How long does it really take to scale a business from $10 million to $100 million?

After 25 years of working with business owners and seeing a number of clients make that journey, Chris Green has been thinking about what it practically takes and why simply working harder isn't the answer.

In this episode of The Green Room, Chris breaks the journey down into three distinct stages: $10M–$30M, where you build the machine; $30M–$60M, where you build the leaders; and $60M–$100M, where you build the portfolio.

Because growth at this level isn't a ramp, it's a staircase. At every stage, the business needs to change its structure, its people, its systems and, importantly, the role of the owner.

Chris explores why scaling from $10M to $100M could take anywhere from four to twelve years, depending on how you fund growth, the role acquisitions can play, and how effectively the business can operate without everything running through you.

He also unpacks three principles that underpin the journey, including why growth eats cash and the five things that must be true if you're serious about building a $100 million business.

If you're sitting around that $7M–$12M mark and wondering what it will really take to break through the next ceiling, this episode gives you plenty to think about.