Research shows that a whopping 62% of Americans want to be their own bosses and establish their own businesses. That said, while starting a business is one thing, maintaining a business is an entirely different obstacle!
Do you have an established business? Are you looking to grow in the future? Want to increase your revenue, but aren’t sure what the next strategy should be?
Let’s get into the top tips for scaling your business.
1. Determine If You Want To, and Can, Scale Your Business
First things first, you don’t need to scale your business. If you’re satisfied with your current status quo, don’t feel pressured to change it! Furthermore, rushing into scaling can actually jeopardize your business.
Before diving in, you should assess the following elements.
Active Growth
Your business may be ready to scale if you have more tasks than you have time. In other words, you may be pulling insanely long work weeks and feeling frustrated and depleted by lack of your energy.
Steady And Consistent Income
It’s often dangerous to try and scale a business if you don’t have a steady and reliable cash flow. How satisfied do you feel with your current leads and sales?
Are you bringing in solid income- but failing to make a significant profit? Take some time to look over your financial situation. You should have a steady cushion before you leap into starting something new.
Effective And Adaptable Business Model
When you envision the “core” of your work, what can you delegate? If you had to teach your tasks to a stranger, could you do it? If so, how?
Please note that if your business solely relies on you, it’s going to be challenging to scale. That said, you aren’t the best diversification. After all, what happens if you get sick or need to take a vacation?
2. Watch Your Competition
One of the best ways to assess business scalability is by seeing what others are doing! This means devoting some time to proper, old-fashioned research.
You always want to be a step ahead of the competition. Categorize your direct competition (those who target the same audience) and your secondary competition (those who offer higher or lower-end versions of your service).
How have your competitors scaled their business? Which strategies have proven to be most effective? Which plans were a complete waste of time?
What are the customers actually purchasing? And why are they buying those products and services? Is it due to price, quality of the item, or both?
Your competitive analysis helps you identify why customers should choose you above other businesses. The research enables you to identify strengths and weaknesses in your niche. It also helps you better understand your current landscape.
Don’t forget to follow your competition on social media, sign up for their email list, and even consider purchasing a product. This research only helps you refine your next moves.
3. Build Your Power Team
When you choose to scale, you’ll need the strongest people in your industry to support you. Remember that happy and prosperous employees can make for successful businesses. Take your time and patience in scouting for the best recruitment.
First, you need to identify the job before posting a job ad. What experience and credentials do you need this person to have? What can they bring to your company that another professional cannot?
Remember that you should invest in your employees as you would invest in any opportunity. This means offering attractive benefits like healthcare and retirement plans. However, it also means considering other perks like:
- on-site daycare
- paid sabbaticals
- pet insurance
- on-site fitness centers
- snacks and meals
By investing in your employees, you create an inherent sense of loyalty. And when employees feel respected and valued, they’ll share your vision with enthusiasm and passion. It’s a win-win.
4. Automate and Outsource The Rest
If you plan to scale, you must expect to automate and outsource some of your tasks. For one, it’s impossible for you to manage everything on your own. Second, it’s ineffective.
By automating and outsourcing, you free up your time and mental energy to focus on the tasks that are most important to you.
Start by automating the easiest processes first. These may include tasks like:
- social media posting
- website traffic tracking and observing
- invoice and email reminders
- customer emails
- event registration
- job recruitment
- bill payments
- receipt storage
Can’t automate some of your tasks? Don’t overlook the power of outsourcing. Rather than hiring an extra full-time employee, determine if it’s viable to hire a virtual assistant or independent contractor.
This process may feel uncomfortable. There’s a good chance that you’ll feel anxious “handing over the reigns” to someone else. However, you must practice becoming comfortable with surrendering the control.
5. Focus On Becoming An Undeniable Authority
What makes a particular company a leading authority in their niche? They’re visible everywhere, they brand themselves appropriately, and they connect with the right people.
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to be an expert to be an authority. You also don’t need to be the “oldest” company or the “biggest.” You just need to establish your legitimacy.
You can achieve this in multiple ways including:
- start and update your blog
- connect with influencers in your niche
- write and market an ebook
- remain active on social media
- create an online course
- contribute to blogs and forums
Keep in mind that this process takes time. While some businesses may have overnight, viral success, slow and steady can help win the long marathon.
6. Refuse To Compromise on Quality
If you scale your business, you must stay diligent with your quality control. Never, ever sacrifice the quality or consistency of your product or service for quantity.
Customers can instantly tell when you’re trying to take shortcuts. This leads to revenue loss and a poor reputation. And that ends up hurting you significantly more than investing the extra time or money to maintain your current quality.
Bottom line? If you can’t scale without compromising quality, you’re not ready to scale. You either need more money, better employees, or more brainpower.
7. (Try To) Predict The Future
Of course, you don’t have a crystal ball. But that doesn’t mean you can’t track research and evaluate trends to see what people are buying.
Predicting the future means understanding your market. It means understanding what’s evolving- and what’s phasing out.
In other words, where are your current customers finding solutions? Where are they still struggling to find resources? What could make their lives easier?
8. Keep Your Current Customers Satisfied
There’s no doubt that customer acquisition is essential for securing your business’s success. However, you shouldn’t just focus on new customers. You need to value the people you have!
Continue to foster excellent customer service. In a world of thick and fierce competition, going the extra mile can make a profound difference in how your customers perceive you.
9. Learn And Practice Saying No
Even if you’re chasing growth, you must be able to distinguish excellent opportunities from subpar ones. In the initial stages, this may be challenging. After all, you may (falsely) believe that the presented idea is a “once-in-a-lifetime” suggestion.
That said, not all ideas are great ones. Even “good ideas” may waste your time. Instead, focus on what’s critically important. Be picky with what you approve.
As a business owner, you have a finite amount of resources. If you avoid saying no, you’ll overwhelm yourself with too many projects and contracts on hand.
This makes everyone on the team feel overwhelmed, and it can lead to lackluster performance.
10. Manage Your Cash Like A Boss
No matter how much money you make, you won’t scale appropriately if you can’t manage your cash. Furthermore, no matter how hot your ideas are, the economy fluctuates. As a result, your business’s success will fluctuate.
Stay smart with your financial decisions. Stick to a reasonable budget, and don’t buy what you don’t need. Reevaluate your expenses every six months to determine if you need to make changes.
Finally, don’t be afraid to ask vendors if they offer discounts! Many companies are happy to provide savings for repeat customers- or customers who are willing to purchase long-term packages.
Final Thoughts on Scaling Your Business
Scaling your business is exciting and scary. However, with the right strategies in mind, you’ll be well on your way towards dynamic growth and increased revenue!
Are you interested in learning more about how to maximize your entrepreneurial journey? Join our Clone the Owner® Facebook Group and share your ideas, network and learn about growing business with other like-minded business owners like you! Click Here to Request an Invite.
