Business Scaling: 9 Steps to Scale Your Business From 7 Figures to 8

11 min read
Jul 1, 2021

If you run a seven-figure business, chances are you're a very hard-working individual who has occasionally pulled an all-nighter in order to get your company to this point. But what if you want even more? A million dollars per year is excellent, but what about ten million? That's phenomenal! Naturally, you may experience a mix of emotions when you think about this. Perhaps you're concerned that you don't have enough employees to meet the demands of the marketplace. Particularly if your company continues to grow. You may also worry about long hours and an even more hectic schedule. While all of these issues are valid, each one of them is solvable. This is where business scaling comes in.

When it comes to business scaling, it's important to delegate tasks whenever it's necessary. If you're working five jobs, it would be well worth your time and money to hire a few extra people to help you out. When it comes to long hours, it's essential to be upfront about the expectations you have of your employees, and the compensation you're willing to offer them in return for their efforts. If you are, you'll probably attract people who are just as dedicated to the mission of your organization as you are. And you'll avoid the bitterness that comes with disgruntled employees becoming disappointed because they're working longer hours than they'd expected. Here are 9 steps to help you start with business scaling.

9 Steps to an Effective Business Scaling

1. Delegate Tasks When Necessary

Let me guess: You do five jobs, and you haven't hired anyone else because you genuinely believe they can't perform at the same level as you. You're probably right. However, it's still important to avoid burnout so that you can maintain a healthy work/life balance. Think about it like this: If you hired four people to do four jobs, and they each performed half as well as you did, you'd be set. 

Delegating tasks helps you streamline the processes of your company. You can finally take a bit more time off, catch up on sleep if it's been evasive due to your long hours at the office, or focus on improving other elements of your company. This almost always helps every aspect of your organization run more smoothly. And leads to content employees who can work reasonable schedules and earn decent wages. This will most likely translate to your customers in the quality of their work and the excellence of the services and products your business provides. 

If you've been surviving on only a few hours of sleep, and you haven't had time off in months, or even years, then it's well worth your while to delegate a few tasks to others. Even if it takes two people to do the same job you could do on your own. It will be worth it when you can finally get the rest you deserve!  

2. Fine Tune Your Company's Mission, Value, and Purpose

Customers and employees alike are increasingly interested in companies' mission statements. Perhaps your organization donates 10% of its revenue to fight global warming. Or maybe your business is all about helping your clients increase their net worth by providing them with insightful advice about how to make more money, save it, and invest it for the maximum return. Whatever your mission is, it needs to be crystal clear on your website. This will help you attract the right types of customers and employees! 

Mission

This is perhaps the most important aspect of your company: What is your goal? Is it preserving the environment or helping your clients maximize their earnings? Is it a combination of both? Perhaps your focus is on offering your customers some of the best luxury homes on the market or selling amazing, fair trade coffee. Whatever your mission is, it needs to be emphasized in all of your marketing materials.

Purpose

If you're struggling with motivation, you'll want to define your purpose even more thoroughly. Your purpose is your why: Why do you do what you do? Is it solely because you want to earn massive amounts of money? Is it because you want to help people? Or is it because you want to make a killing by helping folks get rich?

Defining the "why" of your organization will help you remain resilient during the many ups and downs that often come with business scaling from seven figures to eight. If you know why you're working, you can remember that you're doing this to help people. If you truly are solely in it for the money, there's nothing wrong with that. But it can help you focus more deeply on your revenue and refine your sales strategies so that you can increase your earnings. You may want to send out surveys to your customers asking them if they have any suggestions for improving your services. As a result, they'll feel valued as clients. And you'll know what your organization needs to do in order to reach its monetary goals. 

Values

This is your how: How do you do business? Are ethics important to you? What's the minimum wage you offer your employees? It's important to define any practices that are unique to your company for effective business scaling.

For instance, if you only sell fair trade products, you'll want to say so on your website. This will help your clients support your business accordingly.

