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The work of the startup is never done. The whole first year or so is a period of complete uncertainty, feeling through in the dark to a certain extent. And while you may work hard at finding your feet, you are spending a lot of time leaning on others to give that little bit more help to see you through. Your co-workers or employees will spend a bit more time in the office than in the standard 9 to 5 fare, but they are doing it because they believe in the company and the potential it has. Once it has found its feet, there will be more demand for the product, and the next inevitable step is to progress to the next level, which will mean another set of setbacks or shake-ups. This is part and parcel of the ascendance of any company, and if you want your business to bloom, you will have to make a big set of business changes, and these will result in their share of teething issues from both sides of the boardroom table, but predominately they will result in a better company. What are the main ones you will face?
Developing Working Capital
A big question mark that hangs over any business is the thorny issue of money. How much have you got? Can you get more? Where can you get it from? Do you have enough to keep your employees happy? And the list goes on. The subject of cash flow and having adequate capital is essential for a company to keep afloat, and such is the nature of money in the 21st century, it’s as sturdy as a spinning plate. The key to developing a good cash flow system is to get ahead of the curve somewhat by starting a semi-strict approach to your customers or clients, such as payment upfront for services. You are in a precarious position when moving up the ladder. You are making a name for yourself, but you may not be any better off financially than when you were in startup mode.
Your options are to go to the bank and to get the right loan for you, which come with its fair share of issues. You could be turned down for any advance, leaving you to chase clients for invoices before you wind up in a lot more debt. You can easily get into a bad cycle of debt-invoice-debt going round and round, and it can leave you out of pocket more than in pocket! The website www.BusinessFactors.com/learning/ shows you the approach of invoice factoring, which is where the money lenders buy your receivables in return for cash. It is a quick process, which is beneficial if you are dangerously under pressure but you haven’t any money to show for it, and it is a “get out of jail”-type scenario that might work for you.
For a lot of businesses, the strict upfront approach is a method that seems to work very well. And it can be a bit difficult to convey the firm aesthetic, especially if you think that it can lose you custom, but you need to build up your company, and if you get stuck in a massive debt cycle, you are relying on a big client to get you out of the hole. And those clients may come along once in a while; it is foolish to place all your bets on a miracle. It is better to be firm with your payment practices, and expect payment for services upfront, or on a payment plan. You need to pay your employees, and they need to be paid on the dot, and if they don’t get paid, it’ll have to come from your pocket. It is possible to get yourself front-loaded financially before the big upgrade, but it requires a lot of careful planning and a nice smile for Mr. Bank Manager. But that leaves you in more debt, so your sensible option is to go with your customers. You need to cultivate relationships one way or another, and this can be a test of faith somewhat, but an essential one.
The Task Of Upscaling
Scaling up a business is a natural by-product of a company heading in the right direction. It just means that you are doing well. But the task of scaling up a business is a bit like fitting a square peg into a round hole; your future business setup will be completely foreign to the one you have in full-on startup mode. How will the business need to be changed? The first step is to radicalize the roles. In your startup setup, you have the IT person or the marketing guru, the demand that is placed on your business now means that the role of IT will not be feasibly done by one person anymore unless they are happy to work 5 people’s jobs without any sleep… The IT role needs to have more defined distinctions and duties. The IT role can now be separated into SEO, content editor, social media manager, and all the other sub-divisions you can think of. This is an essential component, and it can be met with some derision from the existing team because they might feel that they are being usurped in some way, but this is an essential function for the company to continue.
Another task in upscaling is finding the right location. You will need larger premises to keep your employees, and pressure to find the right space is something that you will go through at some point. Luckily, it needn’t be a big difficulty anymore because there are so many offices that cater for this eventuality that you can negotiate terms and get the business moved in such a short time. There are many offices that operate in a central location, but it’s natural that the fees are higher. If you are looking for a location that is commutable, you will need to factor in everyone’s transport facilities. Out of town industrial estates are cheaper, but are they commutable and are they suitable for the business you are trying to create? When it comes to making a business thrive, the artificial lighting and cubicles setup doesn’t do well to communicate a dynamic venture.
When looking for the right roles to fill, you will inevitably come across people that are suitable for roles as leaders, and others as team members. Having the best leaders is a vital piece of the puzzle in your unraveling of the newest processes. While embedding any new business process can be a headache, if you have the right people communicating it, it means a life much easier for everyone. It’s quite a task finding the right type of leaders, you need someone who will be able to answer to your needs quickly and efficiently, but also manage their own teams with a human touch. And the human touch is such an important component of modern businesses now. It was easier to rule with an iron fist a few years ago, and the role of a team leader was half busybody, half brown-nose who had little time for their team. This approach does nobody any good anymore, from either end of their view on the ladder. The trick in finding the right team leaders now is not to look at previous experience, but how good are they at communicating. It’s amazing how many team leaders are unable to articulate themselves properly after 25 years. You see these people stuck in “boss mode” and it’s a setting they are unable to ever switch off. The great opportunity you have when scaling up is to actually pick someone that is new blood, who doesn’t fall into that trap. To pick someone that falls into the category of giver rather than taker.
The last part of upscaling from a startup to a big company is now you will need to offer your staff benefits, like maternity and paternity leave, bonuses, and other reward schemes. The only thing you will have to be concerned about when your business does so well is to try and maintain a sense of what it was before. The roles can expand, the work can be more demanding, but if you look back to what your goal was with your company, is it still where you want to be? Your employees that have stood by you since the start will be able to tell you, and it’s them that are responsible for your continued success.
Going through any big change in a company will be the storm before the calm. And though we find the task of upscaling, or finding finances to be a long and arduous road, it has a happy ending. Change is a constant. We need to adapt to our surroundings, and this is the one main positive adaptation you can make for your company. You have a wealth of support at your disposal, as long as you know what you’re looking for. Making a modest company a big business is the goal for so many of us, so be sure you are ready for what lies ahead.
