How to scale up your business to business Profits | Rick Netshiozwi | Blog
Updated: Apr 20
Ready to scale? Then you have come to the correct place. Rick Netshiozwi is here to help you scale up your business to the next level.
So nail your ‘secret sauce’ first using proven startup methodologies and strategies, then scale your sweet-smelling business following these 5 crucial steps:
Step #1: Think Big; Act Bold
No 1 -- this doesn’t mean delusional daydreaming. It’s of virtually no use for anyone to sit around imagining themselves as the next Elon Musk sitting on a R100 billion stack of cash. But if you have an R5 million business, why can’t it be an R50 million company? Or better yet, how can you strategically go from R50 million to R500 million? This is thinking big.
Of course, again it’s of no value to just sit there and ‘think’ about it. You have to take bold action. Surround yourself with the right team, mentors, and connections; build strategies to reach your ‘big thoughts’, then pull the trigger. As the South African Special Forces live by; “He who dares, wins.” One great business owner I personally know started with an abandoned factory, some old equipment, and a dream. Eight years later, he’s the proud father of a R1 billion dollar NAPPIES business. Nicely done. Thinking big and acting bold.
Step #2: Build A Public Profile
Steve Jobs or Apple -- which has the bigger imprint on your brain? Even if your answer is Apple, it’s only by the hair on your chinny-chin-chin. Jobs was a master at creating a bigger-than-life public profile. You need to do the same. We no longer live in a B2B or B2C world. It’s people-to-people (P2P) and because you’re the leader of your company, other people (read: customers, investors, advisors, strategic partners) want to know you. I cannot tell you how many business websites I come across where you cannot find even the basic information on the founder/leader of the business. If this defines your approach, shame on you.
Step #3: Work On Your Business, Not In It
Most struggling entrepreneurs I know fail in this one area more than others: they’re focused on the wrong things. Yes -- we must get the work done inside our businesses. And yes -- it’s important to focus on the details. After all, it’s small connected steps which get the climbers to the top of Mt. Everest. But here’s the rub -- if you don’t focus on the key activities which move your business forward in a strategic way -- you’re doomed to stagnate. Forever.
Grasp the importance of this point, get clarity on what core activities you need to be laser-focused on as the leader and visionary, and then protect your boundaries around these actions. In other words, the house better be burning down for anyone to interrupt your actions of working on your business.
Step #4: Find And Establish Key Relationships And Networks
According to Ernst & Young, you can “catalyze your companies’ growth by building and fostering critical relationships.”
Put another way? It’s who you know. Period.
Yes -- you need to know your stuff. You need to be stellar in your area of core competency and have deep domain expertise at what you do and the value you bring to your customers. But in the end, it comes down to connections.
Step #5: Evaluate Financing Options For Expansion
How do you go from R50 million to R500 million? You’re going to need some capital and it’s probably not coming from your rich Uncle.
“There are very few big businesses that are self-funded,” says Jeri Harman, with almost 30 years of experience as an investor. “Whether you want to expand your employee base, buy a new facility or develop a new product, one of the key elements in taking a company to the next level is knowing the kind of capital you need to support that growth.”
So that’s it. Five paramount steps you can take to scale. Do yourself a favor though: please don’t just scan this and think “oh, that’s a nice article.” If you do, then I’ve wasted my time. So instead, do something about it. I’ve just given you 5 pearls of wisdom delivered from the brains of billionaires. Now it’s up to you to take action. Go get ‘em entrepreneur...