How to Scale Your Business
Learning how to scale a business can be one of the most exciting, challenging, and rewarding things that someone can do. At some point the founders put their ideas, cash, and hard work on the line and said, “let’s bring this to the world”. There are always bumps and bruises along the way, but now we are ready to scale the business and bring it to the masses. How do you do it? What is a scaling strategy? Once the business survives the first rollout, typically that means there is a solid product, or offering. Now, we want more people to have the chance to participate. Here are the ABCs of scaling your business.
Acquire A Players
Through many years of business coaching, one of the biggest lessons that I have learned time and again is that A players won’t work with C players. If you are looking around your company and you have a group that is just “punching the clock”, that superstar won’t be inspired to come work there. The saying that I followed for most of my career was “slow to hire and quick to fire”. That does not mean I want to fire but rather am always willing to if that team member is not committed to the vision of the team and is dragging the culture down. “One bad apple spoils the bunch”. Conversely finding those teammates that are positive, solution oriented, and a team player is invaluable.
Breathe Your Core Values
This won’t be the first or last time that I talk about the importance of knowing your core values as a company. When tough times come (and they always do), the company that knows who they are and what they stand for, endure. They endure because the company stands for a cause that is greater than just one person. It’s not enough to just have a mission statement on a wall. At the start of every meeting the core values should be repeated. Through sheer repetition, every member of the company should know these 3-5 values. For a fun test, go through your own company. How many people know the values of the company? If it’s like 90 plus percent of companies I first meet, less than 10% is typically the answer.
Commit to Your Vision
Being fully committed to your vision means that no matter what gets in the way, you find a way to make it happen. There is no excuse that will bring the company down. For instance, if your first, second, third or however many strategies fail, the company keeps its head down and finds a way. Markets evolve and change all the time. Your business growth mindset must be flexible enough to adapt and change with it. The popular term used during the pandemic was “to pivot” as the world shut down. That meant instead of meeting face to face, it was time to use virtual platforms. Can’t eat in the restaurant, no problem, we have curbside delivery ready for you. Just because the world changed, that doesn’t mean your vision needs to. Commit to your why and there is no amount of “how will we do it” that will get in the way.
Develop Your Business Scaling Strategy
Scaling your business should be easier than launching the company in the beginning. Most companies fail early on because they don’t have a good product, structure, or belief in what they provide the world. If you are past that point, then it’s time to allow more people to enjoy what your company offers. We all learned our ABCs early in our childhood to read. These ABCs will be the next step in your company’s journey to truly flourish. As one of the leading scaling up coaches, I can’t personally say I was great at the start up part of a company, but I am passionate about the scaling process. If you need some helpful tips for scaling a business, reach out today at [email protected] to learn more about my philosophies and services. Let’s Go Win at scaling your business today!
– JM Ryerson
If you love a good podcast, check out my podcast “Let’s Go Win”. It’s a show with lively conversations providing tips on leadership, mindset, health, and everything you’ll need for success at work, at home, and in life! I’d love your opinion and a review!
JM Ryerson founded and sold 3 businesses and is now helping leadership teams do the same. He is an Author, Leadership & Performance Coach, International Speaker, and host of the Let’s Go Win podcast who has been building companies and leading sales teams for over 20 years. JM is the co-founder and CEO of Let’s Go Win whose mission is to increase leadership, enhance culture, and help teams achieve peak performance. JM’s great passions are inspiring people to live their best lives and become open to what life has in store for them. His ultimate goal is to give others the tools that will allow them to transcend their self-limiting beliefs. JM was raised in Montana and lives in Boca Raton, Florida with his wife Lisa and their two amazing boys.
