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How to Scale your Business: Growth Guide

Insights

Bullet point Dapper logo

Leon Stockmar

Bullet point Dapper logo

Jul 19, 2023

How to Scale your Business: Growth Guide

A visual representation of business growth.
A visual representation of business growth.

Are you prepared to take your business to new heights?

Scaling your business requires strategic planning, sound financial decisions, and effective marketing. In this guide, we'll explore key steps to help you scale your business successfully.

Whether you're a startup or an established company, these tips will empower you to achieve sustainable growth and maximise your potential.

Are you ready to scale your business?

Before scaling your business, it is important to consider if you and your team are ready for it. If not, scaling a business can lead to serious consequences including failure of your company.

There are several negative consequences associated with scaling your business too early. Therefore, we have create a checklist below to see if you and your business are ready for growth:

 Do you have consistent positive cash flow?

 Do you have a solid business plan that is extensively thought through/updated for your scaling goal?

 Do you have a skilled marketing team with both the know-how and commitment to grow your business?

Were you able to check-off every point above?

Then it is likely that you are prepared to take the next step and scale your company!

One of the most important things when it comes to scaling your company is, as you might expect, money.

It's key to be honest and critical with yourself when establishing how many resources you have available. Also, you need to be able to justify the spending on each part of the scaling process. There are many aspects that require resources such as hiring new talent, running advertising campaigns, and moving into new markets.

As discussed, realistic financial forecasts are key for you to successfully scale your business. You should aim to be as accurate as possible when determining your expected revenue. Establish how many customer you aim to reach and the budget you have available to allocate towards reaching that number.

Remember, you need a motivated and experienced marketing team to generate the desired demand for your business. Simply having "more money" isn't sufficient for an effective scaling journey.

Having discussed the requirements, go to the next step.

How can you scale your business?

The different options available for scaling your business.
The different options available for scaling your business.

One route towards scaling your business is through financial investors. Investors are a good choice if you business has high capital requirements to scale.

However, keep in mind that this type of growth is often less organic. Involving another individual into your business reduces your own control. Also, you will likely be bound to the goals and desires of the investor.

Here are some general funding/investor pros and cons to take into account:

Pro

Con

Who could be a right fit for investors/funding?

Applying for funding might be the right fit for you…

Are you interested in taking the investor route to scale your business?

Here are five funding opportunities that you can take a look at:

  1. Angel investors
  2. Venture capitalists
  3. Crowdfunding
  4. Traditional bank loans / Small business administration loans
  5. Grants & Government Programs

If you're concerned about the downsides of using investors, you can try hiring a growth marketing agency instead.

Growth marketing agencies can help you scale your business in a organic way.

This means that a growth marketing agency will work closely together with you, as an extension of your marketing team.

Growth marketing agencies focus their strategies on the resources that you have and generate. Therefore, this allows for a smooth process of continuous growth cycle of making profit → using that profit to scale your business → making more profit, and so on.

Here are some general growth marketing agency pros and cons to take into account:

Pro

Con

Who could be a right fit for hiring a growth marketing agency?

Considerations when choosing a growth hacking agency.
Considerations when choosing a growth hacking agency.

Hiring a growth marketing agency could be the way to go for you if you…

Are you interested in taking the growth marketing route to scale your business?

Here are the top 5 growth hacking agencies (in Europe) that you can take a look at:

  1. Dapper - the Growth Agency
  2. GrowthRocks
  3. Rocket
  4. Growth Tribe
  5. TUYA Digital

Want to learn more about which agency could be suitable for you? Read more here.

Besides that, it is also possible to take advantage of both routes at the same time. This gives you the option of having more capital and having an agency that ensures it is spent efficiently.

Additionally, you have to keep in mind that the best option will vary based on your business’ stage, growth potential, and specific needs. There is no one-size-fits-all solution!

Remember!

Before scaling your business you should ensure that you are ready and prepared to do so!

Firstly ensure you have a well-thought out plan for your growth and financial strategy. You can check out our bonus section below for the three key metrics for your company's performance and scalability.

This information will help you to have a structured and thorough overview of all aspects of your business (and scaling goals). Also, it will help you attract investors to fund your scaling needs, if needed.

Lastly, you should carefully consider which route makes the most sense with your industry, stage of business & goals in mind.

Bonus - How to figure out your top 3 key metrics

Determining the three key financial metrics for your organisation's growth.
Determining the three key financial metrics for your organisation's growth.

The following is a list of three key metrics that pinpoint your company's value and position. You can use them when presenting to investors or applying for funding.

▢ Lifetime Value (LTV) of a customer

▢ Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

▢ Break-even point

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