Want to know how to scale your business fast? Then you’re in the right place. Because today I’m going to share with you some great techniques that entrepreneurs have used to scale their businesses.
The best part?
All these techniques have been proven to work, so if you implement them, you are sure to succeed too.
Let’s dive right in!
What is Scaling?
If you have been thinking that scale is just another word for growth, you are not alone. That’s what most people think at first. However, the two concepts are different. A company experiences growth if it has increased its capacity and is earning more revenue as a result. The company achieves this by spending more.
This last point is where the difference comes in. Scaling involves revenue growth while containing costs. To put it another way: the business revenue exceeds costs.
If a business is scaled properly, it is in a good position to deal with an increase in market demand. Let’s see how it can be done.
1. Be clear on your goal for your business.
Top angel investor and multiple best-selling authors, Tim Ferris, tells entrepreneurs that it is important to know the endgame for your business. You must be clear about the ultimate goal of your business. If you know this, you will be able to plan a strategy to scale your business.
Only if you know where you are headed, can you create a plan to get there.
2. Create a business map to know where you are headed
Creating a business map requires you to document why you started the business, what its current position is and where you want to go with it.
You might be wondering: why do this? It seems so obvious.
A business map forces you to ask and answer questions that matter:
- Why did I start this business?
- What kind of business is it fundamentally?
- Which is next for the business?
- What is the ultimate goal?
3. Get to know your customers while your business is small
Company leaders are constantly reminded to keep their customers in mind, maintain good customer relationships, and delight their customers. The customer is king, after all. But how are you going to achieve that when you have scaled your business to hundreds of thousands of customers and orders?
This is what Paul Graham, Co-founder of Y Combinator, told the founders of Airbnb:
“That’s exactly why you should do it now because this is the only time you’ll ever be small enough that you can meet all your customers, get to know them and make something directly for them.”
The secret lies in the beginning – in the first customers and how you treat them. If your treatment of them is stellar, and you make something they want, they will love you.
They will be loyal to the company, and loyal customers spread the good word. That will grow your company.
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4. Learn from those who have done it before
At different points in your efforts to scale your business, you will require strategic advice. When a business suddenly takes off, you might be caught off guard, and the company might struggle to cope with increased demand.
This is when you need the advice of people who have done it before. The right advice will save you time by cutting your learning curve short.
The sort of advice needed will differ from business to business and include in-depth financial, product development, logistics, and growth hacking expertise, Ferris told BestSelf founders, Allen Brouwer and Cathryn Lavery in 2017.
You can also learn from peers who have succeeded in achieving what you want to achieve. Ferris advises finding out:
- What did they do to achieve scale?
- Would promote the same approach for you?
- Would they do it differently next time? What would they change?
5. Have working systems in place
You can’t scale if you don’t have systems that work. Internal systems must work seamlessly at the outset, otherwise, you can’t scale. However, business systems must also be flexible to adjust to changing circumstances.
It’s crucial to establish a framework to help the business run smoothly right at the outset.
Why?
Because it will ease the process of scaling. If you have adaptable systems that work, the business can meet the challenge of increased demand.
It may even be prudent to put systems in place before you need them. For instance, you can prepare to put onboarding systems in place to accommodate an increase in appointments once the business has grown to a certain point.
6. Implement process automation
If you are serious about scaling your business, you have no choice but to consider process automation. Automation will help you to simplify your processes, reduce costs, and optimize time and effort.
Automating monotonous and repetitive tasks will speed up your business processes because digital agents can do work faster and more accurately. All of this contributes to greater productivity and increased efficiency.
While the software is taking care of administrative tasks, you and your team can concentrate on ways to scale the business.
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7. Hire judiciously
If you want to scale your business, you have to surround yourself with the right team. And that means employing the best people you can. You need a strong team that understands your vision, wants to help you achieve it, and has the skills to do so.
First, hire well so you can delegate. You’ll never scale if you have to handle everything yourself.
CEO and co-founder of business payment-technology startup, Tradeshift, valued at around $2.7 billion, says hiring the right people is a proven way to ensure fast growth. “It’s all about having the right team”, he says.
Here is the key point: if you hire the right people, you can delegate tasks to them with confidence.
8. Make sure you delegate
Delegation is a basic business skill that successful business leaders have mastered. It’s impossible to do everything yourself. Besides, it’s counterproductive.
Ask yourself this question: What am I doing that someone else could be doing?
British entrepreneur Richard Branson is famous for admitting that he is not good at everything and depends on others smarter than himself.
Talking about delegating accounting to Jack Clayden, Branson has said: “My friends and I wouldn’t have gotten our business off the ground without Jack. He shared our vision and in some areas, he knew better than we did how to make it a reality. From our experience working with him, we learned that if we wanted to grow our business, we’d have to delegate.”
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9. Seek collaboration
Consider forming a collaborative relationship with a competitor. If you can find another company to work with, it can benefit both companies and help both to grow. Should you be able to do this, your company potentially gains access to its customers, which can help you to grow your market reach.
Craig Handley, the co-founder of the call center ListenTrust, reports that his company benefitted immensely from collaborating with a competitor. The two companies decided to put the customer first, and both companies experienced growth as a result.
Final thoughts
There isn’t a standard formula that ensures business growth. The process will differ from company to company. One thing is sure though: it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and requires planning and the right team.
About Author
Entrepreneurs Tutor is an educational website operated by a successful entrepreneur. Our only goal is to have everything helpful to an aspiring or already successful entrepreneur in one place.
