The problem with endless growth...

...and what to do instead

Summer at marisaguthriecoaching.co.uk:

💫 I am taking the summer to finish my book The Reluctant Capitalist, but I am now taking bookings for September:

👉 If you are ready to invest in your business you can apply for a free 60 minute call so we can focus on where you want to go and how I can help you get there.

OR

👉 Book a 90 minute Breakthrough Session so we can do a deep dive into a problem that has been slowing you down.

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One of the biggest myths we’re taught, not just in business, but in life, is that growth should be endless.
Bigger. Louder. Faster. More.

Capitalism teaches us that success is measured in metrics:
Revenue. Reach. Visibility. Scale.
And if you stop growing, if you pause, or plateau, you’re failing.

But what if that's not true?
What if the endless growth model is actually what’s harming us, and our businesses?

Photo by Emma Henderson on Unsplash

Recently, I was deeply moved by a podcast episode from Simone Seol on her Liberatory Business podcast, where she talks about a new framework for business growth, one that is appropriate, sustainable, and liberatory.

She invites us to think about growth in three dimensions:

🌱 Upward Growth — building to your enough, not endlessly scaling just because you can. Respecting your capacity, your needs, and your wellbeing as part of the design.
🌳 Lateral Growth — growing your positive impact sideways, through your community, your relationships, your ecosystem. Enriching others, not extracting from them.
🌿 Downward Growth — rooting deeper into yourself, healing through your business journey, letting your business be a mirror for your personal growth..

This approach resonated with me so strongly.
It put words to so many things I’ve felt, lived, and tried to build inside my own work.

Because I’ve seen, over and over, how chasing endless upward growth can leave solopreneurs burnt out, disconnected from their values, and feeling like they’re constantly falling short.

I also know that real sustainability, the kind that nourishes you, your clients, and your wider community, doesn’t come from more.
It comes from designing a business ecosystem that respects your humanity, and the humanity of the people it serves.

In my work with solopreneurs, this is the foundation we always return to:

▶ You can be profitable without perpetuating harm.
▶ You can be successful without extraction.
▶ You can grow your business, and your life, in a way that feels liberatory, not oppressive.

Hearing Simone articulate this so beautifully affirmed so much of what I’ve been building toward.
Her framing, upward, lateral, downward, is simple, profound, and needed.
I can’t recommend her work enough if you’re looking for business wisdom rooted in ethics, liberation, and humanity.

We don't have to chase endless growth.
We can build something strong, sustainable, and deeply rooted, and from that place, our impact ripples outward in ways that transform everything.

Growth is not the enemy.
Unquestioned, limitless growth is.

With care and liberation

Thanks for reading

Marisa

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💫 P.S. Whenever you are ready, here are 3 ways I can help you build a liberatory business:

1. Download my FREE Masterclass: Fair and Fearless: Ethical Pricing Strategies for Solopreneurs Who Want to Do Good and Make Money.

This free masterclass will help you to:

· Reframe pricing based on your financial needs, not on other people’s prices.

· Stop undercharging and overworking.

· Build justice and fairness into your business model in a way that helps others and keeps you resourced.

2. Magnetic Marketing Workbook

Join dozens of solopreneurs who have learned how to sell their offers directly from their marketing, without posting every day, selling out their values, or chasing trends.

3. Get 1:1 support designed for you and your business. Build a business that pays you well and reflects your values, without burnout or selling out. Apply for a free 60 minute call.