Working Smart or Hard? How to Grow Your Business 10x

They say: “Don’t work hard. Work smart”
I say: neither is enough. You need both — work smart and work hard.
Intensity, commitment, and work ethic matter. So do modern tools, systems, and slick new methods.

Fast growth is not for everyone
Especially when you want to grow faster than the average business. Most businesses fail because they don’t grow fast enough. Most of those remaining grow just enough to survive. Only a handful truly understand the principle of fast, intense — and I’d say, natural — growth.

Natural growth is fast by design
And natural growth isn’t slow, shy, hesitant, or unsure. Just look at anything in your garden, in the park — or at the achievements of societies and nations throughout history. When driven by deep desire, clear vision, and hope for a better future, they show us extraordinary examples of fast growth, exponential growth — even spectacular, astonishing growth.

Just look at nature — bamboo can grow nearly a meter in a single day once its roots are ready. In society and history, we’ve seen post-war Japan become a global power in just a few decades, Warsaw rise from rubble within a few years, and the U.S. reach the moon in under eight — all driven by vision, determination, and urgency. In business, Amazon — along with thousands of lesser-known companies around the world — went from humble beginnings to rapid expansion. Growth, when grounded in clarity and purpose, is rarely slow — it’s often explosive.

What drives 10x growth?
What are the best strategies to grow 10 times faster — or even more?
When you focus only on protecting what you already have, without reaching for the next big thing, decline becomes almost inevitable. Growth is the only real antidote to stagnation, frustration, or even collapse. It seems that growth is one of the most natural things we do — in life and in business.
But growth always comes at a price. It often leads you through pain, failure, and disappointment. You have to stretch yourself daily, face uncertainty, and confront your fears.

There are two brilliant strategies — powerful in their simplicity and effectiveness — that every entrepreneur should know how to apply, depending on the current state of their business, goals, and challenges.

 

Working hard: intensity, passion, and high performance

There are two essential conditions for achieving massive growth. First, you need goals that are far bigger than what feels safe or realistic. Second, you need to act with a level of intensity that would make most people uncomfortable. That’s where high performance begins — not in talent or luck, but in the decision to operate at full capacity.

Many people set goals based on what seems achievable. They aim for what they think they can get without too much friction. That’s exactly why they stay stuck in place. A 10x goal does something different — it forces you to stretch your thinking, change your habits, and treat time, focus, and energy as critical, invaluable resources. Even if you miss that 10x goal, you’ll land far beyond where most “realistic” plans reach.

But big goals on their own are not enough. They demand action on a completely different level. Most people underestimate how much effort is required. They try a few things, post a bit online, reach out to a handful of clients — and when results don’t come quickly, they pull back. Not because the idea was wrong, but because the effort was weak.

The reality is this: you don’t succeed by doing what everyone else is doing. You succeed by doing ten times more than most are willing to do. That doesn’t mean burning out or running in blindly. It means choosing intensity over indecision. Taking more shots, faster. Testing more offers. Having more conversations. Staying visible and consistent when others slow down.

This kind of effort creates opportunities. It looks like luck to people on the outside, but it’s not. It’s volume. It’s preparation. It’s positioning yourself to win because you were willing to stay in motion while others were hesitant.

Fear is inevitable — and that’s a good sign. Fear usually points to what matters. If something feels uncomfortable, that’s probably where the growth is hiding. Instead of avoiding it, face it directly. Call the client. Launch the idea. Say what needs to be said. The moment you stop treating fear as a signal to retreat and start treating it as a guide, you begin to build real confidence.

And one more thing: don’t waste time trying to compete. Competing is reactive. Leading is building your own game, setting your own pace, and raising the bar before anyone else even shows up. Most people won’t do what it takes to operate at that level. Which is exactly why you can.

 

Working smart: leverage, focus, and exponential impact

The difference between slow growth and exponential growth isn’t just scale — it’s mindset, structure, and clarity. Most people are stuck in traditional growth patterns: adding a bit more effort, trying a new tactic, pushing for a small promotion, or a slight increase in revenue. It’s linear, familiar, and often exhausting. You work more, and you might get a little more — but the price is high, and the returns are limited.

