In order to make your business grow, you need to make sure you have the right resources by your side like people, systems, mindset, etc. However, you should keep in mind that not every startup it’s meant to make it big. Of course, you would say sure but that’s not mine, mine will make it.
So, for this to happen you should be prepared, make sure you’re on the right track, the business is in the right phase and the people have embraced that mindset. Here are a few tips on how you can be prepare:
 
- Before you get started, you should make your fundamentals as strong as possible, this means that your product/service reaches market fit and you can make small but significant improvements based on the feedback and user data from your customers.
- Next, you should define the largest core customers — this is the ones that not only spent the most but also are the engine for your business, the largest part of your revenue comes from their spending.
- Discover marketing channels with the biggest ROI potential and start testing them with a small budget.
- Make sure you have the funds you need to scale. Don’t run out of money when you’re planning to scale your business.
Something else you should pay attention to is automation. Automate everything you can from setting up cloud storage and organization, training processes of new hires, marketing automation, payroll for rapid processing, etc.
This may take a long time in the beginning but it will pay off at the end, since you’ll be able to access data faster, hire faster, market better, and pay easier.
When it comes to marketing, it’s definitely something that you should spend extra time and effort. B
-Experts say that word-of-mouth and direct marketing don’t provide scalability like content marketing.
Content marketing has the viral potential and that’s the reason why most startups choose it as a grow-hack method. Another thing startups can do is outsourcing.
Nowadays big companies tend to do this as well, but startups are more lean to it since they can’t afford a lot of the services to be “in-house” like corporates. Lawyers, graphic designers, developers, etc., don’t have to be in-house. What stays in-house are the competencies which the startup team has mastered them. Nailing your core competencies will allow you to scale up, faster and easier.
Keep an eye on social media. Every startup especially the ones that are new on the market, are watched and examined by the world. Maybe you don’t have the power like a big corporation to influence the social media presence, but with the right content showing to the right audience, you can provide not only growing but also surviving to your business.
–One thing you must remember, your business is not about you!
If you really want your business to be scalable, it must run fine by itself. Shifting responsibilities to others when it’s your business it’s almost impossible. But you need to be aware that if you truly want your business to grow it must run smoothly when you are absent (ex. long holiday).
Hiring the right people is the only way to make your business scalable. Hire people with a multidisciplinary skill set and are full of good ideas. In a startup environment, one person may have to do three tasks. This is where the multidisciplinary comes in handy. Also, a good idea is something you can’t put a dollar on it. So, a single lightbulb moment on the part of one employee can mean more than pay for that employee.
–Some recommend taking days off on purpose, so you can force the employees to be more independent and take on more responsibilities.
If your business is thriving when you are not there, don’t be disappointed. Actually, this can be encouraging, your business is making money, relax or you can build another one. This shows that your presence isn’t crucial for your business to run and your employees feel empowered. This means the business is ready to grow.