Hustling has become part of the entrepreneur mindset. 

More often than not, I find that business owners push themselves to work more in order to scale their businesses. Sometimes, it works. They get excited when new things come their way—sales are up, clients are happy, and the team is growing.

But the reality is, many are experiencing short-term results, which are not sustainable forever. Are you focused on rushing success by overworking? If so, this can become an illusion that puts your business in a bad spot. Now, here are some signs that you’re using force to grow your business.

You (and Your Team) are Becoming Workaholics

Have you reached the point where you feel proud working more than eight hours a day? That’s an obvious sign of workaholism. Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean that you should stop celebrating your small wins. But in the long haul, everyone knows that this results in stress and poor performance.

If there are days when you don’t feel like getting up for work, you might be facing burnout and you need to slow down. An entrepreneur’s life is supposed to thrive on a healthy and manageable workload.

The same thing goes with your team. Allow time to maintain good company culture and preserve core values. Don’t force success by putting too much pressure on your team. They may cut corners to manage your expectations and provide deliverables.

You (and Your Team) Can’t Keep Up 

Are you too focused on scaling the business while your team is spread thin? What I mean is, perhaps you’re:

• demanding a lot of deliverables to be done with tight deadlines
• getting impulsive on making decisions that affect the entire team (e.g., accommodating more clients and putting more pressure on the team)
• going full on sprint trying to get results ASAP

At first, you might think that there’s nothing wrong with this. But this just means that you’re constantly focusing on short-term results. While you think you can handle the pressure, not all your team members can’t keep up. In time, you’ll realize that you and your team never run out of backlogs to finish. And the result? You get stuck in sprint mode. 

Your Customers are No Longer Happy (and Retention Declines)

If you notice that your customer satisfaction is dropping, this is a symptom of something deeper. It’s easy to overlook this if you’re forcing business growth. 

Overall, growth is exciting. But, you can’t let your focus on growth negatively impact your client experience. It’s less costly to retain or upsell a current customer than to create a new one. And happy customers will fuel your growth through referrals and testimonials.

You Can’t Seem to Find Happiness in Running the Business

How does business growth affect you personally? Does it make you happy? Or does it feel like a guilty burden?

Many entrepreneurs build their business around them, only to realize later that the more the business grows, the more the business needs them. So more clients means:

• More work
• More problems
• More stress
• But LESS freedom

In short, it can affect your happiness and sense of accomplishment. And as cliché as it may sound, it’s not all about business growth or money. What matters is what makes you happy. You should aim to run a successful business while living your life the way you want. 

If you find any of these relatable, it’s time to pause and step back. Just because your business is growing doesn’t necessarily mean it’s successful. Reevaluate your definition of success, and re-strategize.

Do you think you’re using force to upscale your business? Are you being too hard on yourself?