Trying to Scale Up Your Startup Takes More Than Just a Brilliant Idea
From inception to development, every startup founder faces lots of hurdles and challenges. This is especially true when trying to scale up your startup. It’s easy to get caught up in the plethora of information involved in the weeds of starting a company. Every scaleup is a unique tale in which chance plays a significant part.
Even yet, several common factors appear to substantially improve the scale of success: experienced leadership, scalability-orientated design, and patience in market timing. They have seen phenomenal development and expansion while changing sectors through innovative business strategies. They appear out of nowhere and with a fresh new perspective, toppling long-standing incumbents while amassing an enormous fortune for its creators.
Scaleups by Sector. Image from ONS IDBR 2010-2018.
Scaleups have more patience and require longer to prepare. The period between forming a legal company and receiving the first income for startups and scaleup took more than twice as long to enter the market. They have the tenacity to complete all essential preparations, have an appropriate investment strategy, and wait for the appropriate conditions to enter the market.
The UK has seen more scaleups breaking through the £10m+ turnover mark, with a 37% jump year-on-year, according to a new report from Beauhurst and Scaleup Institute (via Sifted).
The importance of fast-growing startups, often known as scaleups, cannot be overstated. The majority of companies aim to swiftly develop a product and generate a profit margin. Because certain expenses are fixed, they function on the idea that as long as customers like the product, revenues will rise and the firm will eventually have major growth.
Looking to scale up your startup? All you need is to concentrate on the following checklist of steps to follow.
Product Market Fit
Research should form a backbone by going online and looking at your competition. You should also study the level of customer demand for the business service or product you’re considering offering.
Your team cannot afford to concentrate on other critical business goals such as the company’s exponential growth or upselling current customers before developing a product that you confirm enough people are willing to pay for. In reality, if you haven’t decided that your product has enough of a demand to support itself and make a profit, such measures might be counterproductive.
Hire Only as Required
It’s usually a “walking and chewing gum at the same time” situation at Small Companies. Multiple roles are taken by an employee and it keeps switching from tasks and work outside its job description. This might lead to cutting corners.
Sending new job offers just because a fresh project sprout up is a setback in the stage of growth. Only hire when there is a definite need to. Otherwise, focus on improving the current team to scale up your startup. When possible, choose freelancers. Using this strategy, you can save a lot of money when hiring employees.
One has to keep looking for the signs for company’s growth, some of which are:
- The workload on the founder is excessive
- There is a need for a specialist in a field
- Short goals are coming up frequently
- Employee turnover rate is at its peak
- Deadlines are extended regularly
- Customer complaints spike unexpectedly
- Overtime cost of employees has risen
Create a Business Plan
For the strategic tool for any small business, a business plan is very important. It’s as though you’re getting the best of both worlds. Having it helps you:
- Focus on the specific steps.
- Achieving long-term and short-term objectives.
- It can contain every minute detail of a company’s plan.
- Focus on annual growth.
- If presented properly, it speaks for itself.
- It helps to define priorities and develop goals.
Although, not everyone agrees with an idea of a business plan. Reluctance to write a proper business plan is very common as many entrepreneurs think they are irrelevant. Sometimes, great business ideas can be worthless if they are not executed and implemented properly.
Determine which marketing channels provide the best return on investment. As a result, ensure that you have a clear view of who your customers/core users are, that you understand which marketing channels provide the best return on investment and that you have the resources to grow.
It’s very necessary to make a full-proof business plan if entrepreneurs are looking for investors. Being the blueprint detailing of one’s master plan, a business plan can take the startup to new heights.
Create a Social Media Profile
Users interact with social media on a regular basis. As a result, it’s an effective way to hit the nail on the head. Some social media platforms you can use to scale up your startup are:
- Quora
Concentrate on a couple of them. Apply the efforts where the target audience is plentiful. On these sites, there is still a community of prospective buyers who visit daily. Investing in new products & technology is helpful too. You should create and post content often, therefore keeping in contact with potential customers. To get the material to its browsing radius, various methods should be sorted out.
For that, higher engagement tactics need to be engaged with the content like good visuals which include images and videos. Quality content marketing is very necessary and helps in the explosive growth of the company.
Keep in touch with the audience by replying to their complements, suggestions, and queries. If followers find the content relevant, they will recommend it to others which will eventually help in major growth.
Make Strong Financial Decisions
Finance management is critical for company owners and administrators. Management decisions of any organisation should weigh up any possible implications. Business owners should evaluate and track all aspects of their startup. This is because it affects the financial success of the company.
- Develop an annual budget to manage the finances effectively throughout the year.
- The selection of potential investors is very necessary. Investors help a business to scaleup and acquire more funds than it can get on its own.
- A well-thought strategy of repaying debts should be drawn before taking loans.
- A good habit that needs to be followed is seeking help from an accounting professional. An expert has an eye for every minute detail which can be ignored by owners sometimes.
Be a Professional
To take a startup to greater heights, it’s necessary to present a picture that both investors and consumers will respect. You should deliver the material about the organisation and industry in a technical, but user-friendly manner. This is so that visitors on the website understand more and can quickly navigate all the features.
The main purpose of any business is to serve customers properly. So, the service must be top-notch and customers visiting your website should leave with a positive impression.
Founders should also be working on themselves alongside improving the services. Creating a professional image requires a thorough knowledge of the field and hard work.
Adapting the skills mentioned below helps you become more professional:
- Work on the language of interaction.
- Become more presentable.
- Be ready all the time.
- Memorise all the necessary details of the company.
Consult Your Network to Scale Up Your Startup
Regardless of the size of the business, family and friends will assist. It does not have to be monetary; they will assist by providing truthful reviews on the product or service. Not only can a friend provide you with input, but they can also assist you financially. When borrowing money from relatives, it’s important to remember the following:
- Never borrow money from those who cannot risk losing their money.
- Repay your friends on time.
- Never borrow money from those who don’t trust you.
How to Scale Up Your Startup
Scaling up a startup off the ground is a critical step. Saving money from the beginning by recruiting the right employees and making sound financial choices is vital. It’s also important to assess the founding team in terms of scaling potential and business performance.
It’s good practice to organise yourself effectively. Making a marketing strategy isn’t a waste of time; it’s a good idea that any successful entrepreneur does. For some info on HR strategies for your startup, read more here.
Not just saving, investing it in the right places such as good advertising and hiring professionals for money modelling is necessary.
Amit Khanna, 7startup Founder
Amit has 18 years of experience in the industry and an MBA. He supports entrepreneurs with every aspect of their business including concept and product development, investor presentations, and fundraising. Amit & 7startup assist startups in the pre due-diligence process and help connect them to our vast network of investors. Reach out to us today and see if we’re a fit!
