Scale for Success

Sharing my learnings from the book, Scale for Success by Jan Cavelle

Scale for Success by Jan Cavelle

In writing Scale for Success, I had the help of an inspirational array of some very special entrepreneurs from across the globe, people recognized as experts in a particular field, and names behind household brands.

Together, they have shared their amazing stories, and give practical advice and guidance that you can take away and apply in your own business.

With insights from world-renowned figures in industries such as tech, pharma, wine, marketing, and clothing, this book provides an eclectic array of ideas and approaches that have already been tried and tested in the entrepreneurial world.

Between them, they take you through the vision, the strategy, financing, marketing and sales, and developing team, warn of the various dangers and also help you look ahead at the future.

The book is all about growth, how to scale and how to scale for success.

• A guide to turning your small business into far bigger and more successful enterprise than it is today
• scaling means raising capital, hiring new staff and maintaining a positive work culture in the face of pressure and rapid change.
• Preparation is essential for successful scaling. Make sure that the groundwork for growth was laid before the expansion began.
  • you can test your preparedness simply by exercising your imagination.
  • Working capital (capital available to a company for a day-to-day expenses) is vital when scaling. Ask yourself whether you could raise a capital to fund these things or whether your expansion would quickly leave you cash-strapped
  • have a reliable senior team in place before you start to scale.
• Crowdfunding your company’s growth can be extremely advantageous. Crowdfunding is often used to raise money for charity, but it’s also an option for small businesses trying to raise funds. In crowdfunding, a large number of investors provide a firm with the capital it needs in exchange for shares in the company or interest on the loan or a discount on the firm’s products.
• Because crowdfunding is a public process, both successes and failures are always visible. When you’re putting your firm’s reputation on the line like that, preparation is critical
• Scaling brings plenty of opportunities but it’s not all fun and games. Scaling can also involve significant risks, not all of which are financial
  • Company’s original culture could be sacrificed as it grows. To prevent this, do not hire hastily, keep a culture positive by giving praise and gratitude to employees and take the time to onboard employees properly
• marketing for scale should always begin with a buyer persona. You need to understand who your customers are, what their lives are like and why your products appeal to them. You need to decide how you’re going to reach your target market. Anchoring your product in potential customers’ lives, rather than in your firm’s own narrative, makes your marketing far more likely to hit home – and vastly increases the odds that it’ll generate both customer engagement and sales.
• Lots of people think of sales as an area dominated by smooth-talking, charming but ultimately dishonest hucksters. It’s time for sales to be re-imagined and to be distinguished by their integrity & understanding rather than by their glib and oily eloquence.
• It’s important for salespeople to show customer curiosity. Rather than approaching customers with your own ready-made sales techniques, you can allow all of your sales strategies to proceed from your customers’ real needs.
  • all small business owners should acquire first-hand experience trying to sell the firm’s products themselves. That way, as the business scales, the owner can share her insights with the growing sales team.
  • uncompromise need for honesty in sales and not only on moral grounds.
• Make sure your company is well-staged and organizationally sound.
  • to scale your firm, you need to disconnect from dealing with day-to-day issues at some point, in order to focus on the firm in a broader way. Leaders need to take a step back to shape the firm at a structural level.
  • ensure your firm’s organizational design is scalable