Once you have established yourself as a small business, your thoughts are going to naturally turn towards growing and scaling up your business. Whilst this is usually the dream for most business owners, it can be hard to know where to start when the opportunity does arise.
Here are some tips to get you started on the road to growing your business.
Automate processes
There are certain processes that take a large amount of time each month. Tasks such as payroll take up time and manpower which could be redirected into profitable tasks.
By automating payroll and using payroll software, you can free up HR staff to work on more pressing tasks whilst having the knowledge that your staff will still get paid on time and accurately. Furthermore, most payroll software is compliant with HMRC filing regulations, so you are able to use it to do your taxes as well, saving even more time.
Build your team
Although automating processes means you are able to redistribute staff appropriately, you may still find yourself needing to increase the number of staff.
Investing in new talent, as well as upskilling current workers, is essential to business growth. Hiring the right talent is dependent on your job advert and your interview process. The interview process should be designed to find someone who not only has the experience but will also fit in with the office culture you have created.
You must make sure you invest in your current staff too. As your business grows and the services or products you offer expand, you will need experienced staff to take on more challenging projects. You can also utilise their experience and have them train the new recruits so that specialist knowledge stays in-house.
Fine-tune your business plan
When you first started the business, you will have created a business plan that looks towards the future as well as the initial starting months. However, business can change quickly so your initial business plan may not be accurate anymore.
As you start to think about growing your business, take time to sit down and revisit your plan. It may be that you need to change the direction of your business from the original plan, or that you have an extra source of income that you can capitalise on.
The benefit of doing this is that you can visualise your new goals and work towards those with a clear vision.
Perfect your offerings
In most industries, the market is crowded and requires something special for you to stand out. Take some time to consider whether your product or service is the best it can be. By making this a habit throughout the year, you can rework your processes and avoid complaints or returns.
You can also take this opportunity to see if there are complementary lines you can introduce as well. For example, if you own a baby clothing business you could start to offer a bedding range.
