In my last blog, I shared how my business survived the COVID-19 shutdown. Like many others, it faced a major crisis, but through strategic cost-cutting, smart financial decisions, and a bit of luck, I managed to keep the doors open after the lockdown was lifted.
Now, as the economy slowly reopened, it was time for the next phase: scaling up and growing again.
Before the pandemic, my 2020 goal was to reach $300K in revenue and $140K in profit. But after losing three full months of business, those numbers had to be adjusted.
With an expected $25K in revenue per month, losing three months meant I would be down to $225K.
- However, I was optimistic that demand would remain strong as the economy reopened. There also was an increased demand for COVID rehab healthcare which the state paid for, something that would increase our revenue.
- Instead of settling for $225K, I aimed for $240K in revenue—a stretch goal that accounted for continued business growth.
- Profit expectations also changed. Since I had postponed my bank loan payments for 5 months* to conserve cash, I projected $90K in profit—$10K higher than in 2019.”
*The bank made it able for businesses to postpone the loan repayment for extra months.
We had been closed for half of March, all of April and May, and half of June. My only worry was that revenue would drop again in July and August, but luck was on my side again.
Because of the COVID restrictions and the tense situation surrounding another possible outbreak and lockdown, people were hesitant to go on vacation and stayed home. This resulted in a busy summer with a lot of hours seeing patients which also meant, more revenue than normal!
Then, something happened that proved just how strong our team had become.
My employee had planned her summer vacation back in 2019, long before COVID-19 changed everything. She had every reason to take the time off as planned.
But as the business picked up again, she came to me with a decision I didn’t see coming.
“I’ve decided not to go on vacation,” she said. “The timing doesn’t feel right. You paid me during the closure when I was at home, and I’ve already had enough time off. Right now, the business is starting up again, I will stay here to help.”
It was a simple decision on her part, but one that made a big impact. It reinforced the kind of workplace culture I wanted to build a business where people weren’t just employees, but truly invested in the business’s success.
This moment reinforced my belief in how I wanted to build my business: treat others as you want to be treated.
During my years as an employee, I worked under both terrible and exceptional employers. The difference was clear—I always gave more for the leaders who treated me well. That’s the kind of employer I wanted to be, setting an example of how to lead with fairness and respect.
H2: How to scale a small business after financial struggles
And off we went—July and August turned out to be just as good as January and February, with July bringing in around $27K and August $27.5K.
For summer months, these were exceptional numbers, and the business was finally able to regain some liquidity.
After everything that had happened in 2019 and the chaos of early 2020, I had almost stopped believing that it was possible to run a business smoothly and without problems. Every time we had momentum, something went wrong.
But as the months passed and revenue kept growing, I started to realize that this time, it wasn’t luck. The business was doing better than ever, and this was the period I had been working for all along.
Because in September, we hit another $27K month, and then, in October, it happened.
The number I had written down in my 2020 goals—the number that once felt unachievable—finally appeared.
$30,000.
I had done it.
After everything—the lockdowns, the cancellations, and the uncertainty—I had officially reached my biggest business milestone yet.
And this time, I made sure to celebrate.
At the start of the year, I made a deal with myself—when I hit $30,000 in a single month, I would buy something to mark the moment. Something that would remind me of this journey every time I saw it.
That weekend, I walked into a watch store and bought myself a Swiss automatic watch for $3K—10% of my milestone.
But it wasn’t just a watch. It was a symbol of everything I had built and worked for. Even now, when I look at it, I remember that moment and the journey it took to get there.
And as I write this, it still makes me proud.
It’s easy to get caught up in what’s next,to keep chasing bigger numbers, bigger goals. But sometimes, you have to pause and recognize how far you’ve come. If you never stop to celebrate your wins, what’s the point of all the hard work? Progress isn’t just about reaching the next level, it’s about appreciating the journey too. Yeah I know this sounds a bit cheesy, but it really is important to look back at what you achieved every now and then.
2020 Small Business Recovery: How I Turned Crisis into Growth
While the year continued, even November and December remained strong, bringing in $29K and $28.5K in revenue, respectively. With the year officially closed, let’s look at the final numbers.
Key Takeaway: I didn’t quite hit the $250K revised goal, but that didn’t bother me too much. All the signs of business growth were there:
– New clients were coming in every week
– Hospitals were performing extra surgeries (Due to the delay in surgeries during the COVID lockdown,we got increased flow of post-surgery rehab patients after the lockdown)
– Revenue was stable and growing
H2: How Building Cash Reserves Saved My Business from Bankruptcy
A major lesson from 2020? Cash is king. During uncertain times, having liquidity is what determines whether a business survives or shuts down.
In March, I had $48K in the bank. By June, I was down to just $18K. That could have been a disaster—but by focusing on cost control and business growth, I almost quadrupled my liquidity by year-end. Here’s how:
Bank Account Balance – End of Each Month* In June, I reinvested part of my cash into new equipment for the practice. I was down to 8.000 but in July it grew to 18.000 again.
