This is my first blog in months.

I started writing this blog several weeks ago, while I had a moment or two between some Sunday-morning writing for a client, a workout and a non-negotiable two hours on the couch to watch the rebroadcast of Pearl Jam 20 (the new Cameron Crowe film on PBS about one of the great bands of the 90s…that’s still going strong), and before I had another a meeting with another client that afternoon (whew!)

Needless to say, the blog didn’t get finished - that was over a month ago. The truth is, I’ve been busy growing my business and working like a mad woman ever since I got back from my incredible European vacation three months ago. It’s only now – three months, three new clients, an “away” conference, and two new associates later – that I’ve got some time (well, sort of) to catch my breath (and for Pete’s sake, get some fresh content on the blog).

I’m pushing tin (as the air traffic controllers call it) with my business and personal life, and the harried and varied lifestyle I’m leading right now is a perfect example of the life of someone who’s growing her business.

Being a business titan not all it’s cracked up to be

Sure, my associates and I have our sights on worldwide domination (well, we’ll probably start with the West Coast and maybe some collaborative projects in Toronto….), but getting ramped up – with the cash flow, collaborators, systems, processes and project management in place – is unbelievably hard and exhausting. To be honest, I can’t keep up this pace for more than a few more months (which is one of the reasons I’m hiring...mamma needs some down time).

As a small business owner, I’m coming to a crossroads in my business development – no longer a freelancer, not quite a corporate titan. The way I put it to anyone who’ll listen: “It’s not that I don’t do windows. It’s that I need people to help me with the windows.” I know, I know – great management means not doing anything and just managing. But I’m not quite there yet. I still bring home the bacon…and fry it up in a pan.

So why grow?

As I’ve been taking this next step, many people have counseled me: “You don’t have to grow, you know.” I know that. But my true rationale for growing the business is to create some space in my life that doesn’t exist right now. I want to go away for a few days and actually be secure in the knowledge that work is being done – and money is being made – while I'm away. I also want to delegate the work that’s less interesting and important to me, to free myself up for the work I'm really passionate about. But that takes time – my time - and money (my money…).

I’m very fortunate – business development is going really well right now. We’re lucky enough to get repeat business from our existing clients, and get new inquiries and referrals every week – and that’s keeping us busy. But I’m well aware that I’ll need to kick it up a notch to keep up with my growing expenses.

Tips for my fellow travellers

For those of you out there who are thinking of growing your own business, here are a few pointers (some of them passed along to me by others):

• Know that you want it. “Why do you get out of bed in the morning, and why should anyone care?” You have to be passionate about what you’re doing, and about building something greater than you. Most of all, you need to be clear on the ‘why’ – why you’re in business, why you do what you do. As Simon Sinek put it in his TED talk on how great leaders inspire action, start with why. As Sinek puts it, “…people hire you because they believe what you believe. People don't buy what you do – they buy why you do it.” Credit for giving me this tip (and sending me the Sinek video) goes to real-deal business titan @CoryLePage.

• Make sure you’ve got a cash reserve. @acrossthewater (my business manager, Hillary Samson) made this clear to me way before I even started growing. She got me to figure out how much I wanted to make, and how much I wanted to spend on subcontractors and expenses. Then she made me set aside 3 to 6 months of it – so just in case worst case scenario becomes the scenario…I’m covered. Knowing that money is there made me way more secure about the risks I was about to take in growing my business.

• Lead with the relationship, not the money. As I mentioned in a previous blog, the “magic” key to business development (related to Sinek’s point – people hire you because they believe what you believe) is to lead with the relationship with your clients, not with the money (or your desire to make it). Understand what makes your clients tick. Know that they will want to hire you because you are a reflection of their own values – so find the clients who share your values, who believe what you believe. If you do this business this way, the work – and the money – will come. If you do not do business this way, that boulder you’re rolling up the hill to grow your business will keep rolling back to the bottom. You’ll be preoccupied with a continuous need to create new relationships to grow your business – because you haven’t nurtured the ones you have (or more to the point…had). This tip is my own – with a little external validation from my office mate (and successful entrepreneur) @idealever.

Share your experience and advice about growing your business, too – perhaps I can get some tips from you too, and we can both share them.