Growth is essential for the continued prosperity and health of any business – but it is particularly powerful for online enterprises.
The reasons for this are multitudinous. For example, while brick and mortar businesses have to rely upon huge demand to justify branching out into new premises or becoming a chain, online businesses can theoretically grow exponentially, due to the lack of overheads and the bottomless pit of users on the internet.
This means that if you structure your company right, you can effortlessly scale, reach new customers and hire a larger team – without significantly increasing your overhead costs or compromising your cash flow. However, this effortless growth can only happen when you approach your online business in the right way and structure it correctly.
For instance, you will need to ensure that the fundamental infrastructure within your online business can withstand or even grow stronger the more you scale. You also need to sell a product or series of products that are easy to distribute and multiply as you grow larger.
Lastly, you should focus on growing areas of your business that provide the most leverage – such as customer acquisition and production. Here are some top tips for scaling your online business rapidly:
Build strong infrastructure that enables scaling
Businesses are very much like physical structures in that they can only be built on top of and scaled when the foundations are solid, and the overall structure is conducive to growth.
After all, you wouldn’t build a heavy spire on top of a cathedral without making sure the rest of the building can easily take the additional load. Similarly, you wouldn’t be able to build a skyscraper without digging deep down into the ground to lay sturdy foundations.
The same goes for your online business. You will find scaling is the most complicated, mind-numbingly difficult task if you haven’t structured the existing organization properly. It is like pressing ‘x10’ on your problems and will only result in failure.
Instead, you need to ensure that your business is ready for growth before you start adding fuel to the fire. Start by tackling the basics, like installing a dedicated internet line for a fast and reliable connection.
Have an easy-to-produce product
Another key element of effortless growth for an online business is selling a product that is easy to create and distribute at scale without any additional cost.
This is why industries like marketing, info products, and entertainment are so well-suited to scaling. They don’t require the business to increase their team size drastically or their overheads, leaving them able to chalk up mighty profit margins with very little effort.
Alternatively, you could find a way of reducing your costs as you scale – such as through deals with other businesses in your supply chain that could grant you a bulk discount.
Target growth in the most important areas
Growth is ultimately an umbrella term for a series of smaller scaling strategies that need to be completed to grow your business as a whole.
It is easy to get sucked into the mentality of ‘10 X-ing’ every aspect of your business when in actual fact, all you need to do is focus on key elements – such as customer acquisition and production.
