So, you’ve started your business and got it off the ground. The next logical steps involve scaling your business from a one-person operation to a corporate team.
The most successful businesses aren’t run by one person but by teams of skilled, dedicated professionals.
When you build your business and start to hire employees, you can bring in and leverage different people, skills and experiences to grow your business to new heights. If you run your business as a one-person show, you will eventually be limited, whether that is by time or by skill. Many people want to run a business alone, which can be great. But any business owner will soon learn that isn’t as easy as it may seem and you will have to wear many different hats. You need to know how to run the business, how to manage the accounts, how to talk to customers, how to deliver the product or service, and much more.
When you scale and build a team around you, your business will soar. It will be a big investment at first. But that investment is worthwhile and will pay off big time.
If you want your business to grow, you need to scale your operations from a one-person show to a team of skilled and experienced people.
To help you on your journey, here are some top tips you need to know.
Write goals and forecast your future
The first and most important thing you should do before you scale your business and start hiring employees and creating teams is to consider your current situation and your future goals. Where do you want your business to be in 2 years, 5 years, and 10 years? What revenue do you want to be generating? How do you want your business to look? Get crystal clear on your goals for your business, including your finances. Don’t just guess – think about how your business is fairing now and how it could grow.
Do some research within your industry and your competitors. Look forward to the businesses that you aspire to be like and compete against in the future. If you just look at the competitors who are the same size as your current business, then you won’t be able to gain much from your analysis that will help you to grow.
This might be something you can do, or you may need the support of a business mentor, consultant or accountant to support this part of the process. You shouldn’t just hire anyone or rush into the process. It needs to be well thought out and researched so you can make smart business decisions that will be profitable.
Make a list of everything you want your business to achieve, no matter how big.
Reverse engineer your goals
Now that you have a clear idea of where you want your business to go and what you want to achieve, you should take some time to reverse-engineer your goals. You can use the SMART goal framework to help you. It breaks your goals down so they are smart, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. This makes them much much more attainable.
Start by taking your big goals and reverse engineering them while using this method. This will form part of your road map to success. Businesses will be more successful when they have goalposts and milestones to work toward. If you don’t do this, you will just be taking action based on guesses and assumptions, which is highly ineffective and not very efficient. You will end up wasting time, energy and budget. When you have SMART goals, you will know exactly what you are aiming for and what you need to do to get there. Make sure you schedule regular reviews so you can check in with how far along you are, and whether anything needs adapting. It is perfectly normal for the goalposts to change. If you know this from the start and regularly check-in, you will build a more adaptable, focused and resilient business. That’s what it takes to be successful.
Make a list of the skills and experience that you need inhouse
When you know your goals and what you need to do to get there, you will more clearly understand what skills you need in-house to support your business growth.
This might be anything from:
- Customer service representatives to make customers happy and ensure their loyalty
- Sales consultants to generate more leads for your business
- Accountant to support the financial accounts, forecast your business growth, keep your business accounts organised and ensure you make sound investments
- Service providers/production specialists, depending on what type of business you run, you may hire skills inhouse to help you offer the services you sell to more people or to increase the output of the products that you make
- Marketers who will create a growth strategy for your business to generate more leads and increase brand awareness for you through activities such as search engine optimisation, paid ads and social media
You might not hire all these people and skills at once. Consider which ones are a high priority and start to build your teams and departments from there. Then you can create a timeline for your hiring process and business growth. You will also need to include a hierarchy and management teams as your business grows.
Consider your budget
Budget is really key when it comes to hiring employees. You want to be a fair employer who pays their employees well and provides them with excellent benefits. When you look after your employees, they are going to be more passionate and dedicated about growing your business.
Now you know what skills you want to bring in-house, you will want to consider the investment of those skills. Research the market to see what is a fair salary for the workers you are looking to hire.
You will also need to consider the budget for all the onboarding, training equipment, software, offices, warehouses, and other elements that will be required to run a business with employees.
When you have figured out how much this is all going to cost, you should update your goals, plans and timeline for hiring. Your budget will play a major role in all of these things. The last thing you want to do is put yourself in the red.
Find a suitable location
A location is another vital part of building your business and hiring employees. You need to be able to find a location that is safe and accessible and meets your needs. This means you will need to find a building that is within your budget, is suitable for the work you and your employees will undertake, is close to main roads and public transport and is safe and secure. As a business owner, you are responsible for your employee’s safety and well-being.
The work your employees are going to do will play a huge role. For example, if you are manufacturing products, then you need to find a unit or warehouse. If your employees will be supporting customers on the phone, working on your marketing campaigns and managing your finances, then you will need a pleasant office space.
Prepare the location for your business
Your employees are your responsibility. First and foremost, you have to ensure that the commercial space you are going to house your employees in at work is safe and secure. You should start with a fire safety survey and inspection before you do anything. This will ensure the building is suitable for your needs and your employees are going to be safe. You should address anything that comes out of the survey before you take any further action.
Once the building is safe, you need to consider how you can secure it especially if employees are working at night or there are valuable assets being housed in the building. Lastly, you should set up the building for your employees. Personalise it with your brand and make it comfortable for them. Set up the building with all the tools and equipment they need to do their job well.
Start the hiring process
The origin process can be a long one. You may have to wait a few weeks to get enough applications in until you start to see the right people for the job. Make sure you consider transferable skills, passion and motivation. Some people might be perfect for the job but will require training. Other people will have all the training necessary to hit the ground running. It will depend on your budget and how much time you want to dedicate to your first employees.
Scaling your business from a one-person show to a team is hard work, but a worthwhile investment. Your business will only remain limited until you start to bring in high quality skills and dedicated team members. Follow these key concepts to get your business started on the right track and grow excellent teams within your business.