Scaling a business can seem to be a tricky maneuver from the outset. However, with a few steps, you can make the process much easier and more meaningful. In order to scale, a business must consider its business plan and decide on in which direction it wants to proceed.
Occasionally, during the course of a startup’s first year, for instance, a company may find that its product or service is attracting a different audience than expected or is evolving into something else entirely. Whatever the case may be, reevaluating your business plan is always a sound decision before any big change.
It is always a good idea to evaluate other businesses as well. Look at your competition and other business within your industry to see how they scale and when. Timing and methodology can be the most difficult parts of scaling and are easily dealt with by observing your peers. Scaling is not a precise science, and every business is different, but the art of scaling revolves around innovating on what was to create something new.
1. Reevaluate your business plan
Reevaluating your business plan is always a good idea before any major change. New businesses are especially vulnerable to pivoting the direction of the product or service.
Before scaling, reevaluate your business plan in accordance with the audience or natural evolution of your product or service.
2. Find out what your competition is doing
Always look at the things around you to find out what you should do and when you should do it. The same is true for scaling your business. Take a look at what the competition is doing and how they are scaling.
Many times, the timing of such a move or transition can be determined by analyzing the success rates of your peers. By simply studying other businesses in your industry, you can make the scaling process much easier.
3. Research alternatives
There are other methods of scaling a business that does not have to be orthodox or traditional. For instance, some companies will take on limited time contracts where the workload will increase dramatically for a predetermined amount of time.
In these instances, it may be better to hire freelancers and flexible contractors who will work with your timelines and budgets to complete projects without busting the budget. Another alternative is to find a smaller business that is doing something similar and try to join forces to evolve the product. In any case, it is always recommended to do your research before taking the first step.
4. Consider consulting a mentor
Hiring a mentor or business consultant is also highly advisable because they offer a guiding hand through a tumultuous time.
Mentors will help the administration and executive teams as they navigate the scaling process. They are invaluable to young businesses and are always a good idea.
5. Reduce your costs
Scaling is as much about costs as it is about innovation. Reducing costs is absolutely necessary when scaling as the process can involve plenty of hidden expenses. To reduce cost, businesses should consider contracting freelancers and utilizing remote work to limit expenses without reducing productivity.
The freelance market is massive and growing every day with a wealth of talented people who can work from home on flexible terms. Remote work has repeatedly shown to increase happiness amongst the staff while retaining and typically increasing, productivity.
Going fully distributed takes away the need for offices, parking spaces, and food allotments. Whichever method is chosen, reducing costs is of vital importance.
Conclusion
Research and guidance are important cornerstones of the scaling process. Transitioning the teams during the scale can be an internal organizational nightmare. That is why it is recommended that companies hire a mentor or consultant to help guide the administration through the scaling process.
Research alternative scaling methods, such as hiring freelancers to meet development criteria on a limited time project, to discover which method would cause the least amount of stress.
Finally, scaling your business should involve reducing your costs as much as possible to transition with as much flexibility as possible. A great way to reduce costs is to hire freelancers and talented contractors to take on the increased work without long term commitment.
Instead of onboarding and hiring full-time employees, freelancers can be brought in on flexible terms to assist the company and help complete the scaling. Regardless of the method, being in a position of scaling is a fortunate thing and with these steps, it can be a simpler task.
