4 Common Business Mistakes to Avoid - Scaling | Tory Burch Foundation

When you launch your business, you’re not thinking about what it will take to scale—you’re too busy trying to make it work. By the time you need to focus on growth, you may not be in a position to do that. 

Why? You never laid the foundation. Now you’re stuck, and you don’t know why. Or worse: the decisions that got you off the ground are currently getting in your way. 

Lesley Batson knows this pattern of common business mistakes to avoid well. As founder and CEO of You Bet Your Assets!, she has a proven track record of preparing and positioning entrepreneurs for long-term scalability and profitability. It’s not enough to simply chase growth; the business has to be able to support it as well. “You want to make sure your business can handle the increase in demand,” she said, “and that it can continue even if you need to step away,” whether for an emergency or an exit. 

You want to make sure your business can handle the increase in demand…and that it can continue even if you need to step away.

Here, as part of our webinar series, Batson walked us through it all—the most common barriers leaders face, the fixes that actually move the needle and the tech to help you get there. 

CHALLENGE #1: THE JUGGLING ACT

Every founder is familiar with this: you’re running yourself ragged doing everything. You have to, right? Otherwise, things won’t get done properly. Or, it takes too long to explain. 

That means that you’re the problem. “You’re trying to juggle everything at once,” said Batson. “It just isn’t sustainable.”

The signs are obvious. Quality dips. Output slows down. Expenses creep up. Revenue might be increasing—but the bottom line isn’t. You need to switch from doing to leading and here’s how: 

• Identify the essential roles. What can you not outsource? 

• Delegate the rest. Build your team, one person at a time—employees, contractors, advisors—and trust them. 

• Understand your cash flow and margins. If costs are rising with sales—or if inventory is increasing while profits are shrinking—you must know why. Tools like Fathom and Quickbooks can help you dig into these numbers. 

• Not a numbers person? Hire someone who is. If all your CPA does is your tax return, “you may need to move on,” said Batson. Consider a fractional CFO, if you can’t commit to one full-time. 
• Establish clear KPIs. Data drives strategic decisions. 

For solopreneurs in a service-based business: 

Productize your work. Batson pointed to herself as an example. While she meets with clients one-on-one, she also offers workshops and digital products to generate additional revenue. The idea is to scale with mailbox money—passive income that involves little to no effort. A landscaper, for instance, could design a course teaching other landscapers how to start their own business. And, of course, leave the door open to bring in consultants eventually. 

CHALLENGE #2: LACK OF SYSTEMS

Errors usually begin small—a miscommunication here, a missed payment there. Over time, they inevitably compound. “It’s essential to have systems in place to operate efficiently and with some predictability,” Batson stressed. 

Take these steps to figure out what systems you need. 

How to Make SOPs for Your Business

• Map the critical processes throughout your business, in every department. Or bring in someone to help, such as a fractional COO—fresh eyes can spot the vulnerabilities you’re too close to see. 

• Establish strict standard operating procedures (SOPs), detailed checklists for routine tasks (e.g., a new customer flow) to hold people accountable and minimize mistakes. They’re also an effective way to onboard new employees—as Batson noted, you’re paying them to earn, not learn. 
• As before, use tech tools to streamline things—her favorites include Waybook and Manifestly. 

• Update SOPs as the company scales. How frequently depends on your size and type of business: monthly, quarterly or annually. “It’s an iterative process,” she explained. 

“Not only do SOPs provide checks and balances when escalation occurs,” said Batson, “but they also diversify your team’s skill set because everyone knows a little bit about what other people do. If someone is out, another person can step in and get things accomplished.”

For solopreneurs:

Batson even urges solopreneurs to build their own SOPs. “If you transfer your business, your systems and data are valuable,” she said. “Clean systems are much more attractive to a buyer.” 

CHALLENGE #3: NO PLAYBOOK.

Whereas SOPs are granular, covering specific, tactical tasks, playbooks are a comprehensive guide to how the business works (unlike a business plan, which focuses on strategy). 

• Create one for every part of your business. A sales playbook, for example, includes the products, the target customer, the software you use as well as a description of the company and branding. “I’m bringing you in to sell this company,” Batson explained, “so you need to understand all dimensions to sell it right.” 

• Next, hire into it. A playbook sets the standard so everyone is on the same page.

• Get the team involved. Their feedback is crucial and buy-in ensures the playbook gets used. 
• As the business evolves, so should your playbook. That’s the beauty of taking the time to do it right the first time; the framework is already there. 

“You want efficiencies, you want repeatability, you want consistency,” said Batson. When it’s time to scale or expand into new markets, you can do so quickly.  

CHALLENGE #4: POOR CUSTOMER RETENTION.

You think you have a good relationship with your customers—but you rarely hear from them again. Repeat sales are declining. Maybe more people are unsubscribing from your emails. These are all signs that you may have a customer retention problem. 

“What have you done for your customers lately? What are you doing to stay in front of them?” Batson urged our community. Below, her tips to lure them back. 

• Segment your customers into A, B and C tiers. “You want more of your top clients,” Batson said. “You want them to be your ambassadors, screaming from the rooftops to work with you.” 

• Engage with your A list in a more personal way. Call them, connect with them. Use handwritten notes. Tailor campaigns to them. Invite them to special events. The goal here is to make them feel seen. 

• Get customer feedback. Ask what else you could do and what problems they need solving. Who knows? They might inspire a new product line. For help coming up with survey questions, leverage AI. 

• Differentiate yourself after the sale. “Intentional messaging matters,” said Batson. “Don’t just bombard them with upsells—that’s a turn-off. There are softer ways to do this.”

• Look closely at your sales mix—the balance of new, repeat and recurring sales. Prioritize increasing the last two; if your end game is a high-valuation exit, this makes a difference. 

BEYOND THE BUSINESS.

It’s easy, as an entrepreneur, to let your business consume everything. But as Batson said, “Don’t let it become your whole pie. Make sure you don’t ignore the other parts of your life.”

While it may power your life economically, it shouldn’t come at the expense of it. In fact, the same preparation we’ve been talking about thus far doesn’t just position you for growth, it protects everything outside of the office, too. 

Batson brought up a former client as a perfect case in point. When her husband was hospitalized, she suddenly had to step away from her firm for seven months. The business didn’t stall or fall apart in her absence. It actually posted record revenue—and all because she had laid the proper foundation early on. 

This client had key hires, including HR, in place. SOPs and playbooks were already established. She had good relationships with her customers. Employees were loyal, too, since she had cultivated a strong company culture from the start. All of which meant her leadership didn’t depend on her presence. 

“The unexpected can happen at any time,” said Batson. “Focus on leading even when life keeps life-ing. The power is in your hands.”