Scaling Paradox: Systems That Enable Growth While Limiting It
Every business faces this tension: systematize to scale, or customize to serve more deeply?
It’s a catch-22.
When you build scalable systems, you necessarily limit who you can serve. Your frameworks become more efficient but less flexible. I learned this the hard way years ago.
I built a SaaS platform for resort developers, and kept saying “yes” to feature requests until we’d customized ourselves right out of our market. We gained depth but lost breadth.
Conversely, when you customize solutions for each client, you can help almost anyone – but you’re trapped by time and energy constraints. You either price yourself out of reach or burn out trying to serve everyone.
The solution isn’t choosing between systems or customization. It’s building what John List calls “Voltage” – systems that maintain their power as they scale.
Start with the simplest, most universal solution. Then create branches for specific situations.
Scale requires saying no more often than yes. But those “yes” moments become exponentially more impactful.