Getting the business up and running is a challenge all on its own, but it’s not the only or even the biggest one you will face. Scaling is the first major hurdle that all successful businesses face, and it’s also the most common pitfall of all. To make sure that you reach the level, let’s take a look at some of the ingredients you need for scaling success.

Opportunity

First of all, you need to figure out how, exactly, you’re going to scale. Finding the best opportunity for growth is about identifying the strengths of your business and what more it can do to capitalize on them. Would offering a new service to existing customers be better than a new product? Would targeting a different market offer more in return than opening a second location?

Money

Scaling isn’t free. Growth demands more resources, whether that’s people, property, equipment, or otherwise. When you’ve decided on which opportunity you’re going to pursue, you’re then going to have to figure out how much you need to put together the resources you need. Online funding platforms like irukacapital.com are making it much easier to get the loans that you need. However, you still need a plan including how much money you have to spend and where it’s all going to be spent.

Infrastructure

As the team grows, your ability to remain “hands on” is going to diminish. Instead of working in the business, you’re going to have to spend more time working on it. That means that you need systems in place to ensure your team fulfils their roles as best as possible, instead of your personal supervision. Businessknowhow.com outlines the steps of systemization and how it can help you create an infrastructure that keeps things running even when you’re not around to it yourself.

People

Not only are you likely to need more members of staff to support the greater demands of the business, you’re going to have to keep an eye out for a very specific kind of people. We’re talking about finding leadership, whether it’s in your existing team or from outside it. As the team grows, it needs more people to head the different departments and knowing how to spot leadership and management potential is crucial as you’re no longer so involved in the day-to-day.

Culture

The right infrastructure in place and leadership material can help with the practicalities of helping a growing team stay on track. However, a positive workplace culture, as suggested by marshmma.com, is just as important. Laying the foundations of a culture that rewards open communication, accountability, and responsibility is essential for ensuring your work ethic and values don’t get lost as you take more of a back seat to the day-to-day.

It’s never too early to start planning how you’re going to start scaling your business. Identify which opportunities best lend themselves to your business’s current trajectory, figure out what resources you need to put together, and start creating the systems that can keep things running even as you get bigger and bigger.