We Wanted to Scale Fast - But We Were the Problem | Sam Malins & Ed Barnes

Send us Fan MailSam Malins and Ed Barnes wanted to scale quickly.The problem was that they hadn’t yet built the people, systems and management structure required to support that growth.In this candid conversation with Peter Boolkah, Sam and Ed explain how complementary founder skills helped them build Dunmow Waste, Fireward and Reacton Fire Suppression, and why enthusiasm and hard work eventually had to be replaced by structure, delegation and strategic thinking.Sam began by selling cars, where he learned a painful lesson about supply chains, margins and knowing the real cost of doing business.He later took control of a family waste company, turning over approximately £850,000 to £900,000 with eight to ten employees.After meeting Ed through a business-planning programme, the two discovered that they shared an unusual ability to make decisions and execute quickly. That partnership helped them restructure the waste business, launch Fireward and develop Reacton.But growth introduced a different set of problems.You’ll discover:Why working hard does not compensate for weak marginsHow enthusiasm helped Sam win a major early contractWhy Sam and Ed’s contrasting abilities created a strong partnershipHow bringing disconnected teams together improved communicationWhy the founders initially underestimated risk and structureHow the requirements of a business change at each stage of growthWhy have people become their biggest scaling challengeSam’s admission that the founders themselves were part of the problemWhy an expensive executive hire cannot create the founder’s operating modelHow values, customer standards and culture must be built into the companyWhy did better people allow Sam and Ed to buy back their timeHow their recruitment approach changed as the companies grewWhy did installing a management structure take more than five yearsThe difference between operational stress and strategic pressureWhy patience and a relentless pursuit of excellence must work togetherFounders frequently blame their employees when growth stalls.But if the structure is unclear, the operating model exists only in the founders’ heads, and every important decision returns to them, the founders have created the dependency.Scaling requires more than ambition.It requires founders to define their recipe, build the supporting structure, recruit people capable of operating it and gradually step out of the daily minutiae.CONNECT WITH SAM MALINSLinkedIn: https://ae.linkedin.com/in/sam-malins-9401aa5bCONNECT WITH EDWARD BARNESLinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/edward-barnes-95183a79CONNECT WITH REACTONWebsite: https://www.reactonfire.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/reacton-fire-suppression-ltd/CONNECT WITH PETER BOOLKAHWebsite: https://www.boolkah.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boolkahInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/pboolkah/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BoolkahX: https://twitter.com/boolkahABOUT PETER BOOLKAHPeter Boolkah is a business coach, author and speaker who has spent more than 20 years helping business owners build stronger, more valuable businesses that do not depend on them for everything.He is the creator of The Hamster Wheel Trap® and author of Your Business Sucks: Build a Business That Works Without Destroying Your Life.Peter works with founders and leadership teams on the issues that ultimately determine whether a business creates freedom or becomes another job: leadership, founder dependency, people, profit, execution, scaling, exit readiness and enterprise value.His approach is direct, practical and built around one simple question:Do you own the business, or does the business own you?Learn more at https://www.boolkah.com