Starting up a new business calls for rigorous planning and stringent execution. After all, it’s not easy to set up a new business and grow it to sustainable value.
Every startup needs to scale up if it is to dominate the industry someday. Of course, scalability is easier said than done. And most of the entrepreneurs really struggle to answer the commonly tossed question- is it scalable, when faced with during a funding meeting.
According to a survey conducted by StartupGenom, around 74% of startups fail because of premature scaling. So, even if your business model is scalable, using appropriate techniques and that too at the right time is very important.
Here are some ideas that you can use to upscale your business.
- Set Up The Grounds For Scaling
Before you can even start thinking about scaling up your business, there are a few basics that you need to sort. These fundamentals will act as the foundation of your upscaling process. At the core of every business is its product line. And ensuring that your products satisfy the market demand strongly is, therefore, the basic need for upscaling efforts to begin.
Once, you have identified the largest core market for your products, it becomes easier to generate revenue. After all, you’ll need the capital when you are considering to expand and grow your business. According to CBInsights, the second largest reason for the failure of startups is the shortage of funding capital, at about 29%. So, you need to be sure about your resources.
- Automation Can Make You Time For Further Planning
Once, you’ve set up the ground for scalability, it’s time you start figuring out how to do it. One of the best methods to upscale your business is to automate the process. This would not only reduce the cost of processing but also save you a lot of time.
Furthermore, automation can also improve the quality of your products, while ensuring that there are minimal defects and errors. According to Rob Rosenblatt from smallbiztrends, “2019 is the year where startups will turn heavily towards technology to assist with keeping up with their books and avoiding financial distress”. So, you can make use of cloud computing or other such automation tools for simplifying your operations.
- Invest In Appropriate Marketing Strategy
Planning to scale up your business also requires certain marketing efforts. Since it is the ultimate consumer who can decide the success of your venture, you need appropriate marketing strategies in place to reach out to your target audience.
You can choose from a variety of marketing tools, such as SEO, email campaigns, billboard marketing, and direct mail marketing. One such popular and effective tool that has come around in recent years, is influencer marketing. According to SocialBook.io, the influencer marketing industry has quickly become a $5-$10 billion dollar industry even though it is still relatively new. Another added benefit of using influencer marketing is high returns on investment as compared to other tools and strategies.
- Don’t Burden Yourself With The Non-essentials
Another common mistake that many entrepreneurs commit is trying to handle each and every task themselves. This would eventually lead to a drastic decline in inefficiency, which is not at all beneficial for your business.
When you are upscaling, you need to be free yourself of these unnecessary burdens. A smart way could be to partner up or outsource your non-essential tasks. This would allow you to focus more on your business, rather than the trivial matters, that can easily be handled by others. If Startupbasics is to be believed, more and more startups are becoming open to partnerships and collaborations. This not only reduces the burden but also improves the quality of the task that is outsourced.
- Create Yourself A Responsible Team
According to a review published at Harvard Business, “startup teams that reported high levels of previous experience but average to low levels of passion and collective vision were overall weaker”. It is needless to say, a business is only as successful and scalable as its team. You need to understand that hiring just anyone may bring in more harm than good.
A good way to sort out the best prospects for your team is to assess the credibility of the aspirants. You need to make sure that the team you are building shares the same enthusiasm as yours. Additionally, the zeal to work and alignment with the organization’s vision can also prove to be crucial when you are hiring.
- Thumb Rule- Excuse Yourself
Your business is not about you, and this is an important lesson that you should follow as a rule of thumb. You are planning to create a legacy out of your business, and legacies follow in the absence of the legends. Planned Ascent could help in this regards. Or, Simply put, you need to craft your business model in such a manner, that is should be operative, even if you’re not present.
This is, obviously, easier said than done. But, still doable. When you are training your team and teaching them the necessary skills, make sure you impart the minutest details. For example, the invoicing, client acquisition, production, and delivery should all be running smoothly, without any need for your interference. Another statement published on Small Business Trends supports that having more than one founders increases the odds of success for a startup by 30%.
Scalability is not just facts and figures. In fact, the scalability of your business depends more on your own mindset than any other factor. Since it’s you who knows the nitty-gritty of your business, the best way, as long as you believe that your business can be scaled up, it sure can be. But, making the right decisions at the right time is equally important. Most of the startups fail during their first three to five years after they are established. And all of these failures are most likely explained by untimely scaling.
Make sure you have a contingency plan when you are scaling up. This would bring in the desired flexibility to your plans and therefore drive in successful results. And who knows, you may get featured by Forbes for being the most influential entrepreneurs of all time.
