Most entrepreneurs do not start-up businesses with the intention of keeping them small. In fact, for many, the goal is to grow their business, maximizing their profits along the way. 

However, expansion is not always an easy process for a company to go through. In fact, several issues and factors need to be carefully considered and planned for if you are looking for a successful scale. Fortunately, you can find out all about what they are, and some smart strategies for dealing with them in the post below. 

Planning your business’s growth 

In business, it is tough to move forward successfully without first taking stock of where you are. That means it’s vital to evaluate your current practices, infrastructure, and customer base before you even begin trying to upscale your business. 

In fact, you need to establish whether your business can expand in its current form, or whether significant changes need to be made. After all, some businesses go ahead and spend all that money on expansion and then find their company can’t keep up. Something that can lead them to be not only out of pocket but will have a mass of unhappy customers whose trust has been broken to deal with. 

Once you have established the current state of affairs, you can begin to consider what you will do to increase sales, and how you can cope with this increased capacity. Be sure to speak to those on the front lines at this stage, because they are often the people with the best insight into where bottlenecks or gaps in your processes can occur. 

Expansion strategies 

Of course, there are a myriad of things you can do to bring in more sales to your business. Many you have likely already considered, such as increasing your SEO and using social media influencers to promote your products. 

However, there are other expansion strategies to consider, as well. The first of these is to use video marketing to create a Youtube channel full of tutorials on your business’s specific area of expertise. In fact, there are a significant number of benefits to doing this. In particular, it will raise the profile of your brand and provide you with plenty of exposure, something that should have a knock-on effect when it comes to sales. 

Additionally, do not forget that video is the most shared content across any platform. Therefore, if you want your products in front of your target audience, this is a great tactic. 

Another stellar strategy to use when looking to grow your business is setting up a sales funnel. That is a way of meeting your clients at whatever stage of the buying process they are at and making sure they stay engaged. Of course, one of the most significant benefits of using such a funnel is that you can scale it indefinitely. Something that means it can keep growing as your business does. 

Finally, when it comes to strategies that will increase your sales as you grow your business, do not forget that value that offering commission can bring. In fact, offering the people that facilitate your sales a cut of the profit is a very effective way to keep them motivated. 

Just make sure that you also offer them appropriate training and support along with financial incentives. Otherwise, this method may not be as effective as it could be, and so negatively impact your businesses ability to expand.  

Funding 

Next, before you can successfully expand your business, you need to know where funds to make this happen will come from. After all, getting bigger and taking on more orders will have an impact on the amount your company can expect to spend. 

In particular, most businesses require more equipment, staff, tech and even space when expanding. Especially if their company is involved in creating or selling a physical product. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, with some businesses being more suited to low cost scaling such as these offering a product or service online. 

However, if you are in the same boat as the vast majority of businesses, you will need to find the funds that will allow you to expand. One way to do this is to reinvest any profits you have already made. Although most businesses seek out loans or investors to cover the majority of expansion costs. 

Infrastructure and scaling 

One of the most significant issues that businesses encounter when expanding is that their current infrastructure won’t hold up under strain. What that means is it’s essential to carefully think about any potential issues before they occur. 

To help here, there are some factors in particular that you need to take into account. The first of these is whether you have enough staff, in particular, sales staff to get through the increase in leads you have. In fact, if you don’t, you could run into a significant problem not just because you will lose potential sales, but you could risk alienating potential long term customers as well. 

Then there is the issue of charging your clients. Do you have a payment system that can stand up to increased use, can your accounting department cope with the higher workload, and who or how will you chase payments that are still due? 

Finally, consider the capabilities of the ordering or booking system that you currently have in use. Will it be able to expand quickly with the new orders that come in? Is it efficient and effective, and are there any issues that could be resolved now to prevent turmoil later on?

Upgrade your tech 

Of course, many of the issues surrounding scaling up your business are related to your use of tech. The good news is that if properly executed, the right technology can make it cheaper and more efficient to scale your business. 

In fact, there are several ways to go about this. The first is to make the systems that you are using in your business play well together. That is that they are integrated and data or time isn’t lost when one is communicating with another. 

Then there is the matter of automation both in real life and concerning the software that you use. After all, if you can automate the repetitive tasks, it can make them more efficient, and also free up your employees. Something that allows them to focus on the other critical areas of your business expansion.

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Some companies, particularly those offering a service online will also need to make sure that their technology infrastructure including their software will be able to cope with the additional strain. In fact, this issue may necessitate such a significant change as switching the programming language used in system and app development to something like Golang. Why use golang? Well, the answer is that it is a language that can help to facilitate faster operation. Something that means your company can quickly grow the services it offers online in a scalable way. 

Finally, when it comes to tech, it’s not all about software. You will also need to give some consideration to the hardware, networks and services that you are using as well. After all, you have the fastest software in the west, but if your systems can’t handle it, it’s not going to help you successfully grow your business. 

Recruitment and staffing 

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Next, when it comes to expansion, you will need to find additional staff to handle the extra load. The good news is that at least some of this strain can be shouldered by automation. However, you will still need to ensure you have a robust recruitment and onboarding systems for the extra workers you do require. 

In particular look at likely key pressure points like accounting, manufacture and sales. Ask yourself whether your business has enough people to cope with the influx of orders and increased workload here? 

Also, ask whether you can outsource any of the tasks or responsibilities upscaling your business will create? Additionally, you will also need to find out whether this will be cost-effective. 

Many businesses going through expansion find it useful to work with outside recruitment providers such as agencies. Either to find temporary staff during a surge or to locate long term, permanent employees. Of course, if you know that such a rise in staff need is likely, it’s an excellent idea to go through all the consultation processes beforehand. Then can find you additional employees that suit your needs quickly and effectively. 

Final thoughts 

In summary, business expansions can be tricky. It is not only a matter of getting more customers and making more sales. In fact, to be successful, you need to account for several issues such as funding, strategy, planning, infrastructure, technology, and recruitment. 

However, the answer is to consider the effect that growing your business will have on these issues ahead of time. Then you can make the scaling process much smoother, and more productive. Something that should ensure your business can grow in size and profit without too many significant issues.

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