The B.U.I.L.D of a Great Business

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Listen to this week’s podcast episode, Ep.190: Leaders Who Coach and the B.U.I.L.D Framework for Growing Ambitious Businesses, with Sarah Yandell, using the player below, or click here.

Foundations Before Growth

Running a business can sometimes feel like trying to build a house on the sand. You’re working long hours, juggling everything yourself, but somehow progress stalls. According to business coach and mentor Sarah Yandell, the missing piece is often not talent or ambition, but getting the foundations in place. (I’m not proud of that metaphor, so let’s move on…)

In our conversation for Leading with Integrity this week, Sarah draws on her decades of experience building businesses, leading teams, and now coaching ambitious founders. Her core message: growth requires a strong base, and leaders must learn to coach as well as manage.

This week’s episode explores her B.U.I.L.D. framework for sustainable business growth, why coaching is not a buzzword but a leadership necessity, and how balance and resilience are the real hallmarks of long-term success.

Coaching vs. Mentoring: Why Leaders Need Both

Sarah describes herself as both a coach and a mentor. The distinction matters, Coaching is about support and accountability: helping someone clarify their goals, uncover their motivations, and stick to the actions that will move them forward, while Mentoring brings the weight of lived experience. A mentor has “been there, done that” and can share lessons, shortcuts, and warnings.

For new leaders and founders, both roles are invaluable. As Sarah puts it: “You don’t know what you don’t know.” Without guidance, many early business owners fall into common traps like micromanagement, poor delegation, or skipping strategic planning. A mentor can spot these blind spots and help accelerate their growth.

The B.U.I.L.D Framework

Sarah’s structured approach to helping clients scale is summed up in her B.U.I.L.D. framework:

• Blueprint: Start with vision and strategy. What do you want the business to achieve, and why? This foundation ensures you’re not just chasing every new idea.

• Uncover the power of numbers: Understand the financials. Too many leaders avoid the numbers, yet data provides clarity and confidence in decision-making.

• Integrate systems and processes: Even solo entrepreneurs need documented processes. Without them, growth stalls, mistakes multiply, and stress escalates.

• Leverage people: With systems in place, bring in the right people. Delegation and leadership become easier when the groundwork is done.

• Develop the future: Plan strategically for growth, markets, and sustainability.

The framework is simple, but Sarah’s experience makes clear that most business owners skip one or more steps, often at great cost.

Balance: The Core Leadership Lesson

Asked to name the single biggest leadership lesson of her career, Sarah’s answer was simple: balance. Balance between: Strategy and action, Data and gut instinct, Coaching and directing.

She explained that leaders must adapt their approach to the person in front of them, sometimes offering support, sometimes autonomy; depending on experience and readiness.

And at a systemic level, she advocates for more women in leadership: “To get a balance between the male and the female approach would be a very good thing to be able to achieve, especially the higher you get up in big corporates where it tends to still be predominantly men.”

Balance is also personal. Leaders who try to do everything themselves inevitably burn out. Coaching others, setting boundaries, and building resilience are as essential as any strategy.

Lessons in Resilience

Resilience, for Sarah, is the invisible thread that ties business success together. She recalls tough lessons from her first ventures, times when mistakes and setbacks tested her determination. Looking back, she believes those moments of struggle are what built her strength:

“You only build resilience from doing things wrong and making mistakes and learning how to do it differently. That's what builds resilience.”

This mindset is not just for entrepreneurs. Every leader faces setbacks, whether it’s a failed project, a ‘difficult’ employee, or a missed opportunity. The key is not in avoiding mistakes, but using them as fuel for growth.

Action, Not Just Ideas

One theme that came up repeatedly is the tension between entrepreneurs’ love of ideas and the need for execution. Sarah notes that many founders are brilliant visionaries but struggle to put systems in place to deliver consistently.

Her advice? Pair the entrepreneur with a “COO type” who excels at process, or bring in a mentor who can provide that structure.

Without action, even the best idea remains only an idea.

Takeaways for New Leaders

For those just starting out in leadership or business ownership, Sarah offers three clear pieces of advice:

1. Clarify your vision: Know why you’re doing what you’re doing and ensure it matters to you personally, not just financially.

2. Find a mentor: Don’t assume you can figure it all out alone. The right support accelerates growth and avoids painful missteps.

3. Have a strategy: Planning isn’t optional. But avoid “analysis paralysis” do enough to reduce risk, then take the leap.

From Busy to Balanced

Sarah’s career spanning hospitality, international travel, entrepreneurship, and now coaching, underscores a powerful truth: leadership isn’t about doing everything yourself, but about building the right foundations so growth is sustainable.

Whether through her B.U.I.L.D. framework, an emphasis on balance, or belief in resilience, Sarah reminds us that ambitious businesses are not built on hustle. They are built on clarity, structure, and the courage to keep learning.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re “doing absolutely everything” and heading toward burnout, Sarah’s message is clear: step back, set your foundations, and lead with both strategy and heart.

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Listen to the whole conversation now, on your preferred podcast platform, find the links here: https://smartlink.ausha.co/leading-with-integrity/ep-190-leaders-who-coach-and-the-b-u-i-l-d-framework-for-growing-ambitious-businesses-with-sarah-yandell-leadership

Or watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/yqhkXb_lOgc

Join me again next week for a chat about the Six Pillars of Effective Leadership, with Jim Carlough.

See you then, and in the meantime: Be a Leader, Not a Boss!

- David

In case you don’t know me that well, I’m David Hatch and I’m here to help new managers and first-time founders with their leadership skills, so they can become leaders not bosses, lead with integrity, and build happier, higher performing teams, more effective organisations, and, ultimately: successful businesses.

Be more Skywalker. Become the leader you wish you’d had, and come join my online leadership community. If you have a healthy love of sci-fi and want to learn more about leadership, then this is the community for you. Solopreneurs also welcome. 😉

Here’s the link: Integrity Leaders: Community membership and learning, for new leaders or first-time founders.