Once you have established the basics, including your business plan, your monetisation models, and your targeted markets, then it’s time to move forward
Sally Yazji, Strategic Partnerships Manager at FasterCapital
Starting a business is one thing, but growing one is a whole different story. Once you have established the basics, including your business plan, your monetisation models, and your targeted markets, then it’s time to move forward.
But the next phase can be challenging. At this stage, you will probably be thinking of ways to grow your business, reach new customers, and increase your profits to make up for the costly primary phases of starting the business and during your research, you will hear and read a lot about growth and scaling.
These terms are used sometimes interchangeably, but they are different.
Business growth vs. business scaling
When a business grows, it obtains new resources (e.g. technology, staff, and capital) which should increase its revenue. When you are growing your business, you are technically making it bigger by adding resources and funding to increase your revenues. You are working on more input so that you can create more output.
On the other hand, scaling is creating business models and strategies and tweaking the way your business works so that it would generate consistent revenue growth faster than the need for extra costs and/or resources along the way. The quantity stays the same but focus is on quality and how things work internally.
Scaling up a start-up can be a turning point in the business journey, and it can be the winning card or the downfall for a start-up. Scaling can be an extremely difficult step for many start-ups who are just itching to move forward, enter new markets, and make more impact.
Is scaling worth all the effort?
Definitely, yes. Actually, it is your only choice after hitting that growth plateau if you want to take your business to the next level. It might mean that your business needs to step out of its comfort zone and so do you and your team, but it also means that you can – and need to – grow and increase the size of your comfort zone along the way.
Scaling up a start-up can be a turning point in the business journey
Here are some different strategies to scale your business.
Product-oriented strategies
You can think about ways your product can cater to a wider base of users. This may vary from changing and tweaking the nature of the product, the design of it, the way it is presented, or it may mean creating a whole new product.
You will need a professional team on board who is aware of your business’ vision and can at the same time think creatively and come up with new features or strategies that can be utilised to increase the product’s base of users.
Market-oriented strategies
You can think of the new global markets you can enter. Conducting market analysis and preparing a market strategy will help you explore all the territories that your business can be part of.
Conducting market analysis and preparing a market strategy will help you explore all the territories that your business can be part of
You will need to study the targeted markets and make sure you are meeting a market-gap and that competition is not going to be an obstacle.
You can look for new partners in new markets which will help you tremendously in penetrating the market smoothly.
Customer-oriented strategies
Other than exploring ways your product and markets can be expanded, you can study your targeted and un-targeted customers.
You might find a segment that can perfectly fit into your customers’ base that you can target by adding a new feature or a new monetisation model to your product (interlinking product-oriented and customer-oriented strategies).
You can also mix it up
You can create a new product for a new segment in a new market too if you are up to the challenge.
Usually, strategies demand to be mixed and you start somewhere and find new plans on your way, so be prepared to adapt.
Scaling can prove beneficial to your business when done right. Beyond growing, scaling can expose your business to a new market segment and helps businesses survive.
Scaling is creating business models and strategies and tweaking the way your business works
Achieve growth goals
Scaling is smart lean growth. It opens your eyes to new territories and increases brand awareness of your business and helps you increase profit and revenue and reach all other growth goals while – kind of – keeping your budget balanced.
Expose your business to a whole new world
Whether you are trying to achieve your scaling by launching a new program or product to create a new monetisation model, addressing a new segment of customers, or entering a new market, scaling can open up new opportunities.
New customers, investors, potential partners, and many valuable connections and relationships are likely to pop up as you move forward.
Guarantees longevity
Sitting still is not good for you, nor is it good for your business. The world is moving forward and change is the only constant – this is especially true for people in the business world.
Start-ups that consider scaling have more opportunities to survive and succeed in the future, as scaling will guarantee long-term presence in the marketplace and help form long-term relationships with customers. It will also make your business more adaptive.
As a business owner, your only defence mechanism against failure is to move and plan proactively.
Start-ups that consider scaling have more opportunities to survive and succeed in the future
Gain an edge over competitors
Scaling and creating new and profitable ways your business can communicate with its users is a great opportunity to help you stand out in the market.
You might be just another juice production company, but thinking of targeting a new segment of users and launching a product specific for kids who are into math or science or one for mothers picking up their kids from school might help you become “that juice brand”.
However, to start scaling up your start-up, you have to make sure that your start-up is scalable.
How to tell if your business is scalable?
You have a clear vision and a solid business plan.
You have a high-class team that is ready for moving forward and facing challenges.
You can expand your users’ base and target new segments.
Your product is viable and valid for other markets too.
You are open to change and to new plans.
As a founder and a business owner you do not get to ask the question, should we work on scaling? Because of course you should.
Scaling might rock your boat a bit but is the only and best way to think and act proactively, and it is far better than staying on the same level and waiting for your business to go downhill.
