Whether you’re running a fledgling startup as an entrepreneur or an expert trying to take a small business to the next level, the question always comes down to how you can grow and scale the company. A stagnant company is a dying company, so it’s in your best interest to get things going as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Here are seven tips that will help you accomplish that goal:
1. Keep solving customer issues and problems
One of the best ways to scale your business is also one of the most intuitive – keep solving customer issues and problems. That is the core of any successful company. The better you offering is at solving your target market’s problems, the more revenue you are likely to make.
When you’re thinking about what to do next for your business, think about your customers. Is there anything your product line isn’t solving for them? Are there ways you can improve your offering that make it more accessible or useful to your target market? Keep your company focused on solving problems, and eventually you’ll make enough revenue to grow further.
2. Create a strong foundation for growth
Growing and scaling a small business will take more than just making a lot of money. You need a strong foundation for growth. There are two things involved in this – systems and leadership.
- Systems, how your company gets things done. Think of it as various established practices and workflows so that work no matter how big your company grows, these processes will make it easier to transition into greater numbers, which will help you when your company scales up.
- Leadership, ensuring that your business can handle the influx of new workers that will come in. Many will need to be trained so they can integrate into the company’s systems quickly. Doing this well, minimizes slowdowns from new staff, enabling you to take advantage of your new size as early as possible.
3. Surround yourself with successful people
The people who surround you can have a profound impact on your performance.
Joining a network of like-minded successful business professionals can help you get into the right mindset. Additionally, they can provide you with critical advice that can help you achieve your goals.
4. Create actionable, but urgent, timelines
Creating timelines and milestones is a core part of running a business. This gives your company direction and a sense of accomplishment whenever you get things done. However, it’s all too easy to make your timelines too lenient. While they still serve as a guide, in this case they fail as motivational tools.
Don’t be afraid to go tight on your timelines. While running a business is often considered a marathon, it’s no reason to refrain from haste whenever appropriate. Keep deadlines within reason, but limit wiggle room. That way, they’ll serve as motivational aides.
5. Seek win-win alliances
Much of business is portrayed as a “dog-eat-dog” scenario, and while there are cases when this is true, there are just as many situations in which collaboration is the winning move. The more profitable partnerships your business has, the easier it will be for you to scale.
Strangely, the first place to look for partnerships might be in the competition. You may end up finding a company that, if joined with yours, ends up covering everyone’s weaknesses. This is not only good for your business, but for your customers as well.
6. Start selling more than one thing to your audience
At the start, your small business may not have the resources to offer more than one product. However, if you want to take things to the next level quickly, you will need to expand your offerings. A good way to do this is to focus on the customers you already have, and not expanding your target market. Think about what other problems your customers have that you can solve.
It’s best to work along the lines of your current offering. Not only will you preserve your brand, it will also naturally flow with your current capabilities and expertise. This will allow you to get the most out of the expansion with minimal expenditure of time and resources.
7. Go big
If you want your company to grow and scale, you need to think and go big. Whatever you’re doing at the moment is likely not enough to take your business to the next level. You not only need to think bigger, but you need to figure out what a realistic version of “bigger” means to you and your resources.
Once you figure it out, you cannot hesitate. You cannot take your company to bigger and brighter places by doing what you did before. Different goals require different moves, and you need to be ready to dance.
Conclusion
Growing and scaling a business is a difficult endeavor, one that will take time, energy, and resources. However, it’s often the only way to take the next step forward. When it’s time to grow, you need to do it right.
