4 Smart Tips To Scale Your Business
It is no secret that running a small business is a challenging venture. Indeed, according to the Small Business Administration (SBA), only 50% of all small businesses survive their first year. However, if you have weathered the storm of the first years of business, growth will undoubtedly be a huge priority. It is essential to scale your business to find the best ways to grow as efficiently as possible and ensure that your profits surpass your losses. Below are some effective tips for scaling your business.
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Find funding
There is no denying that scaling a company doesn’t come cheap. Your plan may call for hiring employees, adding facilities and equipment, and deploying new technology, all of which require money to pull off. Bootstrapping is perhaps the most popular way to fund your scaling efforts, but it typically takes years to see results with bootstrapping alone. Small business competitions with mouthwatering cash prizes like the annual FedEx Small Business Grant Contest and the US Chamber of Commerce Dream Big Award are worth considering. You can also consider a loan or line of credit from a reputable traditional lender to get started.
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Outsource when appropriate
Fortunly estimates that about 300,000 jobs get outsourced out of America each year. It is smart to access outside expertise when appropriate because recruiting isn’t always the answer for a scaling company. Third-parties have the investment in systems and staff that make them more efficient in handling specific functions than your company. Also, your business will likely waste significant time and money if it attempts to replicate that function in-house. Consequently, find a reliable partner to outsource essential tasks and position your company for faster, better, and cheaper scaling. For instance, if you are a digital marketing company, you can invest in White Label PPC to offer PPC services to clients using a trusted agency’s services.
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Invest in the right technology
Technology simplifies and lowers the cost of scaling a business. Therefore, you can enjoy huge economies of scale and output with less labor if you make the right technological investments. Automation is worth investing in to run your company more efficiently and at a lower cost with minimal manual labor. You can also invest in systems integration since companies must have collaborative systems to reduce management and communication problems as they grow. Some of the best automation solutions to consider include accounting, inventory, sales management, HR, and CRM technology systems. However, it would help to look beyond software and invest in networks and hardware like computers, printers, and servers.
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Have a business map
Entrepreneurs always have a business plan, but a business map is not so common. A business map is simply an effective and comprehensive way to scale your company and meet its goals. These maps encourage and challenge entrepreneurs to consider their company’s origins, define their purpose for starting the business, and specify future goals. It is useful to have this map containing your goals when scaling your business since you can refer to this helpful reference when the going gets tough.