In this episode of the Grow A Small Business Podcast, host Troy Trewin interviews Amanda Rosazza, founder of Imagine8 Consulting, about how small businesses can break through growth bottlenecks by extracting tribal knowledge and building a searchable "business search engine". Amanda shares her journey from working four side jobs to scaling her Brisbane-based firm and doubling revenue by helping founders systemize scattered documentation so their companies can run without them. She highlights the critical reality that only 20% of businesses on the market actually sell, emphasizing the need to document intangibles to protect equity and boost valuation. The conversation dives into leveraging AI responsibly, implementing Profit First accounting, and learning from hard-fought hiring and financing lessons. Ultimately, Amanda offers practical wisdom on leadership discipline, culture, and building a business designed for true scalability and exit readiness. Why would you wait any longer to start living the lifestyle you signed up for? Balance your health, wealth, relationships and business growth. And focus your time and energy and make the most of this year. Let's get into it by clicking here. Troy delves into Amanda Rosazza startup journey, their perception of success, industry reconsideration, and the pivotal stress point during business expansion. They discuss the joys of small business growth, vital entrepreneurial habits, and strategies for team building, encompassing wins, blunders, and invaluable advice. And a snapshot of the final five Grow A Small Business Questions: What do you think is the hardest thing in growing a small business? Amanda Rosazza shares that the hardest thing in growing a small business is sticking to it when it feels like it isn't working. She explains that business always takes longer than you expect - often by years or even decades - and when progress feels slow, the temptation to retreat to the safety of a regular job kicks in. However, once you learn both the art and science of business, you realize that pushing through those long, challenging stretches is what it truly takes to succeed. What's your favorite business book that has helped you the most? Amanda Rosazza shares that The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss is the business book that has helped her the most. She highlights that reading it - around the same time she went through Tony Robbins' programs - was a major turning point that proved owning a business was actually possible for her. For Amanda, it wasn't about literally working only four hours a week, but rather learning the fundamental concepts of outsourcing, systemising, and setting up a business so that it doesn't take over your life. Are there any great podcasts or online learning resources you'd recommend to help grow a small business? Amanda Rosazza shares that her favorite podcast to listen to recently is Acquired, particularly praising their deep-dive episodes on business histories like Disney, LVMH, Berkshire Hathaway, and Trader Joe's. She also highlights how studying iconic business models early on fueled her fascination with how companies build systems and scale operations. Beyond podcasts, she strongly recommends investing in formal coaching and personal development programs, such as Tony Robbins' programs, which were pivotal in shifting her mindset to realise that owning a successful business was achievable for her. What tool or resource would you recommend to grow a small business? Amanda Rosazza recommends having a solid CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and project management tool as the bare minimum foundation for growing a small business. Specifically, she utilizes Zoho One as the primary operating system for her business, which integrates CRM, project management, and email marketing into unified custom dashboards. Beyond specific software, she emphasizes that the most critical element is building the daily discipline and consistency to show up, update, and maintain whatever system you put in place, whether it's Zoho, HubSpot, or even a simple whiteboard. What advice would you give yourself on day one of starting out in business? Amanda Rosazza shares that her core piece of advice to herself on day one would simply be to "keep going". She emphasizes that the lessons in business must be learned by actually doing the work, and that building a business always takes much longer and is harder than you initially expect. Ultimately, pushing through those long, challenging stretches is essential to achieving long-term success. Book a 20-minute Growth Chat with Troy Trewin to see if you qualify for our upcoming course. Don't miss out on this opportunity to take your small business to new heights! Enjoyed the podcast? Please leave a review on iTunes or your preferred platform. Your feedback helps more small business owners discover our podcast and embark on their business growth journey. Quotable quotes from our special Grow A Small Business podcast guest: We take the tribal knowledge stuck in your head and turn it into a searchable resource – Amanda Rosazza If you are not prepared to do something for 90 days, don't bother starting – Amanda Rosazza If you do not adhere to hire slow, fire fast, you will get yourself into trouble – Amanda Rosazza
