Can Your Business Scale? A Must Read for Entrepreneurs
Congrats on starting your own business! Finally took the leap to be your own boss. Sales are coming in and things are great! You're a busy person. Fulfilling orders. And things are good.
But now you are growing. Getting more orders. Fulfilling more orders. And you're busy! Your living room is now the business fulfillment and packing center. Your garage is where you hold the boxes, labels and packaging. Wait, where's the product?
Oh ya, that's in the dining room. And kitchen. And probably the bedroom or bathroom? Not sure but it is somewhere.
You are working a ton of hours. But it's worth it because business is booming. You still have time to place ads on Facebook. Do Tiktok videos. Post on LinkedIn.
But are you ready to scale? Could you handle it today? If a large PO (purchase order) got sent to you from Walmart or Home Depot or PetSmart or Camping World, could you fulfill as you are right now?
Could you fulfill if it was a rush? Offer the same customer service? Delivery? Quality?
In other words - Do you have a plan in place to scale?
Most entrepreneurs today, reading this, will say, "Oh I am not there yet. I have time" or "I don't want to be that big."
Don't be naive. Be ready. It's all about having a plan.
Because you could just happen to have a big order come through. It might not be normal but it could happen from time to time.
Is your company ready for scale? Growth? The sudden jump in sales?
After all, you cannot do it all. Eventually, you will:
Outgrow your home. Living room. Garage.
Want to take or have a vacation
Expand
Get a surprise order
Get surprised by an Act of God (a pandemic might happen & your business instantly grows by default of demand & need).
But are you ready for it? Do you have a plan in place now? Whether you want to be the biggest or the best or both, you have to have a plan in place now. And not just a plan but how to position & when to press GO on those areas.
For instance, what happens when you outgrow your living room? Garage? Do you know what it takes to get space? Is there space available? What kind of space do you need? What's leasing look like?
Do you need a co packer? What is a co packer? How does it work?
What about an inventory management system? What do I need?
Can you handle sales, fulfillment, customer service and quality control by yourself?
How to outsource? Where to look? How to pivot? When to pivot? When to mitigate?
Are your goals align for the trajectory now?
Entrepreneurs, don't understand that whether they sell a physical product or services, they assume they can "wing it." Because that's the life of an entrepreneur, take it as it comes and "wing" it.
WRONG!
That is not only dumb but it is shooting from the hip. Reactive. DO NOT BE A REACTIVE BUSINESS.
It's all about being proactive.
Start with:
Goals for business
Where you are at now
What happens if your business grew 5x next week, could you handle & sustain?
What would lack?
Time?
Money?
What's missing?
What can you do and what couldn't you do?
What are you good at and where can you begin to hand things off?
Does this align with where you want to be vs just cruising along and letting your market decide for you?
If your market decides for you, it can make or break your company based on growth. If you cannot fulfill demand, then consider yourself out of business now.
Being the best or the biggest cannot take the chance of not being prepared whether you think it is WAY FAR in the future.
The second QUALITY gets lost. The second CONSISTENCY gets lost. The second VALUE get lost. The business will be lost. You can only scramble for so long. You can only be reactive so long.
So take the advice. Sit down. Write down where you are and what would happen if your company grew 5x next week. What can you handle? What can you not? Where would you need help? Etc. Some companies might need to get a loan to fulfill orders to buy raw goods. Or extra space or servers? Are you approved? Can you get approved? How long is the loan process?
These are all things that every business needs to know.
Can we scale?
If you are unsure or not sure, then feel free to contact us with a scheduled call. We would love to help you out and talk with you about where you are now.
https://bookmenow.info/book/dmarx/discovery
For more about our other services go to www.r3shift.com
Dan Marx is the CEO of ReShift. With over 20yrs of Sales, Marketing & Supply Chain experience, Dan delivers everything a company needs to succeed. Whether it is consulting, training, SaaS (Software as a Service) products or partnering with companies.
If you are interested in Dan being a guest on your podcast, blogger, panelist or keynote speaker for conferences, webinars, user conferences or zoom team meetings, contact Dan directly at dmarx@r3shift.com