How do I grow my business beyond a one-man-band?

by | Jan 25, 2022 | Business

You’ve got your one-man-band business up and running, but how do you take it to the next level?

It’s hard to take your eyes off the countless jobs you’re doing, from managing the finances of the company, talking to your customers, and putting in the hard hours of actually running the business. When you’re doing well, it’s human nature to be reluctant to change – what if things go wrong?

If you’re a hard worker, it can be difficult to relinquish your control and get additional help. This business is your ‘baby’ after all, you wouldn’t want it to be damaged by the wrong ideas or people. That’s fine, it just shows that you care.

Always take a forecast with you

If you’re doing well your funds should reflect that. When going through a period of expansion you’ll find that you have more financial wiggle room – and this can be used to draw up proper financial forecasts. They’ll help you ascertain where you’re headed, and give you an idea of how many staff you can take on.

Financial forecasting is a great practice to get into, as it not only encourages you to look forwards, but it gives you a clear indication of how far you’ve come. You can use the data to take stock of your goals, and set yourself new targets for the future.

Increasing your funds

If your planned expansion requires more than what you currently have in the bank, then you should look at funding options. This is where your forecasts from before will be really useful.

Securing funding is a task that requires many things – obviously personality and who you’re talking to are key factors here, but if your finances are in good stead then you’re giving yourself the best chance to get your project some cash investment.

New starter checklist

So it’s now time to hire some new staff. Make sure you can afford it – no really, it’s vital that you can 100% commit to bringing in these new members to your team. Hopefully if you forecasted and funded your business properly, this should be a solid yes.

You should start thinking about what you can offer your new employee(s). How will a typical working day look? What perks can I offer them? Any qualifications? These are all vital for making your business an attractive place to work.

More so than ever before, potential new hires want to see that the company values flexibility over anything else – in a recent study by Havard, 76% of the workers polled believe that employees will be more likely to prioritise lifestyle (family and personal interests) over proximity to work, and will pursue jobs in locations where they can focus on both — even if it means taking a pay cut.

Then it’s time to begin your hiring process. If you’re doing this yourself, you’ll want to block out your time and research into the kinds of questions you want to ask. If you haven’t got the time, then outsourcing will be more appropriate.

How can we help?

We’re here as a sounding board. To bounce your ideas off and talk you through your business ideas and what you want to do in the future. If you need support in finding a source of funding, we can do that too. When it comes to the success of your business, no question is a stupid question, and it’s always better to have too much information, than too little.

Get in touch today to see how you could grow your business.

 

Ready to start the journey?

To get help with your accounts and start freeing up your time to focus on growth, talk to the Mayflower team today.

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