December 18, 2024
Throughout our years of helping businesses, solopreneurs, and entrepreneurs, we’ve come to understand that managing, owning, and operating a business can be incredibly demanding, especially if you don’t have a business background.
Not having a business background isn’t a problem. Many of the best business owners we’ve met are self-taught, having learned a lot from their own failures and successes.
As business owners ourselves, we’ve been through numerous challenges. While this path is rewarding, it can be very demanding, frustrating, challenging and even harder without support and guidance.
Before diving into advice on scaling your business, the first thing to consider is: Are you doing the basics?
If you’re not covering the basics, we can identify numerous problems. Here’s how to make sure you’re doing the basics right, access this content to ensure you’re doing your homework: Mastering the Basics and Techniques of Business.
If you’re confident with the basics and are growing but facing problems with scaling, then this content is perfect for you.
Scaling a business is a journey you must be ready to embark on. Scaling challenges are significant for growing businesses. What works at a $100k turnover might not be effective at $700k.
This means that as your business grows and plateaus, you need to step back and evaluate what needs to change for continued growth.
Sometimes, it’s a tradeoff between the owner doing everything and having to delegate tasks to staff.
When you start growing, you might feel very attached to some parts of the business, such as customer service, supplier trading, or financial planning.
Having a structured process and your own methodology can help you with the “letting it grow” process. Training people to maintain and prioritise the quality you envision is essential, but DELEGATING is a must for scaling and growth.
To start growing and scaling a small business, you need to let it grow and delegate. Build a strong team to support you and free yourself to focus on the important things.
Your business is already running, you have your processes, procedures, and methodologies in place, and you are selling your products and services.
You’ve learned what works for you. Now it’s time to achieve the next level, face new challenges, and tackle the next learning curve. You need to focus on planning and structuring.
This answer must be as honest as possible. If your product or service is not profitable enough and you’re just breaking even or using your own funds, you need to step back before thinking about scaling.
Book a Free Discovery Call to discuss how you can fix this situation!
If you’re not profiting and your margins are too low, growth won’t be sustainable. Some businesses may be growing but are just breaking even and not making a profit, which is not a good sign.
We had a client passionate about their e-commerce business focused on children’s furniture. The branding was spot on, and everything seemed great. He was optimistic about his product and invested heavily in the business. However, upon analysis, we found that the products weren’t profitable enough, margins were too low, and company expenses were high.
Unfortunately, the client chose not to follow our advice and had to cease operations several months later.
Proper financial management is critical during the scaling process. Start by analysing and answering important questions:
– Cost Management: Are you monitoring your expenses closely? Are you investing in what is profitable and reducing unnecessary costs without compromising quality?
– Profit Margins: Is your product or service profitable enough to scale? Are you ready to invest in innovation and present new offerings to your regular clients?
If your business is running with its own fuel and is profitable with room to grow, it’s time to delegate and focus on business growth planning.
Your team will be instrumental in supporting your growth and achieving your dream.
– Strategic Recruitment: Hire people with the skills and experience needed to take your business to the next level.
– Cultural Fit: Ensure new hires align with your company culture and values.
– Training and Development: Establish processes and procedures. Continuous learning and leadership development are essential for maintaining quality and fostering growth.
Of course, these are just two initial steps you can take to start preparing the soil to scale your business. There are a few more things you must do after structuring it.
As a starting point, if you nail these two initial items, you’ll be ready to move forward to the next phase.
Scaling a business is an ongoing journey that involves cycles of preparation and growth. Some businesses are ready to scale, while others need to prepare before they can grow. Having mentoring support can make a huge difference by helping you identify blind spots and adjust your strategy for success.
You don’t have to go through this journey alone. It can be much easier and more enjoyable with the right support. Let us be part of your growth journey.
Book a Free Discovery Call now and learn how we can help you.
