How to prepare your start-up to scale up

You’ve worked hard at getting your small business off the ground. Now all that hard work is paying off, and you’re finally seeing real results! It might be time to turn your small business into something a bit bigger.

Scaling up is a natural next step if you want to grow your small business. Business scaling helps you grow in a way that’s sustainable and easier to manage. It can help you meet your clients’ needs and take on more customers without sacrificing quality.

Business scaling takes a lot of hard work, but you’re used to that by now. This start-up business guide to scaling your company can help you get started.

How to scale a start-up business

Every small business is unique, and how you scale your start-up might look different than other businesses in your area and industry. However, you’ll likely hit the following steps as you grow your small business.

1. Set your goals

Before you scale your start-up, you’ll need to decide exactly what that looks like. Setting goals for your business scaling measures help you stay on track, know when you’re successful, and help you make changes if things aren’t working. This might be a good time to revisit your original business plan or write a new one to guide this next phase.

Examples of business scaling goals you might set include:

• Bringing in a certain number of new clients over the next five years
• Opening new locations
• Launching a new product or service

2. Raise capital

Scaling up a small business requires money. Though your business is successful now, you might not have enough funds saved up to meet the new goals you’ve set. You may need outside funding to get the ball rolling. Raising capital can help you scale up your small business without running out of money. You might take out a new bank loan or find investors who are excited to help fund your vision.

3. Build teams

Most small business owners wear a lot of hats. You might be personally involved in every part of your business simply because you have to be. But as your start-up gets bigger, it’s no longer possible for you to do everything yourself. Now is the time to build key teams that can help you reach your goals.

As you scale up your business, you might consider creating teams to handle:

• Marketing
• Finance and payroll
• Sales
• Planning and strategy

4. Hire the right people

More work means you’ll need more hands to get it done! You’ll need to hire employees to help take on the workload, possibly for the first time. It might seem like hiring people is easy, but there’s more to it than you may think. An employee’s skills are important, but so is their attitude. The people you hire help shape the culture of your workplace. Choosing talented people who also believe in your company and its vision can help your start-up live up to its values as it gets bigger.

Recommended reading: How to hire an apprentice or trainee for a trade business

5. Use tech to your advantage

Technology can make your life easier as a small business owner. Automation and data tracking can help you scale up your business, manage growth, and plan for the future. With the right tech running behind the scenes, scaling your start-up could become a lot less stressful!

Technology can help you manage many areas of your business, such as:

• Advertising and marketing
• Sales transactions and payments
• Payroll and invoicing
• Data storage
• Hiring staff
• Responding to customers

Recommended reading: Will automation make life better or take my job?

6. Listen to feedback

Successful businesses are ones that take constructive feedback on board. There are different groups you may decide to reach out to for advice or criticism: Customer suggestions can help you improve your products or services. Employee feedback could help you create a better workplace. Stakeholder advice might help you run your business more efficiently. Surveys, focus groups, and social media comments are all ways to get feedback about your small business as it grows.

7. Protect yourself

There are risks to running any small business, and some of these will likely grow as you scale up your business. As your company grows and changes, you might want to review your business insurance policies to make sure they still fit your needs. You may need to increase your coverage levels or get additional types of insurance to address new risks to your business.

Depending on your business needs, you might consider coverage for events like:

• Customer injuries (covered by Public Liability insurance)
• Business interruptions (covered by Business Insurance)
• Negligence claims (covered by Professional Indemnity insurance)
• Unfair dismissals (covered by Management Liability insurance)
• Data breaches (covered by Cyber Liability insurance)

8. Take time off

Like many business owners, you might think of your company like a child. Nobody knows your business better than you, and it may be hard to trust others with its daily running. But, business scaling means giving up some control. You’ll be handing over parts of your business to others, and you need to let them do their job. Once the dust has settled, you might consider taking a holiday. This forces your employees to be independent and can help prove that things will be fine even when you’re not there.

Recommended reading: How to Avoid Burnout When Starting a New Business

On to bigger and better things!

Business scaling takes a lot of planning and hard work. But growing your small business could bring you even greater success and financial security. It might also let you positively impact your community on a bigger scale as you create more jobs and find ways to give back to those who helped bring you this far.

Ready to protect your growing start-up? BizCover takes the drama out of finding business insurance that fits your needs. In just minutes, you can compare policies online from some of Australia’s leading insurers. Try it for yourself now!