Is now the time to scale your business? Just this week, we’ve heard more news about increasing financial uncertainty in the UK. This follows the chaos of the pandemic and the talent shortages of the Great Resignation.
Is it responsible to think about scaling a business in this climate? Or is it time to pull up the drawbridge and do just enough to sit it out?
As a Scaling Up coach, I’d say that there’s no time like the present to think big and grow.
It’s about finding and creating the avenues that make life better for everyone, not to mention creating all-important stimulation for the economy. We’re surrounded by opportunities, it’s just a matter of being able to see them, tune in and develop the strategy necessary to pull ahead of the competition.
Where do you start?
Unleashing potential
Every entrepreneur wants to solve a problem they see and by expanding what they do, they’re able to help more people. Profits come along as a result but in my experience, it’s the impact that energises us: the fact that what we do makes others’ lives better.
What are some of the sticking points holding the ambitious back from achieving their vision?
- How will I take care of the needs of my team?
- How are things changing in the world and how will I keep up with them?
- How do I grow responsibly and sustainably?
- How do I grow and stay true to my principles?
- What do I not know and how will I learn it?
- How do I bring everyone else along with me?
- What changes do I need to make in myself personally to make this happen?
- How do I make sure I don’t grow broke?
- What about community responsibility and the needs of the planet?
Being in it to win it
To resolve a few of these issues, let’s look at several elements which I think work to separate playing to win from playing not to lose.
A 10x mentality will allow you to lift off from where you are into radical growth. What does this term mean? According to Forbes, ‘The simple answer is to take 10 times your income as an individual or 10 times your revenue as an organization’. What this looks like forces you to change your mindset, switch to bigger-picture thinking and remove self-imposed barriers. Of course, the focus of your 10x doesn’t have to be revenue-based, you get to decide what it is.
Strategy needs to be implementable and real. It’s about mapping a real-life, flexible journey that takes your ambitions and actions and turns them into outcomes. Accelerate growth quickly and efficiently by moving with confidence, vision and savvy.
Sustainable growth takes a level head. In times of economic uncertainty, there’s a temptation to run scared, so it’s a matter of finding the balance between keeping the cash safe and spending to grow. Being mindful of the impact scaling can have means you’re less likely to be caught off-guard.
Adaptability. ‘Who survives is not the fittest, it’s the one who is most adaptable’ Verne Harnish, founder of Scaling up and the Entrepreneurs Organisation told me recently in an episode of my podcast. Getting ahead means noticing and responding to trends earlier than everyone else. In order to do this, you have to be listening in and be quick enough on your feet to make swift decisions.
Listening to and talking with the people on your team on a regular basis. Notice patterns, get ahead of trends and pick up on bottlenecks before they become a problem by checking in daily. It’s not about micromanaging either – the strength of what you do is shown by how smoothly things run when you’re not around.
Purpose brings everything together. It’s easier to clear blockages, simplify your life and push through tough times when you know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. It helps those around you to do the same thing too. Find the fun and grasp opportunities that feel right for you in order to expand on your work for the greater good. You’ll grow your profits and extend your team while fulfilling a vision that has meaning for you.
The vital element: a coach
If you’ve got as far as you can on your own, I want to congratulate you. Well done for pushing past your boundaries and believing in something better.
Pause and ask yourself, what’s stopping you from getting to the next level? Do you find yourself wondering:
- Where do I start?
- How will I get and stay motivated?
- Where will the cash come from?
- Where can I look for help when I feel like I’m lacking in confidence and skills?
- Can I be successful and have fun?
If so, you’re not alone.
Scaling up from here will take more than a nudge, so a coach will help you to discover:
- A methodology that works, so that you can reign in the chaos, organise your time and focus your energy.
- What having a confident expert alongside you feels like. Someone who has already been there so that you won’t be reinventing the wheel.
- A different perspective so that you can uncover the blockages and doubts to help you to get out of your own way.
- What your purpose is so that you (and the people you work with) can enjoy the prosperity that balance and alignment bring.
- The practicalities of what you need: the right people, cash, implementable strategy and the motivation to put it all into motion.
Most of all a good coach will return you to your purpose and why you’re doing this as often as you need it. Enjoy the climb more and use your energies most efficiently, safe in the knowledge that someone who has already walked this path is there beside you.
I’m Phil Rose and I’m a co-founder of Ignium Consulting. Come and join us as one of our 4 planned Scaling Up workshops in 2023, using an internationally renowned system that has helped thousands of businesses tap into next-level energy. It’s like a snapshot of what we do in one hands-on workshop.
Learn how to be adaptive and ambitious, while reducing drama and chaos. Learn the skills you need and go home with a one-page plan that you can start work with straight away.
Click here to reserve your place and discover the confidence that comes when you play to win rather than play not to lose.
Image by GR Stocks