Scaling up a business is probably the most crucial moments in its lifespan, particularly for service-based companies who by their nature rely on the people they employ and the service they provide to their customers. Small companies will often be built on the great one to one customer service provided by the owner(s) and when it gets to the point where they can no longer service all of their clients they will need to employ others who have the same attributes and care enough about the business to help it continue to grow. If they do not, then they will quickly lose the customer base they have built up and end up failing. Hence why scaling up is such an important time.
The first hurdle to overcome when scaling up is the actual structure of the business, originally the owner(s) will have done everything, when all of a sudden you need to hire more people, a hierarchy with people you can trust in positions of responsibility need to be in place. For every group of new employees, they will need someone directly about them to manage them, these managers will then report to you as an owner so the person managing the people is effectively the driving force of what the front line of your company are doing. Many people fall into the trap of not investing enough money in quality employees and go for the cheap option to keep profits up, this is a very short-sighted view. Ideally, you want to promote from within, people will have naturally built up loyalty and if you continue to increase their pay and responsibility, they will be happy to give their all.
Another thing that comes with scaling up is all of the other expenses that go along with it. You need invoicing software, accountants, HR software and potentially solicitors. It is always good to have people who you have been referred to on hand in these professions, you never know when you may need litigation solicitors in Manchester or a tax specialist to deal with a problem you have with HMRC.
Finally, it is important to remember what your goals and aims are when scaling up, do not rush and go too fast, you will lose all of your quality control in pursuit of short-term gain. Set yourself a target, grow to that number and take stock, make sure you are still providing your service at the same level you have always done before continuing to set new growth targets.
