Do you go for summer vacations each year?
I am sure you do and so did I last summer to the beautiful valley of Bir Billing in Himachal Pradesh, India for camping and paragliding. Being the meticulous person I am, there was a checklist drafted for items be carried along, ordered online so that it arrives well in time, recharges the power bank for charging back up, downloading e-books, and The Good Wife episodes for binge-watching on the go. Planning, preparation, and checking on all the must-haves are needed for a hike up the mountain. Very much similar is scaling up your business. You need to plan and the journey starts by answering a plethora of questions such as these:
Have you defined what scaling up means for you?
To decide to scale up you need to uncover the most basic element which is of what you want. The small idea with which you started now needs to transform into a big vision. As you will ramp up your business, you will need help from experts, investors, professionals to help you reach that vision.
And when you do that scaling up can look like one or all the below
- Adding more team members
- Increase the price
- Investing in product development
- Making the operations more robust
- Going global with your current product
Are you in the mental framework of scaling up?
The entrepreneurial mindset with which you started, now needs a shift. Going from a solopreneur to being the boss is a sea change and you have to prepare yourself for it. Managing a team of 3 is very different from managing 20 people. Building a global business means traveling very often. Wait did you think of building an online business that serves globally? Well, it might need working at night to match the client’s daytime. Are you ready for it? I know this would be sounding counter-intuitive. But the purpose here is to have realistic expectations from yourself so that you can plan well for a sustainable growth
Is your business robust enough to withstand the turmoil?
Scaling up might need a sudden influx of cash, hiring of staff, or having technology integration. You also have to look into the legal and financial compliances. Your value and supply chain has to be steady and capable of taking on the spike in order and execution. Does your business has that profitability or funding to cushion for these added expenses. As the business owner, it’s your job to think through these things and then get on board the right resources.
It is exhilarating and rewarding to build big businesses and there is not one but many ways of doing it. You just need to start by looking into these three questions to take the next valid step. Once you answer these, you can build global businesses sitting out of your kitchen also.
Roshni Baronia
roshni.baronia@gmail.com