Realizing your potential for growth is considered the holy grail of launching and managing a successful business. However in the initial startup stages, where minimizing costs and improving profitability is the name of the game, scaling your product or service can be a rather difficult thing to get right.

So, here’s a look at five ways to successfully scale your small business and travel the right path to efficient growth.

1. Concentrate on business growth, not staff numbers.

   It’s easy to think of business growth as the expansion of your team, however, keeping your workforce small and specialized is the key to improving profitability and getting your product or service the recognition it deserves.

   Whilst your team has to expand steadily, to counter the demand you are likely to face as your business grows, keeping staff numbers to the minimum will ensure payroll expenses don’t get out of hand and office costs remain affordable. Instead of concentrating on recruitment, shift the focus to retaining your best workers so your business can move forward with gusto!

2. Outsource where possible.

   Many small business owners may see outsourcing as an unnecessary expense, however outsourcing some areas of your operations strategy can actually be more affordable than enlisting a professional team to fulfill such duties in-house. IT and marketing staff are particularly costly, and when it comes to these areas of expertise you tend to get what you pay for, meaning your strategies may fail to hit the mark due to the employment of less experienced employees.

   Enlisting a freelancer to handle your marketing and copy needs externally can often be a more affordable option for small and startup businesses looking for professionalism without the price tag and added responsibility of recruiting, training and closely monitoring internal staff members. In addition to this, outsourcing the management of data centers and other IT infrastructure assets can be more cost-efficient due to the expense of specialist staff, utility costs and additional office space needed to house advanced equipment.

3. Consider franchising as business growth increases.

   Franchising can be an excellent option for startups looking to scale their company steadily over time as well as keep business costs low and profit high. Opening your brand to franchisees can be effective in both product and service-based businesses, particularly those that rely on local appeal and loyal customers.

   Businesses that are designed to work locally can be extremely difficult to scale and franchising can help you realize your dreams of increased profitability without damaging each individual business’ credibility. Franchising does have its pitfalls and requires consistent monitoring to manage wider brand reputation, however with the correct management procedures in place you can ensure your brand is represented nationally without losing that local, small business appeal.

4. Never stop evolving your operations.

   When running a startup, business operations tend to be implemented and managed using the tried and tested approaches, however, ensuring your operations mature as your company grows is a vital part of turning your startup into a successful business.

   In technology businesses, in particular, procedures tend to change constantly, meaning you must stay on top of market fluctuations and develop business practices that encompass these. Documenting these improved systems is also an integral part of implementing changes in your business operations strategy and can give new and existing staff the information they need to hit the ground running.

5. Create a culture of communication.

   Listening to your staff and customers is perhaps the most important step in scaling your startup and evolving your enterprise into an enviable market leader. Focus on improving the level and quality of your communication both on the ground at the office and to the people who invest in your products or services. Maintaining a clear and consistent culture is the best way to get ahead and secure business growth in the long run.

Brittany Thorley works for RiT Technologies, a leading provider of startup and small business solutions and intelligent infrastructure management.

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