Top 10 Ways to Strategically Scale (Not Just Grow) Your Business

By Frank B. Mengert, Founder // CEO @ ebm< em>.

Looking to grow or scale your business? In order to highlight the difference, an article from Harvard Business L 'review highlights the key difference: "Growth means increasing revenue at the same rate as increasing resources; scaling means increasing revenue at a rate far greater than the cost."

Nowadays, it's not easy to be an entrepreneur. So if you don't want to become a statistic, be sure to tap into these 10 ways to scale your business:

1. Create and follow a plan.

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. The most successful companies have a vision for growth, then reverse-engineer the steps needed to achieve each goal as part of their planning process. And then, most importantly, they follow their plan.

Too often, companies set goals at the start of the year, sparking excitement and excitement among users. But in March, hardly anyone follows a coherent plan. Building goals of different lengths will help you stay focused and aligned.

My company follows the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), where everything is broken down into "rocks", which are the most important things we need to accomplish in the next 90 days. We also have a one-year plan, a three-year vision and our 10-year goal; the latter being our North Star for our company and our employees.

It's important to note that when creating your plan, you don't aim so high that you can't achieve your goals, nor do you want to make things too easy so you don't get on track. challenge.

When evaluating your methods for achieving your goals, if you think to yourself, "this is how we've always done it," that's a clear sign that you need to revisit that process and innovate your plan. 2. Stay focused.

As an entrepreneur, it's easy to be distracted by shiny object syndrome or to be tempted to offer many products and services. Instead, have a main objective and a niche in order to stay in your lane and deliver what is promised to customers.

Find out what your top revenue drivers are and double down on them. And if you're interested in launching a new product or service, test the market first to see if people want it and will actually pay for it. Too many companies spend money on R&D and marketing a new product or service only to find it fails because nobody wants it; don't let this happen to you.

3. Document your processes.

It is difficult to evolve without established and documented organizational processes. To ensure everyone is working on the same page, develop KPIs and SOPs that detail the steps and strategies you follow as an organization and within your teams. Once documented, they are easily accessible by new hires or team members, reducing start-up time and training.

4. Have proper lead generation and marketing plans in place.

Without a healthy and growing pipeline, you won't be able to scale. Inbound and outbound marketing is a must for brand awareness and new business growth. Work closely with your customers and use them as enthusiastic fans to attract more business. Asking them why they like your product so much and sharing that feedback is the perfect way to attract new customers.

5. Be a squirrel when it comes to funds.

Yes, you will need to spend and invest in the business, but be intentional when doing so and learn to save where you can. Don't buy things you don't need that don't directly correlate to a proven return on investment for your business.

For example, you can be the CEO but...