When you first start a small business, there are a lot of factors to consider when you want it to get off the ground. Hiring your first employee, paying taxes, and delivering great customer service experiences as some of the tasks at the forefront of your mind. However, at some point, it becomes clear that in order to develop a sustainable business, scalability is inevitable. For many people, the idea of scaling a company seems challenging or scary. Thankfully, there are some really smart investments the average entrepreneur can make in order to scale. In order to get started, consider these options.
1. Automated Tools
Thanks to the explosion of entrepreneurship within the digital space, so many companies created tools and services that cater to an entrepreneur’s needs. A lot of entrepreneurs are able to gain visibility and business through social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. If you’re manually logging into each site to upload new content on a daily basis, you’re wasting your time. There are schedulers that will automate the process for you.
If you own an online store, install tools that follow up with potential customers who’ve scrolled through your website. There are tools that will remind a customer that there are items in their cart. That simple follow-up reminder can be automated, and it can lead to astronomical profitability.
2. Coaching
It’s often stated that success isn’t really about what you know as much as it is about who you know. Your network really matters. By having one conversation with an experienced individual, you can learn methods that will catapult the trajectory of your profits. While hard work is important, it’s not the full picture for a lot of successful people. In many cases, they were in the right circles at the right times. This is why entrepreneur coaching will always be an invaluable tool for every entrepreneur. If you look at most of the world’s most successful people, they all have coaches for various aspects of their lives.
3. Dropshipping
Finding storage space for all of the company’s inventory can be expensive and time-consuming. Plus, when it’s time to ship an item, the packing process takes time. This doesn’t include trips to the post office. Why not outsource that process by investing in a dropshipping company? Yes, you’ll have to share a portion of the profits with the company you use. However, it’s a fair and smart investment to make. You’ll save a ton of time and space. Dropshipping also allows you to gain more freedom and flexibility. It’ll become much easier to run any business from your laptop at any place in the world. When you’re shipping and handling items on your own, this process limits how far you can go and when you can travel unless someone is tending to the shipping details on site.
4. Additional Income Streams
One of the major reasons why most people become entrepreneurs is because they want to achieve certain financial goals and experience a significant amount of financial freedom. This is why many people are apprehensive when it comes to silent partnerships and investors. When an entrepreneur takes investment money, there are many stipulations involved. Sure, the money can really help a business scale, but there’s a level of autonomy they no longer have. Instead, develop additional income streams that can flow into the company’s account. Whether it’s passive or temporary, additional income streams can help a company leverage its resources and scale. A great example of an additional income stream might is a short-term rental property. Once the bills get paid each month, the profits can flow into the business you’re trying to scale. Additional examples include day trading and digital assets.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of entrepreneurs who are used to the idea of bootstrapping a business. As a result, they focus on getting as much done on their own because it can save on costs. However, your energy and time are limited commodities. If you overwork yourself, you’ll run the risk of sickness, exhaustion and burnout. These experiences are completely avoidable with the right approach to business growth. If you’re going to experience profitability in your business, it’s wise to focus on developing systems and investing in your scalability. You’ll get your time back, you’ll enjoy the process of watching your business explode, and you’ll protect your own sanity in the process.