Scaling can be an exciting proposition. It can be nerve-wracking, too. If you don’t have experience with launching new product lines, scaling your team, or researching a new market.
Scaling your business doesn’t have to be too hard, though. There are a few simple tips you can follow that will aid you greatly in your endeavor to scale your business. Scaling any business requires walking the fine line between runaway expenses and stalling progress.
When businesses are scaling they should always consider every option before proceeding down any one path. There are a number of ways to climb a mountain, but only one peak.
Research your options
Sometimes you need to expand operations. You might think you need to scale just like the giant corporations do. You read over Harvard Business Review, research a few case studies, and try to reproduce previous success.
Source: Pixabay
While there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with this method, it may not be the best idea to copy corporations. While they are certainly successful, large companies have different strategies that they leverage for their specific set of circumstances.
Small businesses should research all of their options. Look at what people are doing in your local market, how SMEs are scaling, and how startups scale one employee to a dozen.
Review hiring alternatives
Researching what all kinds of businesses are doing can help you come up with successful strategies. In addition, you might want to look at alternative working arrangements and hiring options.
While you may think you might have to break the bank to hire the best people for your team, that’s actually far from the truth.
Remote work is exploding. Over a third of Americans have telecommuted in some capacity and the number continues to rise. Hiring remote workers can save you a deal on administrative and operational costs. Indeed, freelance remote professionals can be a great option for smaller businesses looking for flexible and affordable talent.
Consider hiring an experienced product manager
One of the biggest mistakes startups and small businesses make: assembling an amazing team without an amazing product manager at the helm. While you might want to recruit a band of the best lead guitarists, you’re going to have a lot of talent but not a whole lot of actual music.
The same is true for your team. You need to hire a product manager acting as the bandleader. Again, hiring an experienced and respected manager doesn’t mean you have to bankrupt yourself. There are plenty of experienced consultants, freelancers, and remote managers available. However, to make sure that you find the most suitable candidate that will bring you success, consider a product manager hiring guide that will make the process more effective. You will know how to screen your candidates, what questions to ask and what other important things to consider.
Businesses, luckily, have many options now when expanding to scale. Some businesses make the mistake of trying to match the big names in the industry rather than their competition. Instead of trying to top Apple in a quarter, businesses must adjust their scale to fit their level.
A great option for scaling is freelance or remote work. Freelancing and remote work offers extensive benefits to both employees and employees. Flexible schedules and contracts make them great assets when building up as a small business. Many freelance and remote workers will also be willing to convert to full time if the need arises. This makes hiring freelance and remote talent a very attractive scaling solution for small businesses.
If things aren’t adding up or you don’t know how to proceed, then it might be time to hire an experienced manager. Hiring an experienced manager can make all the difference for a small business looking to grow. An experienced manager will be able to enter a scaling situation with a small business and direct where things should be and when. They can help the upper management strategize for the future and navigate the scaling.
Source: Pixabay
All of that said, it is best if a company still tries to maintain its budget. Many businesses try to out-scale their competition to disastrous results. Instead, create an incremental scaling plan that will financially scale with the business.
A critical step for any scaling business is to seek out mentors who can show where to go and what to avoid. Scaling a small business can be made a simple procedure by hiring intelligently and seeking out experienced leaders.
Author bio:
Romy Catauta works in the marketing field and is passionate about writing on web design, business, interior design and psychology.