Key Takeaway: Even though I had dipped dangerously low in June and July, my recovery plan worked. By the end of the year, I had almost tripled my liquidity from the lowest point, ending with $67K in the bank. I still had to pay 10k in taxes and only gave myself a salary of 22.5k but my liquidity was back on track again. This would prove to be extra important in 2021 for my next business investment.
2020 Business Lessons: What I Learned from Scaling After Crisis
This year was a tough lesson in resilience. I learned that business growth doesn’t just happen during good times—you can also forge it in bad times.
By staying strategic with finances, focusing on client retention, and investing when others were scared, I not only made it through the lockdown but ended the year in a stronger position than I started.
What’s Next?
If 2019 was the struggle year and 2020 was the survival year, 2021 would be the year of scaling.
The momentum was there. With revenue projections nearly 75% higher than my total revenue in 2018, we weren’t just recovering anymore, we were expanding. Demand was growing, marketing was more effective than ever, and bigger business opportunities were finally within reach.
2021 wouldn’t just be about increasing revenue. It was about laying the foundation for something far bigger than I had originally envisioned and thought I would be capable of.
My new goals were ambitious but realistic:
$330K in revenue—a significant step forward from 2020.
A $50K salary—finally paying myself what I deserved.
$90K in profit—proving that growth didn’t have to come at the cost of profitability.
To achieve this, I had to reinvest into the business. Higher marketing costs, a brand-new professional website, and adapting to inflation meant expenses would rise—but so would the rewards.
How to Increase Revenue in a Small Business (Proven Strategies for Scaling Fast)
The year 2021 started off as expected, with revenues staying stable between $24K and $28K. I was a little behind schedule for my $330K revenue goal, but that was mainly because we were already operating at 100% capacity.
The business was running at full speed—80-hour weeks, six-day workweeks. There was no breathing room. Sometimes, the workload caught up with me, and I was so exhausted on weekends that I even skipped going out with friends—which was not like me at all.
But I was young—just 25 years old, turning 26 that year. I could handle the workload, but I was starting to feel that this was pushing my limits.
Some things had to change. I needed to hire a new employee, something I had no experience with and no time for.
Without realizing it, I had become exactly what I warned against in my first blog.
Trapped inside my own business.
I had built something great, but now, it was controlling me. I was becoming a prisoner of my own business.
Finding new employees at this moment was hard. You had to actively search, reach out, and contact potential candidates. Simply posting a job listing on my website wasn’t enough anymore.
But I didn’t have time to look for new employees, so I went back to working 80-hour weeks.
H6: How I Found the Right Business Partner to Scale My Company (Networking & Growth Strategies)
It was in the summer when I received a call from one of my competitors. He wanted to meet for lunch to discuss some things.
We weren’t really direct competitors—we both had our own specialties and successful businesses. But still, the timing felt unexpected.
Why was he calling now?
This is a really important moment in my entrepreneurial story because around this time, a lot of things about how I would be running my business were about to change.
We met on a nice sunny day. I had no idea what he wanted, but my thoughts were racing.
There were rumors about him starting a new fitness club in a building he recently bought. Was this why he called me?
My business had grown a lot in the last few years. His business wasn’t taking a hit from it, but I was more of a competitor now than I was in 2018.
During lunch, we started chatting about everything—sports, hobbies, business building—and it clicked really well.
A little later in the conversation, he said, “Listen, I wouldn’t have told you this if we didn’t have such a great conversation, but maybe you’ve heard the rumors about me wanting to start a fitness club. Those rumors are true, but what do you think of getting involved in it?”
Holy shit, I thought. This was exactly what I had been hoping for, but I never expected him to actually say it.
I had never built a fitness club before, and the investment would require a big chunk of my liquidity. But at the same time, I knew that staying in my current business model would limit my growth.
If I wanted to scale beyond just trading time for money, this was the perfect opportunity to diversify.
Before thoughts could even race through my head, I had already said yes!
After lunch, we agreed to keep in touch.
From now on I will call my business partner John,
🔹 John – My direct competitor and now my soon-to-be business partner of the fitness club
Starting a fitness gym from scratch, the start of a plan.
My business was running smoothly, and by August, liquidity had grown to over $120K. I was saving money like a madman, knowing that I might need it soon to invest in the new business we were planning.
Hiring a new employee? That plan was dead in the water. We were getting busier every week. Not just with clients, but with serious discussions about launching the fitness club. My priorities had shifted.
How to Find the Right Business Consultant (Why You Need One & Where to Look)
None of us; John, or myself knew how to start a gym from scratch. We knew how to run businesses, but the fitness industry was a different beast. We needed someone with experience, someone who had already built and scaled fitness clubs successfully.
As luck would have it, we found the right person in an unexpected place. While scouting for fitness equipment, John struck up a conversation with someone who wasn’t just selling gym equipment, but had also built and sold multiple fitness clubs himself.
It turned out this guy wasn’t just any consultant, he was a true entrepreneur. Over the years, he had started and grown more than 10 fitness clubs with a combined membership of over 9,000 people, eventually selling them all to an investment company for a high seven-figure sum.