Sally Yazji, Strategic Partnerships Manager at FasterCapital
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by Staff Writer
More of this topic
The importance of scaling for start-ups
Once you have established the basics, including your business plan, your monetisation models, and your targeted markets, then it’s time to move forward
Starting a business is one thing, but growing one is a whole different story. Once you have established the basics, including your business plan, your monetisation models, and your targeted markets, then it’s time to move forward.
But the next phase can be challenging. At this stage, you will probably be thinking of ways to grow your business, reach new customers, and increase your profits to make up for the costly primary phases of starting the business and during your research, you will hear and read a lot about growth and scaling.
These terms are used sometimes interchangeably, but they are different.
Business growth vs. business scaling
When a business grows, it obtains new resources (e.g. technology, staff, and capital) which should increase its revenue. When you are growing your business, you are technically making it bigger by adding resources and funding to increase your revenues. You are working on more input so that you can create more output.
On the other hand, scaling is creating business models and strategies and tweaking the way your business works so that it would generate consistent revenue growth faster than the need for extra costs and/or resources along the way. The quantity stays the same but focus is on quality and how things work internally.
Scaling up a start-up can be a turning point in the business journey, and it can be the winning card or the downfall for a start-up. Scaling can be an extremely difficult step for many start-ups who are just itching to move forward, enter new markets, and make more impact.
Is scaling worth all the effort?
Definitely, yes. Actually, it is your only choice after hitting that growth plateau if you want to take your business to the next level. It might mean that your business needs to step out of its comfort zone and so do you and your team, but it also means that you can – and need to – grow and increase the size of your comfort zone along the way.
Here are some different strategies to scale your business.
Product-oriented strategies
You can think about ways your product can cater to a wider base of users. This may vary from changing and tweaking the nature of the product, the design of it, the way it is presented, or it may mean creating a whole new product.
You will need a professional team on board who is aware of your business’ vision and can at the same time think creatively and come up with new features or strategies that can be utilised to increase the product’s base of users.
Market-oriented strategies
You can think of the new global markets you can enter. Conducting market analysis and preparing a market strategy will help you explore all the territories that your business can be part of.
You will need to study the targeted markets and make sure you are meeting a market-gap and that competition is not going to be an obstacle.
You can look for new partners in new markets which will help you tremendously in penetrating the market smoothly.
Customer-oriented strategies
Other than exploring ways your product and markets can be expanded, you can study your targeted and un-targeted customers.
You might find a segment that can perfectly fit into your customers’ base that you can target by adding a new feature or a new monetisation model to your product (interlinking product-oriented and customer-oriented strategies).
You can also mix it up
You can create a new product for a new segment in a new market too if you are up to the challenge.
Usually, strategies demand to be mixed and you start somewhere and find new plans on your way, so be prepared to adapt.
Scaling can prove beneficial to your business when done right. Beyond growing, scaling can expose your business to a new market segment and helps businesses survive.
Achieve growth goals
Scaling is smart lean growth. It opens your eyes to new territories and increases brand awareness of your business and helps you increase profit and revenue and reach all other growth goals while – kind of – keeping your budget balanced.
Expose your business to a whole new world
Whether you are trying to achieve your scaling by launching a new program or product to create a new monetisation model, addressing a new segment of customers, or entering a new market, scaling can open up new opportunities.
New customers, investors, potential partners, and many valuable connections and relationships are likely to pop up as you move forward.
Guarantees longevity
Sitting still is not good for you, nor is it good for your business. The world is moving forward and change is the only constant – this is especially true for people in the business world.
Start-ups that consider scaling have more opportunities to survive and succeed in the future, as scaling will guarantee long-term presence in the marketplace and help form long-term relationships with customers. It will also make your business more adaptive.
As a business owner, your only defence mechanism against failure is to move and plan proactively.
Gain an edge over competitors
Scaling and creating new and profitable ways your business can communicate with its users is a great opportunity to help you stand out in the market.
You might be just another juice production company, but thinking of targeting a new segment of users and launching a product specific for kids who are into math or science or one for mothers picking up their kids from school might help you become “that juice brand”.
However, to start scaling up your start-up, you have to make sure that your start-up is scalable.
How to tell if your business is scalable?
You have a clear vision and a solid business plan.
You have a high-class team that is ready for moving forward and facing challenges.
You can expand your users’ base and target new segments.
Your product is viable and valid for other markets too.
You are open to change and to new plans.
As a founder and a business owner you do not get to ask the question, should we work on scaling? Because of course you should.
Scaling might rock your boat a bit but is the only and best way to think and act proactively, and it is far better than staying on the same level and waiting for your business to go downhill.
Sally Yazji, Strategic Partnerships Manager at FasterCapital
Follow us on
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