Authoritti 5.0 Magazine is a monthly global business magazine geared toward business owners, coaches, and consultants.

How To Become Unbelievably Successful

Six Telltale Signs You Need To Scale Your Business

How do you really know if you need to scale your business?  What signs inform you that now is the time? Officially, I believe that you should start the six scaling activities I discussed over the last 11 months from day one.  Additionally, annually, you should review the six steps to scaling your business. However, here are six telltale signs that tell you now is the right time to scale your business.

What Happens Without A Plan?

So, what really happens when you don’t have a plan?  I mean, it’s not like anyone dies right? On Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2021, all of Texas was hit with one of its deadliest natural disasters, unofficially referred to as Winter Storm Uri by the Weather Channel.  246 confirmed people died due to a lack of planning!

How A Fractional COO Helps You Scale Business

What does it take to understand the difference between growth and scale (not to mention improvement)? Who really knows how to scale a business and why it works? You rely on someone that has worked with hundreds of organizations to lead your business through scaling! But, wait John! Who has done this? The answer is … a Fractional Chief Operating Officer (COO).

It Takes Systems To Scale

A system is two or more things working together as part of a mechanism or an interconnected operation.  Sometimes these things are very interrelated and interoperable, while other times they feel very “bolted” together.  The more seamless the system, the smoother it operates as a whole.  However, when a system is very seamless, it is hard to see what impacts what. From the articles this year, you may have noticed how strategy builds to an operating model, which drives your organizational structure, which runs efficiently and effectively with an operating system.  People, processes, and technology (PPT) all fit within these four areas of business scale and money makes it all happen. All of these things, working together, operate as one system of systems.  It takes a system-thinking mindset in order to understand and work within this structure.

Tackling Technology To Scale Your Business

When a business starts out, it relies on typical productivity tools.  Things like word processors, spreadsheets, and presentation software become very important – you can name your productivity platform of choice. Then, your business grows, and you start to invest in specialty tools.  Calendar applications for booking appointments, storage solutions for keeping and sharing files, collaboration tools to promote discussion, and database systems to track activities and information. This is when the problems arise.

Everything Is A Process

There are six fundamental truths in business.

1.  Everything is a process.
2.  Everything happens via a project.
3.  Everything occurs in a program.
4.  Everything is influenced by culture.
5.  Everything you do defines your brand.
6.  Everything happens according to a strategy.

Here is the thing about all six of these fundamental truths, they always exist, whether you influence them or not. Strategy and process are bookends of business scale – scale starts with a strategy and ends with a process.  Processes are how you deliver at scale.

What People Decision Do You Need To Scale Your Business

People bring two things to your business: capability and capacity.  First, we will discuss these two concepts.  Then, we will talk about the types of people you should consider for scaling your business and how you can source them. These discussions should help you better plan for the future of your business.

Scaling Your Business Requires Cash

Whether it is people, technology, tools, equipment, facilities, vehicles, etc., there tends to always be a price tag to scale your growth. Scale comes with a cost.  This cost, as a business owner, is something you need to plan for.  Otherwise, you may find yourself with a constraint that is preventing your growth, because you cannot afford to spend the needed money now! If scale always comes with a price tag, then where and how do you get the money needed to scale your business?  Considering the various ways can help you plan your monetary scale journey.

Run Your Business Like A Computer

What is a business operating system and why does it matter?  To put it bluntly, a business operating system is how you run your company.  It provides ways of setting, reviewing, and meeting operational goals and making decisions. An operating system, in a computerized device, is the basic software required to manage and operate the computing device.  Without an operating system, you could not even install other software programs on the device!

Getting Your Organizational Structure Right To Scale Business Growth

“Form ever follows function,” was a phrase coined by a young architect, by the name of Frank Lloyd Wright.  It is an architectural principle that establishes that a building’s purpose should be the starting point for its design rather than its aesthetics.  This was termed, “functionalism.” This concept is also true in business when it comes to an organization’s structure.  Organizational structure is a hierarchy that defines how activities such as task allocation, coordination, and supervision are directed toward the achievement of organizational aims.

