One of the most common questions that entrepreneurs ask is- How to do I scale my business very quickly? If you search the internet for the answers, there are tons of advices floating. Many of the advice are not incorrect. Yet, I would caution that do not equate ‘quick’ with ‘easy’. The ‘quickly’ part of aspiration is a trap. A trap that leads to disappointments and eventually failures. Let me explain.
Scaling a business, or running a business is like a trek on a mountain. It is an exciting adventure with its share of risks, uncertainties, chaos, and ambiguity. If the terrain or climb is new then the goal may be clear but the path is not. As a trekker, one must be ready climb down or change course because the visibility of the summit may be limited. A trekker has to choose to go to a point and then set the course for the next point. Then there are changing conditions like weather, terrain, injuries, etc.; team challenges, stress, name it. One must work with limited resources. If you are a trekker, you would know a host of challenges, or you could ask any one who is to find out more.
We live in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, chaotic & ambiguous world) and business is an entity in the ecosystem that is as prone to VUCA as any system. Therefore, a business is better off, aspiring for a long term sustainable growth. That in a true sense is the quickest way. Where should one start?
Back to basics
You have a good start already if you have identified and articulated your purpose and goal(s); and created a plan. No goal, no plan, no strategy. No strategy, no growth! People spend at least an hour if not more, to plan their vacation. Did you notice that they do not spend proportional time for planning their business even for a year ahead? Well, according to a study of Small & Medium Enterprises, 80% of business owners do not have a plan and out the rest, only a third of them review and update their plans.
If you have the basics checked, then you are already on the way to scale your business. There is a ton of support for various tactics for marketing, sales, operations, building and managing resources, finance, etc. However, here are some traits that will help make your plan, strategies really work for you.
Perseverance and Consistency – Remember the trek? You need to push towards your goals/milestones with consistency. Lack of consistency brings inconsistent results.
Patience and courage – When faced with issues, empathize with the people and situation. There may be temporary setbacks. It should neither deter you nor discourage you. Giving up is a short cut to failure.
Work towards adding value – Your service or product may already be solving an important problem and adding value to your customers. However, that is not what will grow your business even in the short run. Work towards giving more value to your customers on a regular basis.
Work on your business- Business owners spend a lot of time solving problems by themselves. Doing that still puts you in a mode where you are trading your time for earning your money. Find the right resources for the tasks and delegate. Use your time to strategize what your business will accomplish in the short & long term.
If you want to scale your business, it is important to cultivate the above traits. Given that you have the basics in place, consistent growth is a result of intentions you set and the actions you take as opposed to being busy with tasks. If you are consistent, you will soon realize that scaling your business is ridiculously easy and fun.