Women's Biz Magazine
The 3 Biggest Myths About
Scaling Up Your Business Lauren Hamilton, Founder of Digital Narrative
Scaling up is a phrase that’s spoken of in reverent tones in the small business community. Along with business automation, lead magnet and sales funnel, it’s the kind of aspirational jargon which can inspire and confuse in equal parts.
T
he first and biggest myth around scaling up is that it is essential. It’s not - if you’re comfortable as a sole trader and earn an income you’re happy with, there’s no need to fix what isn’t broken. But, if growing a business is your dream, there are some persistent myths to be aware of which can make the process of scaling up seem overwhelming. Here are the three biggest ones, and how to shake them off.
There is one way to scale up, and one way only Every business and every entrepreneur are different. Your products or services are different, your customers are different, your support network is different. Similarly, there is not ‘one’ golden, proven method for scaling up your business. You may have access to investors who can pour money into your fledgling outfit, allowing you to grow rapidly and dramatically. You may have no clue about investors, be working on a shoestring out of your garage,
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and be more comfortable taking it slowly. Each of these methods is viable. A typical low-risk path to scaling up is by doing it in stages – for example, by firstly employing sub-contractors or freelancers to take on overload work before
you hire permanent staff. Other examples include moving into a co-working space for a while before you rent office space, or building a fast, cheap website initially before replacing it with a deluxe, automated site when budget allows.