Businessman using a tablet device to look at his business' growth, showing digital graphs.

3. Have a Solid Plan for Each Quarter

If you're accustomed to functioning on inordinate amounts of coffee while following your intuition, that's good. After all, that drive is what got you to where you are today. However, it's often helpful to have a set plan for each quarter, putting your goals in writing. Especially if you want an effective business scaling and want to reach eight figures, it is a very concrete way to measure your company's progress! 

4. Become Extremely Selective About the People You Hire 

Sometimes, the most successful businesses in the world can be tarnished by employees who are unenthusiastic or who are simply not a good fit for your organization. It's paramount to be very clear about your expectations. If your employees need to work long hours, be honest about it. If people who work for your organization have limited time off and sometimes have to do more than what's on their job description, don't be afraid to say so. 

Of course, you'll always want to include the salaries that you offer. Especially if they're particularly high, the perks that come with working for your company, the general office culture of your organization, any dress codes that might be applicable, as well as any charities your business is associated with. This will give potential employees a solid idea of what to expect before applying. And chances are, you'll only attract people who are enthusiastic about your mission and thoroughly dedicated to their jobs. 

Although the process can be brutal, you may want to fire anyone who isn't a good fit for your company. Of course, you'll want to offer them decent severance pay so that they can support themselves while they're searching for a new profession. As intense as this is, it will likely make your organization better. And the people who were fired may find another job that's more suitable for them. 

5. Always Continue to Strive for Improvement

There is always room for improvement, no matter how successful a company becomes. Perhaps you want to send out annual surveys to your customers and your employees asking for suggestions. You could ask your clients if they're happy with the quality of your services. Their answers may be difficult to hear, but this approach will almost always help you improve your organization.

Customers

Although this may seem scary, it's actually an excellent practice: It helps you satisfy your customers and your employees simultaneously. It also lets your clients know that you care about their well-being. They feel valued, and, as a result, they're more likely to continue doing business with your organization. 

When it comes to sales strategies, it's extremely important to focus on what you can offer instead of how much you can earn. What's working and what's not? Ask your customers, and they'll let you know. You can then proceed accordingly.

For instance, if you run a grocery store and have a limited number of cashiers at the registers, this could frustrate your clients. And some of them might walk out as a result, decreasing your annual revenue. If your company can hire more cashiers so that your customers don't have to wait too long, that would certainly solve the problem. Remember that every prospective buyer and every dollar counts! 

Employees

It's a great idea to send a survey to your employees as well, asking them if they think their wages and the hours they work are reasonable. Do they want more time off, does the office environment help them feel safe and comfortable every day? If not, how can you improve? 

Your employees will be so grateful for these surveys. Particularly if they've been feeling burnt out due to long hours or if they think that their salaries should be higher for the amount of time they're spending in the office. Although you don't have to implement any of these changes, you may want to have a meeting after the surveys come in. Let them know that you've heard their concerns, and explain to them exactly what's feasible. For instance, you may not be able to increase their salaries if your company's revenue is limited. But you could give them a few extra sick days or a slightly longer vacation if that's what they've requested.

They'll leave with a greater understanding of why some of their wishes weren't granted. And they'll almost always appreciate some sort of compromise. Most people will be grateful for an extra few days of paid time off even if they have been informed that they can't receive a raise immediately.

Group of diverse business professionals in an office giving a high five to each other.

6. Foster an Office Environment That's Conducive to Productivity

Sometimes workplace dynamics can take center stage, even if you don't want them to. If one of your employees is a bit unfiltered and tends to make off-color jokes at the office, you might want to sit them down and have a gentle discussion with them about this. Especially if their coworkers have complained. If one person ends up taking on other peoples' tasks frequently even though these duties are not in their job description, it's important to have a meeting and focus on delegating responsibilities fairly. In short, it's best to minimize any form of toxicity in the workplace. So that your employees are excited about coming to work, and so that they feel safe and respected when they're on the job. They'll probably be a lot more productive and content if this is the case!

