Most entrepreneurs dream of seeing their business take off, but they are also caught by surprise. Things can get rocky as your business grows! It’s easy to feel like your business is spiraling out of control, and before you know it, mistakes are made and growth is stunted because you weren’t prepared.
That doesn’t have to be your experience. There are things you can do to take control of how your business grows so you can expand in a sustainable way.
Replatform in the Cloud
In order to grow and scale, you have to have capable systems in place. As you grow, that can be a tall order because you’ll find that you’re quickly outgrowing your current systems. The thought of restructuring and updating hardware on your own can be daunting. There’s an easier and more effective solution.
Replatforming in the cloud.
Cloud replatforming simply means taking your current applications and migrating them to a new platform in the cloud. When you follow a well-planned roadmap to successful cloud replatforming, you’ll be able to scale up or down your operations at a moment’s notice. It is also likely to give you better performance than on-premises platforms with added security, encryption, and other services that you would otherwise have to hire for in-house.
Create a Strategy and Stick to It
Growing can be exciting, but it can also be scary. Flying by the seat of your pants is asking for disaster. Instead, you need to create a strategy and stick to it.
Your business strategy should include things like:
- Identifying your aspirations and values
- Pinpointing exactly who your business serves
- Setting clear goals that can be broken down into business, department, and employee goals
- Creating a plan that’s broken down into time-sensitive steps to achieve those goals
- Figuring out how you’re going to measure results
It’s never too late to create a business strategy! You can also revisit it whenever you need to. As a matter of fact, it’s actually recommended that you revisit your strategy every year to make sure you’re on track.
Invest in Comprehensive Financial Services
As your business continues to grow, the numbers are going to get more complicated, and you’re going to have less time to manage them yourself. The earlier you can afford to hire the right financial service providers, the better.
Payroll is a great place to start, especially if your team is growing. It’s a good idea to have a certified public accountant (CPA) on call too. Not only can they help you balance your books, they can also provide you with advice, especially when tax time rolls around.
Hire the Right People
As you grow, you’ll likely also have to grow your team. You may be tempted to hire entry-level employees to save some money. The thought of being able to mold them to their position can be alluring too. There’s nothing wrong with having a few newbies on your team, but instead of focusing on saving money, you need to focus on hiring the right people.
Although it may cost more money to hire employees with more experience, you get to put their expertise to work right away, which can help a lot if you’re going through a stressful period of growth.
Hiring the right people can also decrease turnover, which can be extremely costly. You don’t want a member of your team to take off when you’re already feeling stretched thin. You don’t want to have to refocus your attention on the hiring process when there are so many other important things to focus on, either.
Delegate
Another benefit of hiring the right people is the fact that you can take some tasks off your plate by delegating them to others.
The right way to delegate is to figure out what it is that you do best or you want to spend most of your time on. Then, figure out what tasks get in the way of you being able to do that. Those are the tasks that you should delegate to someone else on your team.
Just make sure you take the time to delegate the right tasks to the right people. Then, set up one-on-one meetings to discuss how it’s going to make sure it’s getting done.
Outsource When Needed
Not every task requires a full-time employee. Not every task can be delegated to a member of your team, either. Sometimes it’s better to outsource.
The best thing about hiring a contractor or a freelancer to work on certain projects is that you get their expertise without having to put them on your payroll. You can hire the perfect person for the job, and when the job is done, you both move on.
A few tasks you can outsource include:
- Marketing
- IT management
- Manufacturing
- Website design
- Copy and content writing
Invest in Yourself
Don’t let your own growth, knowledge, and expertise fall to the bottom of your to-do list just because your business is growing. It’s important to invest in yourself throughout the process so you can tackle the challenges associated with growing whenever they arise.
One of the most obvious ways to invest in yourself is to take a class or a course, but there are many other ways you can invest in building your skills. From attending a conference, joining a networking community, or even reading a book or listening to a podcast, investing in yourself means investing in your business.
Having a business that is growing is an exciting time. It can also be a stressful time as you try to operate as efficiently as possible with so many changes going on around you.
Take a deep breath, slow down, and work your way through the tips on this list. Even if they take you weeks or even months, by tackling them one by one, you can get through this period of growth and better prepare you and your team for the growth to come.