Exponential growth works differently. Not asking you to do everything — but asking you to do the right things. It’s not about multiplying effort; it’s about multiplying impact. You stop asking how to squeeze more out of what’s not working and start asking what really matters. See what actually moves the needle, and what you should stop doing immediately.

The problem with small goals is that they open up too many options. You start thinking in terms of tactics — more posts, more calls, more content. But when the goal is bold enough, almost everything you’re currently doing becomes irrelevant. The bigger the vision, the clearer the path. You stop chasing noise and start building something that actually matters.

That might mean replacing low-yield marketing tactics with high-leverage visibility. Instead of pumping out daily social media content, maybe you focus on media coverage or strategic partnerships. Instead of selling £99 courses to 500 people, maybe you design a £25,000 offer that directly solves a real ingrained business problem for just a few clients. Bigger goals push you into smarter models. They demand fewer, better moves.

And this works in every industry. If you’re in finance, serving ten clients with £100,000 is more effective than chasing fifty who barely have a few thousand to invest. If you’re a speaker, raising your fee to £50,000 doesn’t just increase revenue — it filters out low-value opportunities and positions you a league above. These shifts aren’t risky when the strategy is right. They’re efficient.

There’s a quote that says competition is fiercest at the level of realistic goals. That’s where the crowd plays. The real opportunities exist where fewer people are willing to go — not because it’s impossible, but because most people don’t even try. Apply for something above your level. Pitch to the client you think is out of reach. You might not land exactly where you aim, but you’ll land far ahead of where you are now.

When it comes to visibility, effort does not equal results. A YouTuber like Mr. Beast knows this well — one extraordinary video with real investment can get 5 million views, while fifty average videos might barely crack 100,000 combined. A slight improvement in quality — better pacing, better hook, better story — doesn’t lead to a small win. It creates a disproportionate impact. That’s the nature of exponential outcomes.

This is where leverage comes in. You can’t scale by doing more of everything yourself. You have to build systems. Delegate. Hire. Get out of the way. Stop asking “How do I do this?” and start asking “Who can own this completely?” The question isn’t about simple capability anymore — it’s about architecture.

Don’t expect instant wins. The best results show up later. You send an email today, you get the deal in six months. You publish a strong article now, it attracts a major opportunity three months later. Brands, trust, authority — they compound quietly. But only if you keep showing up, with purpose, over time.

Start with the first move. The first sentence in your book. The first 10 seconds in your video. The first pitch in your deck. You either grab attention or you don’t. There’s no time to warm up. The hook matters. It’s true in film, in business, in life. Win attention first — then keep it.

Remember: your product, service, or content doesn’t need to be ten times better. Just a bit better — clearer, faster, more focused — can generate five to ten times the results. Success is not evenly distributed. The best often earn exponentially more, not because they’re radically better, but because they deliver just enough more value in the right way, to the right people.

That’s why you must specialize. The more unique your value, the harder it is to replace you. And the easier your business becomes to scale. Mastery is not a gift — it’s a function of time, repetition, and focus. Stick with what you love and what you can truly improve at. Whether it’s design, sales, consulting, or operations — the rewards will come, if you are willing to go deep enough.

Wealth comes from leverage. When ten, fifty, or a hundred people are acting on your vision — your decision — the upside becomes massive. Yes, the risks grow too. But if you only think in terms of risk, you’ll never unlock scale. Your job is to lead, to structure your business so others can grow with you, and to keep your attention where it makes the biggest difference.

Stop micromanaging. Build a team that manages itself. Ask better questions: What’s the objective? Who owns it now? Is this the right person? Replace yourself anywhere you’re not the best fit — and keep investing in those who can carry the weight better than you.

Think like a CEO. Ask where your time produces the highest return. Not the easiest win, not the most familiar task — but the move with the most leverage.

So now the question is:

Which strategy is closer to your heart — intensity, hard work, and an every day push with full commitment, or focus, leverage, and smarter work to scale faster with less noise?

I believe that these strategies should be interchangeable, and you should always be able to switch from one to the other. When you start your business or launch new products, the first strategy—working hard and with intensity—is a must. This is your phase one. You’ll need to conduct a lot of experiments and put a lot of effort into the initial stage.

Once you see what works, you can begin implementing the “work smart” strategy—phase two. At this point, you can start eliminating tasks that don’t bring results and focus on doing more of what works well, putting your whole heart into increasing the quality of your product.