“Focusing on marginal gains helped me grow 50% during the pandemic.”

Sean Coyne, Director of Apeiron UK Lawn Care and Member of the Business Growth Club.

Want to take your business to the next level but are unsure How or Where to begin?

You’d love to scale up and grow the business, but you’re unsure if you have the resources, cash flow or people to do it?

Growing your business is a significant challenge during normal times. Still, when opportunity knocked for thrivers of the pandemic, scaling-up was even more of a challenge with lockdowns looming, remote working imposed and supplier capabilities unknown. There were more than the usual moving parts to consider.

Aligning business strategy with organisational capabilities needed to be thoroughly mapped out, but time was of the essence.

  • How can you bring in large amounts of people, get them on board and productive quickly?
  • How can you ensure quality control if you go from producing 10,000 units per day to 100,000 units per day overnight?
  • Can your suppliers cope with increased demand?
  • Will your cashflow flow?

So many questions needed answering and fast, but one question must remain constant throughout the process:

Can you scale effectively without having a detrimental effect on your core business?

If you can protect what you have already built and use it as a solid foundation for continued growth, then you’re ready to scale.

Scale-up Success Stories

Working with business owners, I saw firsthand the struggles and challenges many micro-businesses and SMEs had to overcome to get through the pandemic with their business intact. But with the right plans in place and decisive action, many of them not only survived, but they also thrived.

During the most challenging year that no one could have predicted, I saw many clients grow exponentially, some achieving an increase in profits by 44%.

Today, the immediate panic to scale up and meet demand has subsided, but the need and desire to grow are still essential for many.

I’m going to tell you about some of those success stories and offer you the same insights to begin scaling up for sustainable long-term growth.

A Flexible Plan

Planning has always been the key to successful scale-ups and sustainable business growth, but post-pandemic, there’s another significant factor that has risen to the fore: flexibility.

Your businesses ability to adapt and flex now play a leading role in the processes but only when you have a solid framework within which to work. It may sound contradictory but once mapped out you can make decisions faster, pivot quicker without moving you off course, remaining focused on the end goal.

“When it comes to scaling your company post-pandemic, it’s important to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all approach.”

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The quote above is spot-on. Your goals, mission, values, culture and audience are unique to your business, and as such, your growth plans need to be specific too.

Let’s start with the essentials.

 

1. Define your long-term goal and stick to it.

Shifting focus to take advantage of short-term opportunities may have a detrimental impact on your overall goal. Don’t be distracted by quick fixes that deplete valuable resources.

 

By focusing unwaveringly on their goals, companies in my 2020 growth programme increased their lead generation by 356%, and new customers won across the programme were up 274%.

 

2. Write your plan down.

You must put your plans on paper and create a framework on which to build. Think about the following key components:

  • Operational systems: can they cope/how do they need to be adapted?
  • Recruitment: What do you need? How many? Where do you find the right people?
  • Company culture: Be clear on your messaging, don’t dilute your brand as you grow; strengthen it by clearly defining who you are and what you do.
  • Team Building: Remember, protect what you have already created – the core of your business is your people. Help them to become part of the process, providing opportunities for personal and professional growth.
  • Technology: Think carefully about automation and digitisation. Which elements of your business could move online to improve efficiency and productivity?
  • Organisational Structure: Rapid growth means you’ll need to clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each department and team to ensure high performance and seamless delivery.
  • Finance: You MUST be clear on your financial capabilities, ensuring cash flow is available and profitability is attainable.

 

3. Define your strengths.

Use them to your advantage and build upon them quickly and decisively.

 

4. Gain clarity on your weaknesses.

Every business has them, so get clear on what they are and work on them. Make contingency plans to mitigate the risks initially and then gradually work on eliminating them.

 

5. Make Time to Work on Your Business

This is probably the biggest challenge I have experienced with business owners. Yet, once they take the time to work on the business rather than running it, things become much clearer, faster.

There are BIG opportunities out there, despite the Pandemic, Brexit or other mitigating factors. You need to identify them and devise a plan based on adapting and taking those opportunities to help scale your business.

Taking your business to the next level doesn’t have to be a painful process. Yes, there will be challenges and obstacles along the way, but if you have a workable plan, the right tools and understand the financials, you’re halfway there.

It’s time to stop feeling stuck in a rut and move your business out of the everyday and beyond expectations.