How to 10X Your Company in 2025
The ultimate guide for contractors who want to grow to $1M and beyond.
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Most business owners get stuck at the same revenue year after year. They blame the market, competition, or lack of opportunities.
But here's the truth:
If you’re stuck, you’re the problem.
I learned this the hard way. For years, I was trapped at $1M in revenue with my construction company, working endless hours and managing every detail.
Sound familiar?
Here’s how I broke free, 10X’d my business, and how you can too.
Phase 1: The Million-Dollar Trap (Years 1-5)
I was the classic small business owner:
Handling every aspect of the business myself
Taking $30K jobs that took a week, with good margins but limited growth potential
Working 24/7: estimates at night, accounting in the mornings, construction all day
I prided myself on being hands-on. But in reality? I was the bottleneck in my own company.
At $1M in revenue, I was “successful” by most standards, but I was running myself into the ground. Every estimate, every job, every detail passed through me. It wasn’t sustainable.
The biggest problem was that I was arrogant. I thought no one could do the work as well as I could. That mindset kept me small.
If your business relies on you for everything, it’s not a business—it’s a job.
Phase 2: The Breakthrough (Years 5-9)
Breaking free required hard decisions and even harder sacrifices:
Saying No to Small Jobs
I had to let go of the hands-on work I loved.
Instead, I focused on landing larger contracts and higher-value clients.
Specializing in Divisions
I created a small crew for residential work and a 10-man team for $1.5M commercial projects.
This shift helped me earn the same revenue in 2 months that previously took an entire year.
Trading Margins for Volume
My margins dropped from 30% to 15%, but the size of my contracts skyrocketed.
Larger contracts meant bigger challenges, but they also meant bigger rewards.
Time over money. You can’t scale while clinging to small, high-margin jobs. My average job size during these years grew from $30K to $150K.
It’s a cliche, but if you’re not growing, you really are dying. You have to hire and trust the right people and remove yourself from the day-to-day.
By the end of this phase, I was doing $5-9M annually. But I wasn’t just growing revenue—I was also creating a foundation for scalability.
Phase 3: The Scale-Up (Years 9-14)
Today, my company generates:
$25M in construction revenue.
$30-40M in development annually.
Here’s what I’d tell anyone who wants to do the same:
1. Kill Your Ego
Stop being the sole decision-maker.
Build a leadership team and give them a seat at the table.
I had to shift from “doing” to “guiding.” Instead of being in the trenches, I focused on strategy and vision.
2. Hire for Culture, Not Credentials
Forget resumes and degrees.
Hire for drive, attitude, and fit.
Some of my best leaders came from completely unrelated industries, but they brought different perspectives and insane work ethics.
3. Reinvest Relentlessly
For years, I reinvested profits into people and infrastructure.
Some years I made zero profit—but the foundation for long-term growth paid off.
The Blueprint for Breaking Through
$1M to $5M:
Say no to small jobs.
Focus on larger contracts.
Begin building systems to remove yourself from day-to-day operations.
$5M to $10M:
Develop a leadership team.
Create specialized divisions to handle different types of work.
Stop making all the decisions.
$10M+:
Build a leadership board.
Plan 3 years ahead, securing future contracts.
Use other people’s money to scale faster.
Final Thoughts
You’re either growing or dying. There’s no middle ground. If you can’t imagine doubling your business, you’re thinking too small.
Most business owners cling to what made them successful in the first place. They refuse to delegate, resist change, and blame external factors for their stagnation. But the truth is, you’re in your own way.
Want to scale? Stop doing what made you successful and start thinking like a leader.
Building a $25M business didn’t happen overnight. It required killing my ego, building a team, and investing for the long term. If I could go back and start over, I’d embrace these ideas from Day 1—and I’d probably have gotten here twice as fast.
The best time to start scaling was yesterday.
The second-best time?
Today.