How to grow your small business
Follow our guide to scaling up your start-up
It wasn’t until Katy and Charlie started to scale up Sunbeam Jackie that they were forced to make some important decisions, including whether to manufacture the parasols abroad.
‘The parasols are expensive to make so we needed to get the production cost down,’ says Charlie. ‘We tried using plastic instead of stainless steel for the hinges but it created an inferior product and was only 20 per cent cheaper. We also looked at having the parasols produced really cheaply in China, but decided on the more expensive option of having them locally crafted – this defined our market.’ Emma Jones, founder of Enterprise Nation, a network of small businesses and advisers with a community of more than 75,000 people, says that you’ll know when the time is right to scale up because you’ll have so many orders you won’t have a choice. Here, she shares some of her top tips for when that time comes…
look at the finances ‘Finance is an important issue when businesses are going through rapid growth – you can end up paying for a big order upfront and then having to wait 60 days to be paid. To counteract this, you may need to invest previous profits or look at getting some extra funding.’ have access to more money ‘There are different forms of quick money you can access. Market Invoice (marketinvoice.com) allows businesses to sell their unpaid invoices to them to provide working capital. It pays your invoice immediately, minus a small percentage, and then recoups the money. Another option is Funding Circle (fundingcircle.com), which loans finance to small businesses, transferring the money the very next day.’
take on staff ‘As you’re scaling up your business you’ll need employees to do things like send out invoices and post on social media for you, so that you can focus on developing great products and building your customer reach. Aim to recruit people who have different skills to you. For example, if you’re not business-minded, then hire someone who understands leverage opportunities. Get a good accountant, too!’ take stock of your business
‘You should take some time out four times a year to work on the business, rather than in it, so you can assess your strategy, check that you have the right customer group and that your product is in the right places. Get someone in to help with strategic thinking – Enterprise Nation has a marketplace for coaches and strategic advisors. You might decide to employ someone to help you intermittently, or you may decide to recruit someone to the executive team. One of the best businesses I know has three co-founders – one is responsible for business development, one for the product and one concentrates on the finance. It’s the perfect combination of ingredients for success.’ don’t forget social media ‘It’s very easy to let your social media presence slip when you’re busy, but remember that if you don’t post for a while, people may assume you’ve gone bust, so keep up to date with that or outsource it to someone else.’
The one lesson we’ve learnt... ❝understanding how to grow your business while simultaneously simplifying things is key❞