Growth usually happens in steps.

Until it leaps.

I witnessed this firsthand working with an Asian food producer. The business leader had impressive credentials — co-founder of his province’s largest meat company in northern China.

(He also had an operatic singing voice, but that’s another email.)

Yet here, they started fresh, growing from a government incubator to a purpose-built plant.

We developed products meticulously.

Added stores one by one.

Built relationships.

Refined processes.

Patience could be excruciating at times.

Then one day, Costco called.

Suddenly, the plant needed to double in size. Every process we’d carefully crafted needed to scale.

Immediately.

Here’s the important part: those “slow” early days weren’t so slow at all. They were careful, deliberate preparation.

Every small-scale challenge we solved became crucial knowledge for rapid expansion:

• Quality control systems
• Supply chain relationships
• Production workflows
• Packaging optimization
• Distribution logistics

This illustrates something I discuss in I Need That about product readiness. The “flip” from steady growth to explosive scale tests everything you’ve built.

You can’t fake preparation. Or rush it very effectively.

Smart product makers build for scale even when it seems distant.

They:

• Document processes religiously
• Test systems constantly
• Build redundancy early
• Train beyond current needs
• Think two (or more) steps ahead

Are you ready for your Costco moment?

P.S. That doubled plant size? It wasn’t enough. Success has a way of demanding more than you imagine.