So, you made it past the early years of your business. You no longer wonder if you’ll be that 1 (out of 3 businesses) that don’t make it past the start-up stage. You’ve hired good people, worked out the kinks, and for the most part, things run smoothly. Now you want to grow, expand, shoot for the stars. How do you know if you are ready? What do you do first? Where should you put your attention?

Scaling up your business can cause that same anxious feeling you had when you firststarted your business venture. You’ve already proven you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur. With a little more work and a solid plan, you will be ready to take on the world (or shoot for the stars).

What’s Your End Game?

Knowing your end game first sounds a little like reading the end of the story before you’ve even started the book. It isn’t though. You have to know where you want to go before you can figure out how to get there. You don’t jump in the car and start driving before you know your destination, or if you do you are wandering aimlessly with no direction.

Base the decisions you make on what you want to become, not where you are now. What type of business do you want to become? No, seriously, what type of business do you want to become? You must know the answer to this question so take time to figure it out. Then start thinking like that kind of business.

Are You Prepared to Grow?

Preparation is the key to successful growth. You can’t wake up one morning and decide that today is the day you grow and go all in. Scaling your business is an adventure hike, and you don’t go hiking without your essential gear.

Look at the current state of affairs of your business. Have you eliminated costly waste? Do you have the most cost-effective strategies in place? Is your team efficient? Are your software programs functioning as they should, billing, accounts receivable, etc.? Is your pricing on target? Are your products or services presented at their best? Take a look at your brand. Does it still reflect your story?

Ask your customers and staff for input. Your customers are your greatest resource. When you find out they are happy and what they are happy about, and then deliver that to them, you have a recipe for success. Are you giving your customers what they want? Wagepoint has some great questions based on hard data that you can ask yourself. Such as:

• How do customers move through your sales funnel?
• How long does it take to convert?
• How long do they remain a customer?
• What causes them to stay/leave?
• How do they engage with you?
• What attracts their attention?
• What are the biggest complaints or issues with your product/service?
• What do they love about you?

Spend some money on getting this data-driven information. It will help you make informed decisions on where to go with your marketing strategy.

Prepare to Plan…A Lot

Pull out your business plan. Dust it off, grab your pen and prepare to update it to detail your growth goals. A business plan helps you see where you want your business to go. Generate a spreadsheet to break down the number of new customers, orders, and revenue you want to have. Be specific.

Next look at your expense forecast — include expenses on adding technology, infrastructure, people, and systems to handle the new clientele. Your expenses will go up as you continue your onward journey towards the stars so anticipate where that will happen.

Preparation and planning will take some time. Don’t short-cut the process. Too little information causes you to make bad decisions later. You should set up a marketing plan along with your new business plan. You need to have a strategy to achieve significant growth. Part of that strategy means getting the word out to local merchants as well as customers overseas.

Without these two things in place, it will be difficult to find anyone to fund your vision for growth.

Money Money

You don’t get to scale your business for free. Your growth plan may require you to purchase new technology, hire more staff, add equipment, etc. How will you find the money to invest in your growth?

You will get to the point where you can not sustain growth alone. At this point look into hiring a strategic advisor. They can help you get to the next step and often have great advice that will shortcut your learning curve. If hiring an advisor isn’t in your budget, you can often find people who have the results you are looking for. Ask how they did it.

Now you have to find investors, a venture capital company to fund the cash, or take out a loan. Often, this is the biggest hurdle for small businesses trying to scale up. There are some creative options you can explore such as Kickstarter and crowdfunding. You could introduce a monthly subscription model and work with someone who already serves your ideal customer to build a larger audience.

There is one additional option (and likely more) that I found on the Score website. Look for small business contests with cash prizes such as the FedEx Small Business Grant Contests. It will be open for entry on February 18, 2019.

Think it Through

When you decide to scale your business, you will have to make some tough choices. Where do you cut back and where do you invest time and energy? Automating can help you run your business at lower costs, and it minimizes manual labor.

Most importantly, the key to successfully scaling your business is to have thought it out carefully in advance. If you want to scale up and you don’t think you have the know-how, find people with the necessary experience and knowledge. Many organizations also offer support and information. Are you ready to reach for the stars? Go ahead, grab as many as you like.