How to Scale Your Business Fast: 6 Proven Steps

Ready to learn how to scale your business the right way?

Maybe you want to do things like:

• Earn more money – without working more 
• Have more control over how you spend your time
• Expand your reach

If that sounds like you, keep reading. 

In this article, I’m going to cover the exact steps that’ll help you grow faster – without burning out or getting up at 3 a.m. 

I know these strategies work because I’ve used them to build and scale an 8-figure business myself. 

Let’s get started.

What does scaling a business mean? 

First, let’s talk about what scaling means.

Basically, scaling is being able to grow your revenue and output without having to increase your workload to the same extent. 

Plenty of marketing strategies aren’t scalable.

For example, you only have so many people in your network you can sell your services to. And if you want more clients from organic social media, you have to put in more work.

But then there are scalable strategies and processes that will help you grow even if you’re not working more.

And to scale successfully, you need to have the right things in place. Most businesses fail to implement them; only 22% of new businesses launched in the past 10 years have managed to scale. 

What are they? Let’s take a look.

6 keys to successfully scaling a business

How exactly do you scale a business efficiently? You’re about to find out.

Plan and set goals

Ask yourself this: Am I in the best position to meet an increase in demand given my current business practices?

Here’s what I mean by that: If you’re a sole business owner who wears all the hats in your business, the idea of increasing your income without working more might be really appealing.

But… if you try to scale without having the right systems in place first, you’ll run the risk of not being able to accommodate that growth.

Because look: I’m all about having big goals. I don’t think you need to be “realistic” or do things like everyone else. 

With that said, your goals should be attainable. If they’re not attainable, you’ll burn yourself out without getting the results you want.

So, before scaling, be specific about the goals you want to reach, and steadily create the systems and processes for getting there. For example, start by hiring someone to help you with your customer support before you start scaling more. 

Once you start delegating, you’ll have more time to focus on things only you can do.

Create a financial plan

Having a detailed financial plan is one key to scaling successfully. Why? Because scaling and investing in your business go hand-in-hand. 

For example, if you need to hire someone to manage your paid advertising, that’s an investment that you have to factor into your budget. Do you have the necessary resources? 

If you’re not sure, here’s my take: Surpassing six figures is a good indication that you’re financially able to start scaling.

So, if that’s you, here are three things to find out to set yourself up for success: 

1. Your conversion rate.
2. Your cost per lead.
3. Your sales cycle. 

Okay, let’s break these down. 

Your conversion rate means the percentage of people who end up buying from you after going through your sales funnel. 

So, if two people buy out of every one hundred, you have a 2% conversion rate. And if the product/service you offer costs $100, that means your conversion rate brings in $200. 

What about your cost per lead? 

As the name suggests, it just means how much you’re paying for each lead you get. To calculate that, you’d divide your sales by the number of leads you have. 

So, if you have one hundred leads and make $200 from two sales, that means your cost per lead is $2. 

Of course, you want to reduce what you’re paying for lead generation to maximize your profits. But knowing your numbers is the first step to getting there.

Alright, the third thing you need to know is your sales cycle. 

This means how much time it takes for someone to decide to buy from you. Essentially, this is the time during which you need to be putting in money upfront to maximize sales.

Once you understand your conversion rate, cost per lead, and sales cycle, you’ll be able to make important estimates that will help you scale. 

For example, by calculating your conversion rate, you’ll know how many leads you’d need to make X in revenue. And so you can reverse-engineer the investment you need to make to get there. 

Invest in technology 

Scaling efficiently is all about using resources well. And these days, technology has made automating certain tasks much easier. So, use this to your advantage.

Here are a few specific examples of things you can automate in your business and some tools to check out.

(Disclaimer: I haven’t used all of these tools myself, but they all have good reviews.)

• Onboarding: BambooHR, Zapier
• Project management: Basecamp, Trello
• Appointment scheduling: Calendly
• Payroll processing: Justworks

Once you have automated systems in place, keep standard operating procedures (SOPs) and training materials on hand so that your team knows how things work. 

Build a sales system

To scale your business, you need to have a system for getting consistent leads and sales. 

What kind of system? 

It depends on your business. When I was getting started as a coach, I used Facebook groups and ads. And those methods helped me scale to seven figures and more. 

Early on, I recommend choosing ONE traffic source and sticking with it, like LinkedIn or Instagram. 

Staying focused will help you gain traction rather than going in a million different directions and spreading yourself too thin. 

And once you’re getting consistent traffic, then you can expand. 

For example, I have many ways of getting leads now, including SEO and YouTube. 

Okay, so what are the best ways to drive traffic? There are a few. Again, pick ONE for best results: 

• Paid traffic (especially through Facebook and YouTube ads)
• SEO
• Social media

Ultimately, you want to create the kind of system that will allow you to step away if you want to – WITHOUT having everything grind to a halt. 

So, ask yourself: What can I do to ensure X doesn’t depend on me?

Think about how you can outsource or automate time-consuming tasks because this is a key to scaling. For example, social media can be useful, but it requires your presence and time. 

