InTents April/May 2021 - 38

business | management

Scaling your business
The keys to achieving sustainable growth.
by Charlene Clark

he concept of scaling a business is
not interchangeable with growing
a business. Consider this scenario: You
are experiencing exponential growth,
revenues are up, work is pouring in the
door and you decide to hire more people.
You and your team work longer hours,
but it is still not enough. Deadlines are
missed, quality decreases, customers
are upset, your employees are stressed
out and they start to quit. The reality is
that your business may be growing but
it is not prepared to scale. Scalability
means having both the capacity and
the capability to grow your business in
a reasonable and sustainable manner.
It means having a long-term strategic
growth plan as well as the foundation,
systems, infrastructure and human
resources in place to support scaling
your business.
There is no magic bullet for scaling.
The still-relevant 2002 Harvard Business
Review article " Why Entrepreneurs
Don't Scale " identiϐies four management
tendencies that make it difϐicult for entrepreneurs to grow their company:
1. Excessive loyalty can prevent you
from making stafϐing changes necessary to grow. Make sure you have
the right people in the right seats on
your bus.
2. Emphasis on short-term task orientation can cause you to lose sight
of your long-term goals. Staying focused on creating and executing a
well-developed strategic plan will
move your business forward.

T
What does scaling mean?
When a business is able to scale
its operations, it means it is able to
handle a growing amount of work
in a cost-effective manner. Scaling
focuses on capacity and capability
and is achieved when revenue is
increased without having to incur
signiﬁcant costs.

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3. Single-mindedness can limit your
company's potential as it grows.
Seek out the opinions and ideas of
employees, colleagues and peers, both
in and out of your industry, to enhance
and broaden your perspective.
4. Working in isolation can stiϐle growth.
Establish symbiotic partnerships and
relationships that will empower you
to dig deeper and think bigger.
Scaling your business requires
dedicating more time working " on "
your business than working " in " your
business. It takes time and it takes
effort. Consider that time an investment
in your future.

Strategic planning
A strategic plan ensures that your
business is headed in the right direction
and can support long-term, measured
growth. It is your road map to success.
Begin by assessing where your business
is today. Be honest and realistic about
your strengths, weaknesses and areas
of opportunity. Determine where you
want your business to be next year, two
years out and three years out. What will
your business look like? How will you
get there? What resources do you need?
What are the potential roadblocks to
achieving your goals?
Start with a vision. Your vision is
what you aspire to become and where
you want your business to be. Your vision
should clearly deϐine your company and,
most importantly, its future. Do you
want a successful business or just an

april-may 2021

3/29/21 7:02 PM
InTents April/May 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of InTents April/May 2021
