Upgrades to Consider When Scaling Your Business

Growth is a natural part of life — especially so in business. In business terms, growth occurs when your revenue increases, but so do your operating costs and required resources. Scaling, however, is when your revenue increases without or with as few added costs and resources as possible.

It’s essential to know the difference when you’re ready to make upgrades to your business. Upgrades when your scaling your business will be different than those you pursue when you’re business is growing.

Making updates without increasing resources and costs is tricky. Every upgrade choice must be a thorough, calculated one. Here’s a list of the most productive upgrades to make when scaling your business.

Upgrade Your Technology Suite

As your business grows, you must have the right tech tools to streamline your workflows and keep up with increasing demand. This will ensure you will rely less on hiring outside help, which will reduce your revenue. Consider the following upgrades to your technology suite.

Adopt 5G technology

5G technology is the latest and greatest wireless technology offering increased speed, lower latency, and consistent connections. In addition, 5G technology is a fixed wireless solution, so no traditional cables to run through your facility.

Power all your tech tools and systems with this wireless technology to ensure your workflow remains uninterrupted.  Upgrading your connectivity and streamlining your operations with 5G technology starts with a conversation with your current internet service provider.

The great thing about 5G technology is that it’s relatively easy to install. So, once you make your decision you can get it up and running pretty quickly, and you’ll notice the difference in connectivity right away.

Migrate to the cloud

If you’re still using physical storage systems and don’t have a central place for all of your pertinent data and documents, it’s time to make a change. Scaling will bring more — more data, more documents, more demand, and more team members.

Having a secure system for managing more is critical to scaling successfully. Cloud computing offers that secure system.

You can safely store all of your documents and data in a cloud storage system where it’s backed up regularly. Cloud computing software can easily scale your business. It also fuels team collaboration because it’s accessible to your entire team no matter their location.

Introducing the idea of migrating to the cloud to your team is a good first step. See who’s for the transition and who isn’t and why. You’ll also want to gauge each person’s digital literacy to understand how much training you’ll need to provide to ensure the migration is seamless.

Next, thoroughly research the available cloud computing solutions. There are many out there, so it’s important to do your research and pair them up with your expectations and requirements as a business. You’ll be able to narrow down your choices from here.

When you decide on a cloud computing solution, transfer what you need to transfer in stages. Doing so will ensure your team can still work while you make a complete transition to the cloud. It’ll also give everyone time to get comfortable with this new technology.

Implement automation tools

As your business gets bigger, you must find ways to alleviate your and your team’s workload so that you have time to focus on the tasks necessary for scaling your business. Even if it’s simply taking repetitive tasks on your plate, it will help free up time for what really needs you.

Automation tools are designed to take on routine tasks that don’t require a lot of human intervention. For example, you can automate marketing tasks like publishing content across various channels. Or, you can use a picking and packing robot to help with packaging products and orders.

To get started with automation tools, you need to identify which business processes need it the most. Audit your entire operation for efficiency.

Once you’ve chosen what you want to automate, it’s time to look for the best tools. Think about your budget and what you want the tool to accomplish.

Finally, set your automation tools up one by one. Allow yourself some time to master each tool before you move on to the next to ensure you aren’t overwhelming your team with automation.

Get a Bigger Space

So many businesses find their current warehouse or office space is no longer supportive of their operation when they’re in the process of scaling. Whether it’s keeping up with the demand for more products or housing a larger team, scaling may call for a bigger space.

Moving to a bigger space must be a calculated decision. Not accounting for every detail could cost you a lot of money and set your business back.

So, before you look for new locations, take time to analyze whether a move is necessary right now. Could you wait until you’re further along in your scaling efforts before making a move? Or, would it hinder scaling if you don’t acquire a bigger location now?

If you decide to move, defining your budget is critical. Pinpoint what your income is now and how much more you can afford in expenses. Remember, you don’t want to add too many more costs as you scale.

Expand Your Company Car Fleet

When you scale your business, transportation becomes that much more important. You’ll be attending more business-related events, going to meetings more often, dropping products off at shipping stations, and traveling in general.

One outdated company car or a business vehicle isn’t going to cut it anymore. Consider expanding your company car fleet. Or, at the very least, upgrade the business vehicle you already have.

Whether you’re purchasing a new van, upgrading to a more fuel-efficient car, or considering a larger company vehicle, delving into the financial and operational aspects of buying a car for business purposes is imperative.

Outline what purposes you need a company car for and a budget you’d be willing to spend for it.  Then take this information to your chosen dealerships to ensure you get a business vehicle that meets your needs and your budget.

Conclusion

Being in a position to scale your business is a beautiful thing. However, it’s not easy work. It comes with a lot of changes and decisions as a business owner. Choosing the right upgrades to make is key in ensuring they enrich your operation, simplify your workflows, and maximize your profitability.