Every successful entrepreneur reached a point in their business where they were stagnant. Their sales were stable, the output of their team was constant, and the growth every quarter was predictable. While this may feel comfortable for some business owners, the goal of a business is to continuously grow – no one wants to be stuck at the same plateau for years on end.
To break through that plateau, changes need to be made to your strategy. The old strategies got you where you are now, and you need new ones to bring you to the next stage of growth. Here are 7 strategies you can implement for scaling your business to the next level:
1. TAP INTO AUTOMATION
Do you know how much time you are wasting on repetitive tasks? Most of us fail to realize how much of the day we spend on redundant tasks that really don’t need much brainpower. This type of busy work should be automated.
Whether it be using a scheduler for social media or creating scripts and templates for emails and calls, you must automate anything that doesn’t bring in any money for you and that can be automated.
Freeing up your time and the time of your team will give you all more opportunities to complete more important tasks that you may feel like you are always too busy to get to.
2. INVEST IN YOUR TEAM
If you want to level up in your business, you need to hire people who are smarter than you. The truth is that you don’t know everything and you’re not the best at everything. That’s why you need to look out for people who have the skill sets your business needs to reach the next level.
As Confiscus once said: “If you are the smartest person in the room, then you are in the wrong room.”
And since it’s your business, you have the responsibility to make sure that room is filled with people who are smarter than you. It can either be by hiring the right people or investing in the professional development of your current team members who have the potential to be greater and want to accompany you on the journey of bringing your business to new heights.
3. DELEGATE WHAT YOU CAN
You can’t do it all nor should you do it all. There are only a few sets of tasks in a day that are actually worth your time and that can’t be done by anyone else but you. Identify those tasks and delegate the rest of the tasks to someone else. Being ruthless about what you spend time on and what you delegate is what will allow you to free up some of your time to do the things that really matter and move the needle in your business.
4. DREAM BIGGER
If you want to really level up in business, you need to stop dreaming of small, realistic goals that require minimal effort to achieve. What you want to do is set goals that are so big, they scare you. When you set goals that are this big, you are more likely to achieve anything you ever thought possible EVEN if you fail.
Think about it: if you only achieve 90% of your goal to reach $1B in sales volume, it’s still a whole lot better than reaching a conservative goal of $500M in sales volume.
5. TRIM THE FAT
What we mean by trimming the fat here is that you should figure out what is the ONE THING you are good at as a business and focus on that one thing. Oftentimes, we tend to put our eggs in too many baskets at too much of an early stage in our business. Stick to what you know and do best and trim out the lines of business that aren’t aligned with that.
This will allow you to invest all of your resources into the one thing that is working well for you and bring you towards excellence. Remember, it’s better to be renowned as excellent for one thing than to be just good at multiple things. You want to be the go-to person for the one thing you’re excellent for in your industry.
6. BUILD STRONG PARTNERSHIPS
Collaborate with complementary businesses or industry influencers to expand your reach and gain exposure to new audiences. Seek partnerships that align with your values and goals. By leveraging the strengths of others, you can tap into new opportunities and mutually benefit from the relationship.
7. MEASURE AND ADAPT
Too many businesses set goals and then don’t measure whether or not they’re on the right track. It’s important that you establish key business metrics based on your goals and continuously monitor your business metrics, market trends, and customer feedback.
Stay updated on industry changes and adapt your strategies accordingly. Be open to experimentation and don’t be afraid to make adjustments to your plans to stay ahead of the competition.
At the end of the day, reaching a certain level of success in your business may feel good and you may be tempted to enjoy that stage for a while. But as James Cash Penny said, “No company can afford not to move forward. It may be at the top of the heap today but at the bottom of the heap tomorrow, if it doesn’t.” To sustain your success, you must keep implementing growth strategies.