Not familiar with the term scalability? It simply means “the capacity to be changed in size” or scale.
Every startup has a way of beginning in basic terms. However, anyone knows that a business really goes places when it starts to grow. That means hiring more employees and getting more products to scale…without overwhelming, of course. You must begin building a larger base, which in turn means more money.
In general, scalability is the measure of a system’s ability to increase or decrease in performance and cost in response to changes in application and system processing demands. In other words, changes in the market may require changes in the business, or else you could very well lose your chance to grow your scalability.
So why is scalability so important when it comes to your start-up? Well, it really comes down to a few basic things.
You Want to Grow, Right?
Some people like to start small. They may buy a small coffee shop to run in San Francisco in a business district. Maybe even a pizza shop somewhere on the north side of New York City.
Starting small is good, as it doesn’t take too much money (compared to bigger outlets) and enables you to learn the trade of the business.
But do you want to stay this way forever? Some business types are like that, of course.
But others see potential, like multiple offices around the world they can network with, or the ability to expand and eventually oversee various markets. It never hurts to have big ambitions.
That’s why it’s important when you first begin a startup, you take a very close look at what scalability can do for you. You want to see where your idea goes, obviously, and build a business base from there. But leave room for potential growth, and how scalability can eventually get it into something bigger.
Sure, it’s a step up, and a ways off for some, but it’s nice to have goals that, eventually, will mean your company’s going places.
Maybe Don’t Go Too Fast Though
That said, you don’t want to get into the scalability of a business on its own.
Anyone can have big dreams, but it’s important to remember the foundation at hand here. It’s kind of like the classic computer game Tetris. You want to build small and make progress, but if you don’t, the next thing you know you have a mess on your hands, and it could very well be game over.
So when you’re planning things out, keep scalability in mind, but don’t make it the overall goal of the business.
Instead, work on the concept of what your startup will be all about, and once you have a general base of where you want it to go, then start to think a little bigger. Where do you want to see this business in three years? Five years? Ten years? And so on.
So remember, balance. Balance is everything when it comes to scalability. It should be something that’s on your map, but not necessarily the key destination.
Enlist the Help of Others with Scalability
One important thing to keep in mind with scalability is that you can’t just grow by yourself. You can’t. Sure, you can gain weight and maybe try to be a professional wrestler, but that’s your business.
We all know that scalability isn’t just about growing the business with one person to run it. You need a team, whether it’s a social media person to help grow an audience, workers in the office that get most of the day-to-day stuff done, or even delivery couriers, should your business involve physical products that need to get in the hands of consumers.
Scalability is about making sure you can build your team right alongside your business. That way, no party is overwhelmed. We hear so much about the term “crunch” with a lot of businesses these days, particularly with the pandemic and the growing inflation. You can keep enough balance to keep the base of your business from scuttling.
In this case, “baby steps” might be the best way forward.
You may see a surge of cash and see this as an immediate stepping up to the absolute next level of your business. But sometimes scalability is the better answer, slowly but surely getting things to that level, instead of rushing forward and all of a sudden losing necessary funds.
So yes, going forward with scalability is everything. But notice the term is “scalability” and not so much “that’s it, we’ve achieved CEO status.” You need to gradually build your business and make it into something great, not just expect greatness because you suddenly built beyond your means.
Remember to take your time, breathe, make sound business decisions, and you’ll see scalability used to your benefit.
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