What to do when it’s time to scale your small business

There comes a time in most every successful small business' "life," when it's ready to grow. Perhaps you're filling so many orders that you need more supply, or you're making enough profit to add people to your team. While this is an accomplishment in itself and a sign that you're ready to bring things to the next level, it can be difficult to know where to start and how to scale in a way that will allow for continued growth.

No matter what kind of business you have and how you anticipate scaling up, the first step should be to come up with a plan. In periods of extreme growth, it can be tempting to do whatever it takes as quickly as possible. While you certainly don't want to waste any time, it's important to analyze the sustainability of your predicted growth. This way, you don't end up hiring beyond your means or with excess inventory. If the growth is inspired by an increase in sales that's sudden and drastic, you'll want to pinpoint where it came from to make sure it will continue into the future before you make any major changes or decisions. You'll also want to consider whether your infrastructure and systems can accommodate growth. If not, how can you get to a point where it can? You may need better technology, funding, or even a more defined focus.

In many cases, hiring is the natural next step of scaling your small business, according to Entrepreneur. You may have heard the phrase "hire your weaknesses," before, and there's a reason that it's such a popular saying. You can't do everything yourself if you want your business to grow. If you're a founder of a company but have no management experience, it can be a wise decision to hire someone with that skill set so they can hire and manage the appropriate team. Alternatively, if you're very product-minded, like an app developer or inventor, you may want to hire someone with business or marketing expertise to bring your successful idea to the masses. This all depends on the nature of your business and where you see the most need, but if you're strategic about who you hire (or outsource), more help will equal more sales.

A larger team and more sales means there's more to keep track of, and more opportunity for mistakes. Per Forbes, you can mitigate errors by creating standard operating procedures. Employees will appreciate having clear, concise directions to follow in order to best perform in their position, and you won't have anything slipping through the cracks. You might think that if you still have a small team you can keep a flexible atmosphere, but this can lead to inconsistency as well as wasted time.

It's also important to have great legal representation as your company grows. Contact the Law Offices of Donald W. Hudspeth, P.C., today to learn more about how to fully set yourself up for success in your growing venture.

Categorised in: Starting a Business in Arizona

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