7 Steps To Prepare Your Startup For Scaling

Developing your startup to an enterprise requires a lot of efforts. If you have already launched a startup and got some profit, it’s high time to find out whether your project is ready to be expanded. In our article, you’ll find seven hints to scale your startup as well as sings that your startup is ready.

Growth vs. Scaling

What is the difference between scaling and growth? Growing is the process when your company’s revenue and costs grow at a similar pace. For example, there are some new clients and you should hire more employees to serve them. As for scaling, the process is absolutely different. Simply saying, scaling is getting a maximum profit with minimum investment.

When Is It Necessary To Scale?

Choosing the right time for your startup to scale up is the key to success. There are four main signs that can show that your company is ready. Let’s discuss them more precisely.

You’ve already achieved your previous goals. Launching a startup, it’s impossible to predict the revenue, so you need to collect data and set the objectives according to it. As soon as, the previous goals are achieved, it’s better to start scaling.
Strong cashflow. Before starting the scaling process, make sure that you have enough money. It’s obvious that to improve your startup properly, you need some investment. The main point here is the ability to predict profit and control costs. It’s a good idea to calculate the approximate sum of money and decide whether or not you can spend it. Moreover, don’t expect to get profit at once. It usually takes more than four months to get some revenue.
Appropriate IT system. Scaling usually means storing more information. So, if your IT system can manage only simple tasks, you may face some difficulties. So, it’s better to improve your software beforehand
Good team. Your employees are another key to success. They should be ready to become effective while dealing with new tasks. Your workers need to face new tasks and challenges and come up with interesting ideas to tackle them and so on.

How To Prepare Your Startup?

Follow these steps to make sure that your startup is ready.

#1 Create The Right Strategy

Your strategy doesn’t need to be complicated. However, it should consist of your strengths, weaknesses, and prospects. According to this data, it’s possible to set goals for each quarter.

#2 Invest In Technologies

There are tons of solutions that can help you manage the work and make your startup scalable.

CRM system. Clients are important. So, Customer Relationship Management or CRM software allows managing interactions with your clients by storing their personal data. You may utilize ready-made solutions such as HubSpot, Salesforce or create your own CRM system that will follow all your requirements.
ERP system. The bigger your company is, the more difficult to control are the inside processes. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) organizes your business data and notifies you about any change. Moreover, this system provides access to information at any time or place.

#3 Outsource Non-Essentials

Due to lack of money, it’s impossible for startups to hire all necessary in-house staff at once. So, an outsourcing team is the best variant. For instance, you want to develop a CRM system. There’s no need to create a team of developers and designers, it’s better to hire an outsourcing company with all required talents.

#4 Make Marketing Better

To tell people about your project, you need to pay attention to the marketing strategy. There are some types that would be good while scaling up.

Content marketing. A lot of companies choose this method because it’s very scalable and has great potential.
Social media marketing. If you don’t have a lot of money to invest in marketing, social media is a good way to let people know about your startup and build your reputation.
Influencer marketing. It means cooperation with an influencer, a person who is popular in any social media. So, the influencer tells their followers about your products and their benefits.

#5 Develop A Good Reputation

Branding is important for your success. In this case, it’s good to create a website. A website with a user-friendly design is a powerful tool for gaining new clients.

#6 Select The Right Staff

You need more employees while scaling your startup. There are some important characteristics your workers should have:

They conquer essential tasks.
Your workers do tasks that can’t be automized.
Your employees have several skills, so can manage multiple tasks.
They can think creatively and share their ideas.

#7 Make Startup Workable Without You

It’s complicated to manage a big team. So, you need to hire leaders that will control the team without your help. Your startup is scalable only if it is able to work without you.