Growth is exciting because it means your product is working, your customers are responding, and your effects are – finally – paying off. But once that momentum starts to build, you’ll come across an entirely new kind of challenge – keeping up with it all. That’s because scaling up isn’t just about selling more stuff or hiring more people, it’s really about making sure your business can handle what comes next without losing the very things that make it so successful in the first place, or you’ll be back to square one (or worse).
Many businesses enter the growth phase with big dreams and a lot of ambition, but they hit bumps in the road when everyday stuff starts to break under pressure, and they’ll often find that processes that once worked great are now having trouble thanks to the higher demand. With that in mind, here are a few things growing businesses often overlook about scaling up to help you get it right.
It’s Not Just About Revenue
When we talk about growth, revenue is probably the first thing most people think of, but if you only think about that, then you’ll probably end up with growth that’s too much too soon, and that can lead to frustrated customers, burnt-out teams, and missed opportunities. One of the first signs that this might be happening is if you’re not able to be consistent anymore, meaning deliveries go out late, emails don’t get answered, tools aren’t working anymore, and so on. And eventually, the cracks in the system are going to just get more and more visible.
That’s why you need a good structure if you want sustainable growth, and although ambition is important, it’s not enough on its own. Putting the right systems in place early makes it easier to scale when the pace picks up, and there are a few ways to do it like investing in better tech, developing clear processes, or even just documenting the way things are done so new team members can jump in without needing a lot of help.
Small Problems Don’t Stay Small
The tricky thing about scaling is that minor issues can often get bigger and multiply – and it can happen fast. A small delay in customer service might be okay when you’ve got a few orders, but when you’ve got hundreds, it becomes a massive issue that could make or break your business. And that’s the same for so many other issues if you don’t take care of them quickly.
One area where this shows up fast is fulfillment. When you’re packing a few boxes a day, it’s easy enough to manage with some shelving, a spreadsheet, and some labels. But if your orders double, triple, or even end up being a lot more than that, you’ll quickly reach a point where your current setup won’t be able to keep up. At that point, getting some external help is probably your best bet, so it’s wise to explore various options when it comes to order fulfilment services – using experts means the stress and weight is off your shoulders, plus your customers will be a lot happier, and your business reputation can stay positive, which is always important.
People Matter More Than Ever
Anothing thing businesses often overlook when scaling is culture. It’s easy to have a tight-knit, positive, responsive team when you’re small, but as you grow, communication can start to get muddled and roles can get less clear, and that’s when you might run into some troubles that could become much more serious as time goes on.
What you’ll need to do is to know precisely how you want your team to operate and put systems and tools in place from the start to ensure that happens – even when you’re bigger. And when it comes to hiring, you’ve got to do it well rather than quickly. When you’re growing, it can be tempting to fill roles fast, but you’ve got to make sure there’s time for onboarding and training, and if not, then it won’t matter how many people you hire because no one’s going to know what they’re mean to be doing, or how it’s meant to be done.
You’ve also got to think about your existing team and how they work – will hiring a lot of new people all at once be a problem? It might be, and you’ll need to work out what’s best and what compromises might need to be made to create a happy, hard-working, motivated, and loyal team.
