As a small business owner do you plan growth like a staircase? One more customer, one more post, one more networking breakfast, one step at a time. It feels responsible. But it might be the slowest way to get where you’re going.
Dr. Benjamin Hardy is an organizational psychologist and bestselling author of Who Not How and 10x Is Easier Than 2x, known for his work on the psychology of entrepreneurship and exponential growth. He offers a better picture: the wormhole. In physics, a wormhole is a shortcut connecting two distant points. In business, Hardy uses it to describe a relationship or collaboration that moves you forward years in a single leap. Someone is already where you want to be. When the right connection forms, they pull you through.
This idea connects to Who Not How, the book he wrote with Dan Sullivan. Your biggest constraint is rarely effort. Usually you’re missing the right people. Here’s how to find your wormholes on purpose.
1. Define the destination first.
A shortcut to nowhere is useless. Get specific about where you want to be in three years, in revenue, reach, or reputation. A goal ten times bigger than your current one forces you to look for leverage instead of more hustle.
2. Look up, not sideways.
Peers are great for encouragement, but they’re standing on the same step you are. Wormholes are usually two or three levels ahead: a regional brand that already serves your ideal customer, a respected community organization, an investor, a supplier with deep distribution. Make a list of ten.
3. Lead with value, not with a pitch.
Before you ask for anything, study what they’re trying to build. Find a problem you can actually solve for them. When you show up with something useful, you stop being another request in their inbox and start being someone worth knowing.
4. Make yes easy.
Busy leaders don’t say yes to vague partnerships. Propose something small, specific, and low risk. A joint workshop. A referral swap. A guest spot in front of your audience. Small wins build the trust that bigger collaborations need.
5. Check the fit.
The best wormholes share your customer but not your offer. A bakery and a wedding planner. A CPA and a business attorney. A coffee shop and the office building next door. Complementary beats competitive every time.
6. Overdeliver the first time.
Your first collaboration is an audition. Show up prepared, promote harder than you promised, and report the results honestly. People who make their partners look good get invited back, and they get introduced to the next door.
7. Become a wormhole for someone else.
In karate, we are told over and over that we have three lives: your own, the life of your seniors, and the life of your juniors. You honor your senpai, the ones who trained before you, and you take care of your kohai, the ones coming up behind you. This idea runs deep in Japanese culture, in the dojo and in the workplace. It works the same way in business. The people ahead of you open doors. The people behind you are counting on you to open yours. Be generous with both, and reputation travels through the whole line.
The real lesson
Growth is rarely limited by how hard you work. It’s limited by who you’re working with. The owner grinding alone moves one step at a time. The owner who builds the right relationships jumps.
So here’s my question for you: Who is one person or organization that could move your business three years forward if you partnered with them, and what could you offer them first?
Tell me in the comments. I read every one.
Your Next Wormhole Might Be a Conversation
Every founder is trading time for progress, and most are getting a terrible exchange rate. Grind it out alone and five years of growth takes five years. Find the right wormhole and those same five years can collapse into eighteen months. But you can’t spot your own shortcuts when you’re too close to the business, too busy running it, and too deep in the daily grind.
That’s not a marketing problem. It’s a leadership gap.
As a Fractional CMO, this is the work I do with founders every week. We get clear on the destination. We map who can get you there faster. Then we build the strategy, systems, and relationships to make the leap real, without the cost of a full time executive.
You don’t need to grind your way up every step. You need the right “who” in your corner.
Let’s find your wormhole. Book a free 30 minute strategy call at 907k.com/call and walk away with at least one partnership idea you can act on this month.