Getting Started Overview

Everything you need to know about starting a business in a nutshell from Ventureport.org™—the Online Outfitter for the Entrepreneur’s Journey

Overview: Scaling Your Business

Scale is about taking your idea to the next level—going from a local to regional, regional to national business, or from national to international. Scale is about managing growth and finding processes to make it possible to provide your products and services to more people, in more markets. If you find yourself talking to venture capitalists or investment bankers, you will hear the term "scale" in the context of "how can you take this idea and make it very, very big." But, even for businesses without such aspirations, it's always a good idea to pay close attention to your processes and systems to understand how you could adjust or change them to handle a significant increase in demand.

Believe it or not, some companies go bankrupt because they grow too fast, or because they fail to meet demand, dissatisfy too many customers along the way, and destroy their reputations.

The issue of scale, of course, depends upon your ambition. Perhaps your goal is simply to have a nice simple business that pays a decent wage, because you want flexibility and you have a spouse bringing home a good salary. On the other hand, scale is a critical issue if your goal is to really make it big. It's one thing to provide a product or service to a few people, it's another thing altogether to bring it to thousands or more.

Click on Scaling Your Business for more articles and resources.