Not many artists who started independently have had SZA's success. Last year, the "Kill Bill" singer's 2020 single "Good Days" reached one billion streams on Spotify, becoming her fifth song to achieve that feat. That same year, she released SOS Deluxe: Lana, an expanded version of her 2022 album SOS, with 15 additional tracks that shot the album back to the top of the Billboard 200 chart, marking its 11th non-consecutive week at number one. In that week alone, the album garnered 220.22 million on-demand streams.

But SZA's journey wasn't the product of a major-label hype machine or an overnight viral moment. Her career is a case study of starting small, earning credibility and growing a fan base at an intentional pace. Here are three lessons from her career on why starting small and scaling up is always a rewarding, effective strategy, no matter the industry.

This idea goes beyond artistry. Several companies have shown that starting small and scaling upward can lead to massive success. For example, in the late 1990s, Sara Blakely sought a solution for a smoother silhouette under clothing, cut the feet off her pantyhose, and created the prototype for Spanx. With $5,000 in savings, she developed her idea into a product whose brand name is now worth over $1.2 billion.

Similarly, before the 35-year-old was announced to perform at the Super Bowl with Kendrick Lamar, she was a genre-defying SoundCloud artist working odd jobs while growing an online community. In 2013, SZA became the first female artist signed to Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), a label known for its roster of artists like Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolboy Q. Her first release under the label, Z (2014), was more polished than her SoundCloud uploads but still carried her signature sound. Then, in 2017, her record Ctrl became a genre-defining full body of work that centered her as an important artist.

In the years between Ctrl and SOS, SZA didn't release a steady flow of music but instead released a paced trickle of singles, including Good Days," "Hit Different" and "I Hate U," which showed her growth as an artist. With the release of SOS, the album's success spoke for itself, spending 20 weeks at the top of the Billboard 200. With the release of Ctrl, the "Snooze" singer's subsequent commercial success and strategic releases would contribute to her becoming the first Black female artist to have multiple songs reach two billion streams on Spotify.The album was a culmination of years of hard work, intentional growth, and the trust SZA had built with her core fanbase.

SZA's career is counter-narrative to the viral culture that seems to define music today. Over the course of her career, the Missouri-born singer has repeatedly shown that her brand and its success are rooted in authenticity. This has made her a unique artist who engages with her audience in a way that algorithms cannot duplicate.

Perhaps the greatest lesson from SZA's career is this: starting small doesn't mean thinking small. Instead, focusing on substance over spectacle, trusting your creative instincts, and understanding that meaningful growth takes time are rewarding in their own right.