In a business sense, the word scale has a variety of meanings and should be understood within context. When asking what the ‘scale’ of a business is, it refers to the possibility of growth, but when scaling a business it has more to with ‘the growth revenue with minimal or no increase in operating costs (e.g., administrative, sales etc.)” – as Leadership Maverick explains.
Operating the business at scale refers to the company’s ability to manage their resources optimally across all platforms to reach a goal. It’s all about the relationship between the operational costs and the revenue of a company, ideally the revenue should increase while the operational costs decreases or stays the same.
For the purpose of this article we will take a look at easy ways in which you could scale/grow your business in a short amount of time.
Make Sure Your Product Has Value
One of the most important things you need to understand before you consider scaling your business is the actual value of your product. Before pushing your business idea or product to grow you need to know that it’s credible and viable, therefore you already need to have a successful business model in place.
Use Marketplaces
“Once a company has developed a repeatable sales model, the next logical step is to invest in headcount to accelerate (and scale) the business.” – Leadership Maverick
Building your team doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to employ new team members. By making use of marketplaces you could use the talents and skills of independent workers – which limits the cost to company.
Take Fiverr® for example. It is a marketplace for creative individuals to participate in the Gig Economy. New Entrepreneurs and companies can make use of their services at affordable prices to increase their revenue with minimal operational costs. As a company you won’t need to offer benefits or even an office space to this professional. Gigs start at $5 and move up to larger amounts according to your project needs – so you could find a fit that would work well in your budget.
Automate Where Possible
Many times your business is doing well, but at the cost of high labour intensity. Improve the productivity for your entire team by automating as many processes as possible. Have a look at the software available in your industry to automate the mundane tasks and processes so that you could focus on customer relations and growing your customer base. This could be done by setting up a customer support system, self help or FAQ pages and online portals or even scheduling your social media updates. It’s all about saving time, and when you save time – you save money.
Inbound Marketing is King
Companies that are still in the start-up phase might not always have the resources for outbound marketing. If this is the case for your company try to find ways to attract customers without having to chase after them.
Establish an online presence and share informative content that will showcase your brand’s expertise. This could be done by making use of website marketing, social media, loyalty and affiliate programs. Not only will this help you come across less ‘desperate’ when looking for clients, but it will save valuable time as well.
Project Management Tools
As mentioned before, in order for your business to scale you have to make the best out of your current resources to increase your revenue. So, your current employees need to function optimally and efficiently. Project management tools such as Trello will allow you to clearly communicate your projects with team members and manage the team effectively without having check up on them in person. Make use of these tools to increase productivity in order to speed up the scaling process.
What have you done to manage your growing business? Do you have any tips for others getting started?
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