7. Fine Tune Your Advertising 

Do you want to increase your sales and have an effective business scaling? This is ultimately how you will reach your goal of earning eight figures per year, you'll want to focus on how you market your products and fine-tune this process.

There are many ways to approach this, but you'll want to ask yourself the following questions: 

  • Who is your target audience? 
  • What is important to them? 
  • Is your advertising catering to their concerns appropriately? 
  • What sort of visuals would be most suitable? 
  • Would you like to add a blog to your website? 
  • What sort of storytelling is important? 
  • What is your company's story? 

If you run a coffee company for people who want to become millionaires, you may want to break down how much your potential clients would need to invest to reach this goal on your website and price your coffee accordingly. This will appeal to anyone who is conscientious about their spending habits and wants to be rich someday. In this scenario, you wouldn't want to offer outrageously priced bags of coffee. On the contrary, it would actually be best to provide your customers with more affordable options. You'd probably come across as more authentic that way and bring in more revenue. Graham Stephan, a multimillionaire, has just started a coffee business that showcases this concept beautifully. 

If you want to entice people to buy your affordable bags of coffee, for example, you may want to add a visually appealing video to your website that explains your mission and how much a person can save each day if they simply invest their money instead of purchasing coffee from Starbucks. 

If your customers enjoy articles, you may want to incorporate a blog on your website. It gives it an elegant touch, and it might be appealing to certain coffee aficionados who want to read about unique brews. These effective marketing strategies, such as incorporating storytelling in your brand and adding stunning videos to your website, will work for any products or services your company offers.

8. Let Your Clients Come to You 

You'll notice that Graham Stephen wasn't aggressive about selling his coffee. He didn't pressure anyone into buying it immediately and post advertisements about it everywhere. Instead, he focused on providing a great product and creating a website that he knew would resonate with his clients. He even took the time to calculate that investing $6 every day with a 7% return would add up to exactly $1,331,086.16 over the course of fifty-five years. He also posted the price of each bag and how that actually added up to $0.20 per cup, which resonates with his organization's mission. In addition, coffee is fair trade. This is a major selling point for many customers, so he included that information on his website.

When you want effective business scaling, it's important to let your clients come to you. If you have a loyal following, excellent products, and stellar customer service, they almost always will, especially if you're willing to answer any questions they may have. It's important to practice patience if someone is hesitant to dish out their hard-earned cash. Reputation counts for a lot in the world of marketing. And if they feel like your organization is tolerant with them and understanding of their concerns, they'll be far more likely to do business with you in the future, so you may simply be dealing with a delayed sale instead of no sale at all. 

9. Specialize

You may be running a spa that offers massages and manicures. Perhaps your massages are quite popular, but your organization's manicures don't completely satisfy your clientele. 

While it's understandable to have an interest in offering two services, it is often best to specialize. This gives your customers the impression that you are an expert at what you do, especially if you consistently rake in rave reviews! Instead of offering manicures and massages, you may want to only provide one of the two. If you only offer massages, for instance, the chances are that your customers will gravitate towards your organization and tell their friends about your lovely services. Without mediocre manicures tarnishing your company's reputation, this could certainly lead to an increase in revenue and more satisfied customers! Hence, an effective business scaling strategy.

Conclusion

Business scaling from seven to eight figures is not an easy task. It takes a great deal of determination, planning, and hard work, but it can certainly be done. In Graham Stephan's case, it's important for him to tell the story of how he loves his iced coffee, and he's been ranting and raving about how much money can be saved by simply making it at home instead of going out for years on end, so he decided to offer it to his loyal fan base, and anyone else who might be interested in saving money.

If you want more pointers about developing an effective sales strategy and business scaling, you can sign up for my course here. You can also contact us if you want to learn more about how to increase your revenue exponentially!

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