Did your business plateau in 2022? Do you want to achieve ultimate growth in 2023? Like most business owners, you probably started your business with the vision of expanding. When it comes to scaling a business, it has to be done strategically and carefully. According to a McKinsey study, only 22% of new businesses launched in the past decade have successfully scaled. As daunting as this may sound, don’t let this stop you from scaling your business.
Whether you want to keep your momentum in 2022 or you want to increase your sales and expand your market in 2023, here are some helpful tips you can follow when scaling your business:
Evaluate and Create a Plan
Most entrepreneurs are able to pivot quickly and achieve greater heights because they have a well-informed business plan. They don’t just go about making changes randomly. The first thing you need to assess is your readiness. Know your financial capability because scaling requires funding. Then, determine if you need more employees to perform additional functions.
The next step would be to examine your existing product or service offerings. Use this opportunity to determine whether you need to expand your existing product line to new markets or if you need to introduce new products to your existing market. It would be wise to conduct competitor research and take a look at current and past industry trends.
Increase the Number of Competent Decision Makers
Many business founders make the mistake of being the sole decision maker for all areas in their business. As a business expands, the number of decisions to be made regularly will increase. Make sure to hire seasoned leaders who are equipped with the skills and experience to manage your team and internal processes so that you may focus on the bigger picture.
To avoid the time-consuming process of recruiting the right manager, you can always outsource from virtual assistant companies like Virtudesk. They handle the recruitment and training of executive virtual assistants. Executive virtual assistants are virtual workers who can take on leadership roles. They are able to manage teams and business processes.
Improve Business Processes
The key to successfully scaling your business is having a clearly defined outline of your outcome goals and process goals. The outcome goals are the specific goals you want to achieve. The process goals refer to the day-to-day processes and workflow that are repeatable for a specific time period. You can bulletproof your scaling plan by improving your systems and processes in preparation for the changes you want to make. Keep in mind how you can improve your lead generation process, marketing, supply chain management, accounting, invoicing, human resources, and many more.
Don’t do this step drastically. Create a plan first. Then, discuss your plan and timeline with your key employees before executing it. Another helpful tip is to create a detailed standard operating procedure (SOP) document for your team to follow.
Seek External Help
There comes a time in a business when core employees are wearing too many hats. This can lead to errors or worse, burnout. To avoid this, know which tasks you can delegate to specialists. One of the things that most entrepreneurs have taken advantage of is virtual assistant services. Sometimes it’s not enough to rely on your internal employees. There may be instances when you find yourself needing a specific skilled worker for a short-term project. In such instances, it may not be wise to onboard a full-time worker everytime there’s a need to fill a gap in your team. For projects that are short-term, you can hire virtual assistant services.
When you hire virtual medical assistant like Virtudesk, you don’t have to train your employees or provide them with benefits. You can delegate tasks to them swiftly and with the assurance that these will get done in a timely manner. This is because virtual assistant companies like Virtudesk monitor their virtual assistants’ productivity and attendance.
Invest in Technology
According to a global study by Automation Anywhere, an average worker wastes roughly around 40% of their day on manual administrative tasks. Free up the time of your employees by investing in technology. With the right technology, a bulk of these administrative tasks will be taken off your employees’ plate. This gives them more time to focus on honing their skills and double checking the accuracy of their work.
Technology allows you to seamlessly blend different systems. If your tools don’t work together, this can create silos. Silos can result in lengthier work processes and chaotic project coordination. Always do your research and test out new tools before incorporating them into your systems.
In 2023, economic shifts will continuously play a role in how you do your business. Be mindful of the shifting market when implementing changes. With these strategies in your toolbox, you will surely have a head start in growing your business this year.