Itwasn’tuntIlKatyandCharlIe
startedtoscaleupSunbeamJackie
thattheywereforcedtomakesome
importantdecisions,includingwhether
tomanufacturetheparasolsabroad.
‘Theparasolsareexpensivetomake
soweneededtogettheproductioncost
down,’saysCharlie.‘Wetriedusing
plasticinsteadofstainlesssteelforthe
hingesbutit createdaninferiorproduct
andwasonly 20 percentcheaper.
Wealsolookedathavingtheparasols
producedreallycheaplyinChina,but
decidedonthemoreexpensiveoption
ofhavingthemlocallycrafted– this
definedourmarket.’EmmaJones,
founderofEnterpriseNation,a network
ofsmallbusinessesandadviserswith
a communityofmorethan75,000
people,saysthatyou’llknowwhenthe
timeis righttoscaleupbecauseyou’ll
havesomanyordersyouwon’thave
a choice.Here,shesharessomeofher
toptipsforwhenthattimecomes...looKatthefInanCes‘Financeis
animportantissuewhenbusinessesare
goingthroughrapidgrowth– youcan
end up paying for a big order upfrontandthenhavingtowait 60 daystobe
paid.Tocounteractthis,youmayneedto
investpreviousprofitsor look at getting
someextrafunding.’haveaCCesstomoremoney
‘Therearedifferentformsofquick
moneyyoucanaccess.MarketInvoice
(marketinvoice.com)allowsbusinesses
toselltheirunpaidinvoicestothem
toprovideworkingcapital.It pays
yourinvoiceimmediately,minusa
smallpercentage,andthenrecoups
themoney.Anotheroptionis Funding
Circle(fundingcircle.com),whichloans
financetosmallbusinesses,transferring
themoneytheverynextday.’taKeonstaff‘Asyou’rescalingup
yourbusinessyou’llneedemployees
todothingslikesendoutinvoicesand
postonsocialmediaforyou,sothatyou
canfocusondevelopinggreatproducts
andbuildingyourcustomerreach.Aim
torecruitpeoplewhohavedifferent
skillstoyou.Forexample,if you’renot
business-minded,thenhiresomeone
whounderstandsleverageopportunities.
Get a good accountant, too!’taKestoCKofyourbusIness
‘Youshouldtakesometimeoutfour
timesa yeartoworkonthebusiness,
ratherthaninit,soyoucanassessyour
strategy,checkthatyouhavetheright
customergroupandthatyourproductis
intherightplaces.Getsomeoneinto
helpwithstrategicthinking– Enterprise
Nationhasa marketplaceforcoaches
andstrategicadvisors.Youmightdecide
toemploysomeonetohelpyou
intermittently,oryoumaydecideto
recruitsomeonetotheexecutiveteam.
OneofthebestbusinessesI knowhas
threeco-founders– oneis responsible
forbusinessdevelopment,oneforthe
productandoneconcentratesonthe
finance.It’stheperfectcombination
ofingredientsforsuccess.’don’tforgetsoCIalmedIa
‘It’sveryeasytoletyoursocialmedia
presenceslipwhenyou’rebusy,but
rememberthatif youdon’tpostfor
a while,peoplemayassumeyou’ve
gonebust,sokeepuptodatewith
thatoroutsourceit tosomeoneelse.’
formoreinformationaboutenterprise
nation, visit enterprisenation.comHow to grow yoursmall business❝understanding howto growyourbusinesswhilesimultaneouslysimpliFying things is key
❞The one lesson we’ve learnt...feature
vIvIenne ayers
PhotograPhs
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my Country busIness