How to scale your Small Business

While it might seem like a basic step, you need to have a clear view of your business’s financial health before you think of scaling it.

Your business’s financial health is made up of more than just your profit margins, it also involves cashflow, budgets/forecasts and knowledge of the market you’re operating in.

You need to know if you’re leaking cash from an inefficient process or machine. If your business isn’t operating at the correct capacity or efficiency, scaling your business could compound these issues.

Efficiency is critical when looking to grow your business. If you can reduce your time spent on routine tasks like payroll and invoicing, then this is more time you could spend helping your business grow.

Automating processes, doesn’t have to be revolutionary or scary either, a good bookkeeping software can help you save time and reduce common errors; by creating an invoice template or banking rules, you can save valuable time.

If you want to reduce your time spent even further, hire an accountant to take care of your bookkeeping needs for you, then you’ll never have to look at a bank reconciliation again!

It’s no secret that scaling is costly and requires capital; whether you plan to use retained cash or look at funding options you need to make a realistic budget.

When estimating future sales and expenses you need to consider what is likely to happen rather than what you’d love to happen. Often people overestimate future sales or forget expenses when building budgets.

So it’s always good to ensure you have a buffer built into your budgets. This will enable you to have a full picture to make an informed decision on your scaling plans and ensure that the unexpected doesn’t catch you off-guard.

When scaling, you need to look at your whole supply chain, can your suppliers keep up if you start ordering more? Will your courier be able to deliver more packages to your customers within your current time frames?

Talk to your supply chain. By having a conversation about their capability to handle your future increased demands, you give them time to adjust if needed. This also promotes strong and healthy business relationships which will be crucial for maintaining smooth operations when scaling.

Just before you set your plan in motion you need to establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs); these will show you if your plan if going ahead as expected or if you need to refocus.

It’s important to regularly monitor and track the KPIs to your budgets and investigate any variances between the two and see if any adjustments need to be made as you go.

Scaling doesn’t happen overnight and it shouldn’t happen without careful planning, but the good news is – you don’t have to do it alone.

If you hate budgets, don’t know a thing about KPIs, or thinking about options of business finance gives you a headache, please get in touch and let us help you look into growing your business with confidence. Click here…