Getting Your Operating Model Right

Business scale is an often-misunderstood concept.  However, it is vitally important that you constantly examine the complexity the business growth brings and temper that growth with scale and improvement.  This is why, in December 2021’s article I addressed the importance of Controlled Growth. Many times, when you deliver a great product or service, growth simply happens.  This growth can be exponential and unexpected.  The problem is that the way you use to operate typically does not work as you grow and must change. This is called your Operating Model.

Planning Success in 2022

To strengthen your success in 2022, it is best to have a plan of action.  If you have not built your 2022 plan, now is the time to make it happen.  Let me share five simple steps to make your business and your life a planned success this year.

Controlled Growth

Do you know how to control the growth of your business?  Do you even know what controlled growth means? Business growth, at its core, is pretty simple.  To grow your business, you sell more products and services, you add more customers, and you make more revenue. Making more revenue is the primary focus of most business owners, at least the for-profit business owners.  However, as I have shared with many of my articles on here, on LinkedIn, and with Forbes, business growth will always equate to added complexity in your business. Therefore, I often discussed the importance of combining scale and improvement with growth.  As your business grows, these techniques help you continue to grow.  This complexity often requires you to exceed your current capabilities and capacities.  Without scale and improvement, your business suffers.

Four Ways To Generate Leads On LinkedIn To Grow Your Business

The top way to grow your business is to sell more products and services to more customers.  The most important thing for sales to sell to more customers is to generate more leads.  Businesses are always looking for ways to generate leads. Since social media has become more popular since the pandemic, many businesses look for ways to generate leads on social media platforms.  Many business-to-business companies are looking for ways to generate leads on LinkedIn. This article shares four ways to generate leads on LinkedIn.  Best of all, all four of these methods are free.

Building A Business Growth Mindset

So, what is a Business Growth Mindset? If a growth mindset in people is a belief in oneself that your abilities can be developed, then a business growth mindset is focused on the business’s abilities and not a person’s. A business growth mindset is the belief of a business that it is fully capable of growing and is fully responsible for its own growth.

A Leader's Role in Business Growth

Leaders tend to mostly focus on revenue growth in their business.  Growth – adding more customers and making more money – adds complexity to your business.  When all you focus on is growth, eventually things in your business start to fracture and break. This is why scaling and improving are important as your business grows.  Otherwise, your business starts to bleed like it is suffering from 1000 cuts! Your voice, as a leader, is very important to drive growth in the business.  However, there are other areas, which are focused on scaling and improving, where your voice is key.

A Focus On Business Growth

The linchpin to growing, scaling, and improving a business, is business growth.  Without growth, a business stagnates and does not change.  When no complexity is added through growth, there is little need to scale and improve, unless scaling and improving are what is holding your business back from growing. Growth is categorized at a higher-level as either “organic” or “inorganic.”  This month’s Authoritti5.0 theme is specifically on Organic Growth.  So, I wanted to specifically address this article from a business growth sense.

Are You Dealing With FEAR

Do you struggle with Imposter Syndrome, a Scarcity and Fixed Mindset, poor Emotional Intelligence, always feeling the Victim, and other limiting factors?

How to Grow, Scale, and Improve Your Business

Do you want to grow your small business into a medium-sized business? Do you want to take your medium-size business to a large business? Are you looking to go from $100,000 a year in revenue to $1 million? Maybe $1 million-$100 million?

Number One Problem With SMBs

Would you like to know what the number one problem is in most small and medium businesses? Answer: They lack a true c-suite! A c-suite is much more than a bunch of high-paid executives with fancy titles that start with the word “chief.”  These are highly sought-after business experts that have in-depth knowledge, skills, and abilities in their line of work.

What’s In A Name?

I’ve been improving lives and businesses for over 25 years.  I recognize starting this new column with Authoritti 5.0 as a great honor. In every issue, this column will provide strategic, operational, and tactical methods to grow, scale, and improve your business. Authoritti 5.0 is dedicated to coaches, consultants, and business owners.  However, the terms “coach” and “consultant” are sometimes confused by business owners. Who am I kidding?  They’re always confused!