After cashing out, he had taken some time off, unsure of what to do next. But like many entrepreneurs, retirement didn’t sit well with him. The itch to build something new was still there, so he decided to launch a fitness consulting agency, helping other entrepreneurs successfully start and scale their own fitness clubs.
The moment we heard his story, we knew: this was the right man for the job. Not only had he built gyms from scratch, but he had also helped over 150 other entrepreneurs do the same. His experience wasn’t theoretical, it was real, hands-on, and exactly what we needed to make this project a success.
Business Strategy Masterclass: What I Learned from My First Meeting with a Business Consultant
At our first official meeting with the business consultant, we quickly realized we were dealing with a true expert. From the moment he started talking, it was clear—this guy knew exactly what he was doing.
He made starting a fitness business from scratch seem almost effortless. Every concern we raised—whether it was about funding, attracting members, or scaling operations—was met with logical, well-substantiated answers backed by real-world experience.
What really impressed us was how confidently and systematically he broke everything down. Instead of getting lost in vague ideas or theories, he had a clear roadmap:
✔ How much funding do you need to start your fitness club ✔ How do you calculate your break even point when starting your fitness club
✔ What costs do you need to take into account when running a fitness club
✔ The best presale strategies for memberships before launch
✔ How to build a gym that attracts and retains members long-term
✔ How to maximize revenue streams beyond just memberships
Within just a couple of hours, he completely transformed our mindset. What once felt like a huge, intimidating challenge now felt like an exciting, achievable goal.
By the end of the meeting, there was zero doubt in our minds, we were going to build this fitness club. And with the right strategy in place, it wouldn’t just be a gym, it would be a long-term, scalable business venture.
The Value of a Business Consultant
Up until this point, I had always handled every business challenge on my own. If I ran into a problem, I’d either figure it out through trial and error or call a few experienced entrepreneurs for advice. Hiring a business consultant? That had never even crossed my mind.
But now, for the first time, I saw just how powerful the right consultant could be.
In just a few sessions, I had learned more about scaling a business than I had in years of grinding through problems alone. He wasn’t just giving us advice—he was showing us a proven blueprint for success. This wasn’t just about building a fitness club anymore—it was about learning how to think and operate like a next-level entrepreneur.
And in the next blog, you’ll see exactly why hiring him turned out to be the fastest growth accelerator of my career.
How much growth did my business achieve?
Amidst all the planning for the fitness club, I hadn’t forgotten about my own business. It was now the end of September, and despite the crazy workload, revenue was right on track for $330K—the biggest year yet.
I thought I knew how to build businesses. But the lessons I learned from launching a fitness club and what happened next in my original business would completely redefine how I approach growth. The next chapter? Even bigger moves. Get ready
6 Key Takeaways From Scaling My Business in 2020 & 2021
6️⃣ Always Have Cash Reserves—Because You Never Know When You’ll Need Them
By the time my liquidity hit $120K in August, I had options. That money gave me the power to invest, take risks, and say yes to new opportunities—like launching the fitness club. If I hadn’t built up cash reserves, I would have been stuck in survival mode forever. Growth requires both smart decision-making and financial flexibility.
1️⃣ Hiring a Business Consultant Was My Fastest Growth Accelerator
For years, I solved problems myself. But when we hired a business consultant for the fitness club, I finally saw what real expertise could do. Instead of guessing and making small mistakes, he gave us a roadmap that saved us years of trial and error. The right consultant doesn’t just help your business—they change the way you think as an entrepreneur.
2️⃣ Momentum Creates More Opportunities
By the end of 2020, my business was running stronger than ever, and that momentum led directly to my biggest opportunity yet—the chance to co-found a fitness club. Success attracts more success, and when you’re actively growing, people will start coming to you with bigger opportunities.
3️⃣ Your Network Is More Valuable Than You Realize
The opportunity to start the fitness club didn’t come from cold outreach—it came from a competitor-turned-business-partner. The conversations I had years before led to a game-changing business deal. The lesson? Keep strong relationships in your industry, because you never know which connection will lead to your next big opportunity.
4️⃣ Don’t Get Trapped Inside Your Own Business
At the start of 2021, I was hitting my revenue targets—but I was also completely maxed out. Working 80-hour weeks and running at full capacity wasn’t sustainable. I had become the prisoner of my own business. If you’re constantly overwhelmed and there’s no time to think about scaling or hiring, you’re not running a business—you’re running yourself into the ground.
5️⃣ Your Best Employees Are Your Greatest Asset
When my employee voluntarily gave up her vacation to help the business rebuild, it reinforced one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned: treat people well, and they will go the extra mile for you. The best employees don’t just work for a paycheck—they take pride in the company. And when you find those people, never take them for granted.
6️⃣ Scaling Means Learning to Work Smarter, Not Just Harder
The old mindset of “just work harder” can only take you so far. By mid-2021, I realized I wasn’t going to break through my revenue ceiling without optimizing systems, hiring the right people, and focusing on growth instead of daily operations. To scale, you need to shift from working in the business to working on the business.
