How do I scale my business?
I often get asked 2 simple questions when I talk to business owners. Depending on size it’s either “How do I scale my business?” or “How do I scale my small business?”
The answer to both questions is… it depends.
Maybe you shouldn’t be scaling up your business at all.
Hiring a business coach might not be the right answer for you just yet.
Scaling a business is not for everyone. I grew up with both parents working in their own business. They chose not to scale because they wanted ‘lifestyle’ over working hours.
The trouble is they got neither. They worked hard each day until they sold the business. Yes, they had other assets – but time became scarce.
That’s one of the questions I ask when I say “it depends” – how much time are you willing to invest in your business? The follow up question is “If I could free up a half day per week for you as business owner what would you choose to do with that time?”
Some say they’d go and spend time with their family or friends, others choose to spend it sailing or golf course. Some choose to ‘reinvest’ it in their business. When they say ‘reinvest’ it in their business I then ask a follow up question – and that’s simply… “in what”.
Those that just do more of the same wont scale. Working harder to increase sales, or drive revenue or productivity on it’s own WILL NOT SCALE YOUR BUSINESS.
The only way to scale your business is to focus on how you use that ‘free’ time we created.
If you use that time STRATEGICALLY to focus on ‘higher level’ activities then you are in the right arena.
You see, the answer to scaling a business is to work differently. That means taking TIME OUT of the office or factory or workshop to think ABOUT the business and as Michael E Gerber says in the “E-myth revisited” you need to work ON the business not in it!
A subsequent question I ask is “If I could give you £100K to invest in your business right now what would you choose to do with it?”
The answer I get tells me a lot about the thinking of the business owner. Are they long term or short term? Today or tomorrow.
Scaling a business is easy when you have a system. It helps develop routines and as Verne Harnish says in Scaling Up “Routine Sets You Free”.
It just takes discipline and an insight into the system to use.
And that’s where a great business coach comes in. So the next question to ask is “How do I find a business coach near me?” or “How do I find a Scaling Up coach near me?”
And of course remember… they don’t need to be near you to work with you…
Happy Scaling!