Effective Scaling Part 4: Optimizing External Resources
This is the last in a four-part series on planning, people, efficiency, and resources as crucial inflection points in startup growth. Let's grow!
Choose Customers Who Align
Customer discovery and engagement drives long-term engagement and encourages retention, upsells, and referrals.
Happy customers offer critical insights on flaws and potential offerings.
On the flip side, disruptive customers can disrupt your progress and team.
โToxic business relationships can suck the life out
of your company and prevent growth.โ
โย John White
Itโs tough to let go of paying customers, financially and psychologically. However, firing them reinforces your focus on ideal customers and growth.
Choose Investors Who Enhance
While funds can move you forward, an errant investor can inhibit success.
Before accepting funding, ask fellow founders what ways potential investors added value to them and what happened when problems inevitably arose.
Keep in mind all the tradeoffs โ investors expect equity, reporting, and communication and may want management control.
Choose Vendors Who Partner
Create more meaningful, mutual value with vendors. Your growth is in their best interest. Here are ways they can add value:
Partners. Co-marketing and co-selling may help, but they require aligning interests and motivating individuals (more work than a signed contract).
Insights. Vendors can refer to useful platforms, software, and new hires.
Payment. In a cash crunch, vendors can relieve the pressure in payment terms, especially when you let them know in advance (e.g. seasonal cycles).
Investment. While they rarely invest directly, they may refer you to options.
Choose Mentors & Advisors Who Push
Sage and candid insights push performance and prevent peril.
โSurround yourself with people who make you believe
you're capable of far more than you think you are.
This alone can change your life."
โย Thomas Waschenfelder
Identify 3-5 people with diverse business and personal backgrounds for broad perspectives and make sure they can meet a few times a year.
Choose Experts Who Expedite
Outsourcing your essential, non-differentiated tasks to experienced professionals lets you focus on critical priorities.
You may outsource functions like accounting, payroll, customer service, IT support, security, revenue operations, etc. until your business grows.
For best results, tell them your desired outcome, expectations, and ways to measure success. Review progress and next steps regularly.
If you want to scale, commit to one of these actionable ideas today.
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This post was written by me with AI editing. The image is AI generated.
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