That’s why I recently decided to quit Instagram myself:

If you want more freedom, invest in things like SEO or paid ads since these are easier to outsource and scale. 

Remember, though: Traffic is great, but… sales are what you want. So, how can you convert your leads into sales?

For that, you’ll want to set up an automated sales mechanism. In other words, something that automatically converts the leads you get from your traffic source into customers. 

What you choose for this step will vary based on your business. You could offer video courses, challenges, free trials, and so on.

But I personally use webinars: They offer great value, and once they’re set up, you can keep funneling people through – without any continual work on your part. 

Build your team 

As I mentioned briefly, you need a team to scale. Your business shouldn’t depend on one person to operate. 

The reason? Scaling is about creating freedom and flexibility. 

And if you’re so tied up in your business’s day-to-day operations that you don’t think it could keep functioning without you, take a step back. 

Look at the big picture. 

Why did you want to start your business in the first place? 

Was it to… 

• Do something you love? 
• Earn more money? 
• Have a bigger impact? 

No matter what your reasons were, having a team that can run things without your constant involvement is how you’re going to be able to scale long-term.

Because look: The more you scale and the more money you earn, the more your time will be worth. 

If you’re spending your time working on a million different things, this can lead to a few different problems. 

For one thing, you won’t be running a business that serves you because you won’t feel that you’re free to take time off. 

And two, you won’t have the energy to focus on your vision and where you want to take your business. 

And as a leader, this is where you should be spending your time. After all, it’s your business. Where do you want to take it? What are your short-term and long-term goals? 

Think about it. 

And then ask yourself: What are some business-related activities that I could pay someone else to do? 

Again, what you outsource will vary based on your business. But a few common things you could hire people to do are marketing, content creation, SEO, customer service, and so on.

For example, I started by outsourcing my customer service. 

As your business grows and your responsibilities keep growing along with it, think: Is this really worth my time?

Chances are, it’s not.

In my business, we run things like an assembly line: 

Everything is organized into steps, everyone knows what they need to do, and my team members get to use their specific skills to make everything run smoothly. 

It’s a win-win: I focus on creating valuable content, and my team works on everything I don’t have the bandwidth to take care of myself. 

The result? 

We reach more people and scale faster than I would if I did it on my own. So, bottom line: You need a team. 

Not sure where to find great freelancers? Search on Upwork or use job boards. 

Eventually, when you’re making enough revenue and have the right processes in place, you can hire employees. But early on, that’s not something you have to worry about. (And you can choose not to – everyone on my team is a contractor.)

Ultimately, you want to build your business as a prototype that could be reused over and over by someone else to build a solid base. 

And to do that, again, you want to have SOPs (standard operating procedures) and training materials to create basic guidelines that others can duplicate. 

Think of it this way… 

Your business prototype is like a box. If you choose a metal box, you’ll be able to create something that lasts – without worrying that it will break. 

But, if you choose a paper box, it won’t be strong enough. So, build a solid base for your business first.

Just like this graph by McKinsey shows: 

Focus your product or service offers 

Tempted to offer more products or services early on? 

Don’t.

Remember: Scaling is about increasing your revenue and output WITHOUT increasing your workload to match. 

If you diversify what you offer, that means you’ll have to build your new product or service from scratch. But if you’re already at six figures, what you’re already offering is valuable. 

So, instead of trying to expand, scale what you already have. Make whatever you’re already offering even better.

How do I know this works? Because I’ve done it. 

For the first several years of my business, I focused on ONE offer: My Employee to Entrepreneur program. 

Because I put my time and energy into that specific offer, I was able to build it out and help people get the best possible results.

Like Sanae here: 

And ultimately, that’s what helped me scale. 

If I had been trying to create a million different offers at the same time, I wouldn’t have had the bandwidth to grow like I did. 

Does that mean you can’t eventually expand? No. But don’t do it too soon.

Okay, but maybe you’re wondering, How can I stand out? What product or service should I choose?

Great questions.

As a business, you want to have a niche. 

A niche is basically a specific market segment that you choose to focus on. 

For example, if you’re a service-based business, you might focus on helping people get in shape. 

Or, if you’re a product-based business, you could specialize in high-end athletic clothing. 

Whatever you choose, make sure to study your competition.

Ask yourself:

• What’s already out there? 
• What do they offer? 
• How can I differentiate yourself? 

You’ll also want to do market research and find a hole in the market that you can fill.

And once you’ve scaled one product or service, you can add on another.

Today, I have different offers – and three main offers: 

• Employee to Entrepreneur for people who want to quit their jobs and start a business 
• Ultimate Course Launch for people who want to start a course business
• Clients Come to Me who want to scale with the right traffic 

Next steps 

So, there you have it! Now you know how to scale your business effectively. If you’re ready for serious growth, these steps will help you get there.

Need more help? As I’ve said, scaling is about being able to work less, NOT more. 

That’s why I created a course to show you exactly how you can have clients come to YOU – rather than the other way around.

Read more:

How to Grow Your Organic Traffic 

How to Get Traffic from Pinterest 

How to Scale Your Coaching Business