Honest question how do you actually know when it's the right time to scale? Just want opinions from people who've been through it

Not running anything myself yet, still learning. But this question has been on my mind for a while and I genuinely can't find a straight answer anywhere.

Everyone in this space says "scale what works but nobody ever talks about how you actually feel when that moment comes. Like what was going on in your head? What made you "okay, now I'm ready"?

Was it a gut feeling? A number you hit? Someone else telling you? Or did you just kind of jump and figure it out after?

And on the flip side did any of you scale too early and regret it? What did that look like?

I'm not looking for a formula or a checklist. Just want to hear real stories from people who've actually been at that crossroads. What was going through your mind?