In this episode of The Wealthy Practitioner Podcast, Steph shares a candid, behind-the-scenes look at what she's optimizing for in 2026 — and why understanding the difference between growth and scale is one of the most important decisions you can make as a business owner.

Steph breaks down how growth often looks like incremental revenue increases, more personal profit, and greater lifestyle flexibility — while scale requires a completely different mindset, level of sacrifice, and reinvestment back into the business. She explains why so many entrepreneurs say they want to scale without truly understanding the cost, responsibility, and discomfort that comes with it.

Throughout the episode, Steph pulls back the curtain on real decisions she's making inside her clinics and coaching company, including major hires, infrastructure investments, brand expansion, and why profit looks very different in a season of scale. She also speaks honestly about taxes, payroll, leadership pressure, nervous system regulation, and the internal standards required to play at a higher level.

This is a raw, grounding conversation for entrepreneurs planning their next year — especially those deciding whether they're in a season to grow, scale, or simply enjoy the rewards of the business they've already built.

00:00 Intro: what she's optimizing for in 2026 + growth vs scale

00:45 Growth explained: incremental wins, lifestyle creep, paying yourself

01:55 Scale explained: insane targets, reinvesting profit, bigger sacrifice

02:20 What they're scaling in the clinics: key hires + standardizing systems

02:45 Mistakes in multi-location growth: inconsistent CRM and backend ops

04:10 Short-term profit hit: reinvesting aggressively into team and infrastructure

04:30 Clinic focus for 2026: getting newer locations to $1M

04:40 Coaching margins vs clinics: why scale looks different in each business

05:10 Brand investments: HQ, content studio, media, and team expansion

07:45 The real cost of scale: taxes, payroll, pressure, and responsibility

08:10 Truth bomb: most people say "scaling" but are actually just growing

09:00 The sacrifice gap: what it really takes to go from $1M to $10M

09:20 Looking in the mirror: betting big on yourself and leadership capacity

10:30 Standards and obsession: why high performers operate differently

11:10 Kyle's reflection: obsession, energy, and why it activates others

12:15 Choosing your season: growth, scale, or harvest

14:00 Final takeaway: know what you're optimizing for + commit fully

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