Clever people and grocers …
By Nina Kaufman, Esq.As Seen In …
… they weigh everything. ~ Zorba the Greek
So do my clients when it comes to growing their business.
Do I want more? they ask.
Of course! they reply. There’s the mortgage. The kids’ college fund. Mom’s medical expenses. And that bucket list trip to Tahiti! Yet surely as the sun sets over Bora Bora, they dread the additional time the increase in revenue would require.
But does it have to?
Not if you design your business to scale.
What does that mean? Well, many turn to entrepreneurship for options. Better career options. Lifestyle options. Creativity options. Financial options.
But then they become the primary service delivery funnel. Or preferred customer service source. Their smaller clients worry they won’t get the same level of attention if your company grows. Corporate-level clients worry you can’t ensure consistency if you don’t .
All this means the company can’t function without you. In other words, it’s owner-dependent and can’t “scale.” And that limits your options.
A “scalable service company” doesn’t have to be an oxymoron, like George Carlin’s comedy routine about jumbo shrimp. Here are a few suggestions to make your service business more valuable–and scalable:
- Be presidential. Get out of service delivery and uplevel to strategy. Yes, this requires different skill sets, like understanding financial statements. But hey, if you got this far in a successful career, you’re smart enough to learn this too. For example, the AMA has excellent seminars on accounting for non-accountants.
- Build a team. Develop “bench strength.” Give people incentives to step up and take on greater responsibility. Consider sharing the risk with high performers who have long-term potential. (They could also become future buyers for your business).
- Protect your systems and intellectual property. This can give you leverage when it comes to licensing or “private-labeling” content.
- Recurring revenue. Have contracts that repeat and recur (like IT maintenance agreements) rather than earning project by project.
- Productize your service. If your business has an education or training component, consider creating teleseminars or webinars to deliver the information. Having a core process/methodology can set your business apart from competitors and provide clear standards for training and quality assurance.
(Not so) FUN FACT: Women are 5x more likely to dissolve their companies. Largely because they wait until they’re so worn out they don’t have the energy to create enterprise value.
Don’t wait until you’re worn out. Let us help you inject scale into your business.
Have questions about working with Kaufman Business Law? This is the video to watch.
