on hope as a strategy—hoping referrals come in, hoping a post goes viral. Marketing requires a system that predictably draws in the right clients at the right time.
For a deeper dive on how to create momentum here, revisit our thoughts on The Scaling Flywheel.
Three – Sales
Attention without conversion is wasted energy. Excellent and efficient sales processes take qualified buyers from prospect to paying client WITHOUT bullying them, coercing them, or making them feel disempowered and trapped.
It all starts (and ends) with the first rule of Sales – your job is to help the prospect do what is best for THEM. Not for YOU. Align your sales systems to this and you will never actually “lose” a sale.
When you have your sales processes dialed in, they operate like a clean pipeline, turning leads into predictable cash flow.
Four – Service Delivery
Scaling begins to break when fulfillment can’t keep pace with sales. Service delivery must be designed for efficiency, consistency, and delight. A consultant who cannot retain clients will forever be chasing new ones, stuck in the cycle of starting over every month.
Five – Mind Work
Mindset is not enough. Growth requires mind work—the ongoing process of rewiring beliefs and behaviors that sabotage progress. Consultants often plateau not because the market is against them, but because they are unknowingly working against themselves. This dial keeps the operator aligned with the mission.
Six – Balance
Burnout is a business killer. Growth achieved at the expense of health, relationships, or mental clarity is short-lived. Balance ensures longevity. It allows consultants to scale while remaining whole—an essential principle for those seeking the highest levels of consulting freedom (explored in our piece on The 4 Levels of Freedom).
Seven – Team & Balance
No consultant wins alone. A high-output team multiplies capacity and preserves energy. Hiring the wrong people—or failing to hire at all—locks the founder in the weeds. This dial focuses on building a team that can think, act, and execute without constant oversight.
Eight – Finance & Cash Flow
Cash is the oxygen of a business. A consulting firm may have strong sales, but without financial clarity, it suffocates. Forecasting, margins, and disciplined cash flow management create the stability needed to scale without fear of collapse.
Why Order Matters
Turning these dials at random creates chaos. Growth accelerates when adjustments are made deliberately, in sequence, and in proportion. The consultant who understands the recipe can diagnose problems quickly, apply precise corrections, and prevent the system from cracking under pressure.
Businesses that master the 8 Dials reach a point where revenue compounds while effort decreases. They stop sprinting from one crisis to the next and begin operating from a place of control. This is where we see the transition from potential to prosperity.
Turning the Dials in Your Business
Where is your torque hiding? Which dial in your business is under-rotated, under-optimized, or completely ignored?
The consultants we work with who master this framework rarely stay stuck. They move from chasing revenue to engineering it. They build businesses that last. And when these dials are tuned correctly, they create room for layering additional products, stacking multiple streams of revenue strategically, and building true enterprise value. If you’d like to explore this concept further, we break down this approach in Layering Your Consulting Products.
The levers are there. The question is: will you turn them?
The Wealthy Consultant’s Handbook
The 8 Dials framework is just one of the models we teach clients. If you are serious about growing your business and you want to take a peek at 15 of our very favorite growth and sustainability models designed to take you from stressed to scaling, we’ve compiled them for you in our book, “The Wealthy Consultant.” Already a best-seller on Amazon since it’s release, we’ve sold over 22,000 copies and counting. Discover what all of these coaches and consultants can’t get enough of.
