So you’ve met with initial success with your startup company or product. Customers and clients are eager to buy them and you are receiving a plethora of calls from customers or people who are interested in doing business with you. This is the point in time of your company’s operations when you want to scale your business. This is the next logical step to follow when you are offering something that is in demand.
But take a moment before you actually jump on the scaling bandwagon. Pause and take stock; the journey has gone off to a favorable start, but the destination is still a far, far way off. So do let the initial success of product or service get into your head and remember to stay rooted in the ground.
As you progress on the path to scaling your business you naturally do not want to fall into the same pitfalls that claimed many companies before when they were hasty in getting into new markets. No to mention the fatal errors that bring about the demise of many companies. You should also note that if you wait too long to scale, it might bring your startup to an abrupt end.
Today, we have compiled a list of three things that you want to shun like the plague when you are scaling or growing your business.
Never fail To differentiate the customer types
A new product’s market usually tends to have three distinct types of users which are:
The users who use the product first.
The users who adopt the product early on.
And lastly, the scaling, or "real," users.
The first users typically give the product a free try. They provide feedback on how to improve the product and maybe even promote it in various mediums. They are crucial to scaling as their positive reviews can get you many real users.
To cite an example, take the major video game title Quake. At first, the creators of the game let some expert gamers try the game without spending a dime, but with the rider of suggesting debugs and modifications. After this feedback loop had been accounted for, only then did the game go public as a paid game.
Not limiting itself to that solely, the company responded to the complaints and suggestions of the first users and allowed them to post the changes. The new avatar of the user-redesigned Quake was a big hit, with a sudden spike in sales.
Companies should also pay attention to early adopters before they focus on the masses.
Hire with care and hire right
It is common for startups to try to boost their business with the influx of more people as soon as they start to get a taste of success. This is inadvisable, as it tends to lead to a bloated organization. The company stands to accelerate too fast for comfort. This accelerated bound will lead to early adopters adopt something new. This will result in the startup not having a solid customer base to speak of, too little business and too many people on its payroll.
Another crucial issue is hiring the right people. There has to be a tested methodology, and gut feeling is not a good indicator of the success of the hire.
Embrace change, within and without
It is common to see startup owners pursue upward and outward growth almost with a single-minded mindset. They need to have a careful look inside. With the growth of your enterprise, you will sooner or later find that you do not need a thing anymore or that you have laid off certain people or maybe even scrap departments.
Always see your business from the view of a sharp critic. When you had a team of 50, what worked fine back then will scarcely suffice when you are the head of 200 people. As your business scales and reaches new heights make sure you are ready for it with a befitting strategy, org chart, and process. What does not work in the present scenario should without fail be discarded to the dustbin. It may at times be difficult, but it is absolutely critical to your startup’s success.
