Scaling up your business is hard – and that’s before you take incoming tax rises into account. However, we’ve spoken to fellow scale-ups and other experts to find out how you can grow your business without hiring any additional full-time staff.

Boost technology and automation

As you might have guessed, optimising your tech will pay off in the long run, even if there is an upfront cost. Enhanced technology means that your business will have greater functionality while more automation will ease the strain on your current staff.

A customer relationship management system, for example, can significantly increase customer retention. McKinsey reckons that 60 per cent of employees could save 30 per cent of their time with workflow automation, with automated accounting software, for instance.

Then there’s the age-old question around growth through marketing, which is infinitely tricky to do. “Marketing gets expensive quickly, and the most common mistake I see is people investing in large teams and paid ads too early,” said digital marketing expert, Will Francis.

Thankfully, now there are more long-term, effective (and cost-effective) ways to grow even when you’re not expending resource, specifically in content marketing.

It’s easier and quicker than ever to go viral on LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok. The content just needs to be a) value-packed and b) made with your very specific target audience in mind, according to Francis. “’The creative is the targeting’, meaning that if you create content that, for instance, solves a problem for your target prospect, the algorithm does a good job of putting in front of them. So long as you don’t give in to the internal pressure to turn it into marketing (and ruin the content) this can drive high awareness numbers. Once those numbers grow, everything from traffic to sales flows downstream from that over time.”

If social goes well, and you actually have an audience, then you can branch out to deeper forms of content for the inner circle of true fans. This could be in the form of newsletters, whitepapers, podcasts and the like. “Whilst very hard to launch those things from a cold start, doing so with an existing social audience is very possible,” said Francis.

Outsource, outsource, outsource

So many job roles can be outsourced, such as HR and design. This is especially crucial for finance teams, who can spend up to 84 per cent of their time on manual, low-value activities such as reporting and invoice processing, says Darren Upson, VP of Europe at Tipalti. As they scale, and payment volumes rise, demand for more finance team resource naturally increases.

Ben Steele, certified chartered accountant and founder of ViFi , argues that virtual finance offices could lend a solution. 

“It’s essentially like having an outsourced, fully equipped finance department that can adapt as your business grows. It often includes services a small in-house team may not be able to offer.” 

Then there are freelancers. “Hiring does not always mean long-term commitment. Platforms like Upwork and Fiverr are excellent for sourcing talent on an as-needed basis, providing flexibility and specialised skills without ongoing overheads,” said Pernia Rogers, founder of Your Finance Travel Buddy. “We once needed a video editor, and we sourced a talented freelancer through Upwork who delivered exceptional work, saving money and bringing in fresh insights.”

Focus on scalable revenue streams

Have an audit of your revenue streams and establish which ones are easy to scale. These tend to be subscription products and digital products. Rogers explains more:

“Digital products such as online courses, ebooks, or apps can be developed once and sold repeatedly, requiring minimal extra effort. Creators can build substantial incomes from course sales alone.”

Bring in a board member

“Explore bringing on a non-executive director with expertise in a particular area,” said Michael Goodwin, co-founder at Jigsaw Equity. “Having a specialist board member has two key benefits compared to using an external firm: firstly, they are more likely to provide a long-term perspective that aligns with the company goals; and secondly there is much better long-term accountability.”

Strategic partnerships

Strategic partnerships can come from a number of sources, be it commercial partners or your community.

“Engaging in cross-promotions and joint ventures lets you access new audiences without additional staff. Additionally, user-generated content fosters organic connections. Building a community around your brand encourages customers to share experiences, extending your reach,” said Rogers.

Invest in staff training

Speaking of training, maximising your workforce’s skills can help you scale up while keeping your headcount the same. In fact, it could also reduce employee turnover. A study from MIT shows that staff training gives a 250 per cent return on investment. Pair senior staff with junior employees to pass on their wisdom or invest in online training platforms that can easily be rolled out.

Find a mentor

Business mentoring is a professional relationship where an experienced businessperson offers guidance and support to an entrepreneur, business owner or leader.

“They do this via a combination of coaching and mentoring techniques, and proven business tools to share insights and help navigate challenge,” Georgina Waite, CEO of the Association of Business Mentors (ABM), told Growth Business.

She says that it is growth that is more often than not a driver of mentoring relationships across all sizes and stages of business, including start-ups, SMEs and scale-ups. “Research from the ABM saw mentors testify that the vast majority of relationships began at two specific points – firstly, when the businesses of their mentees were experiencing high growth, and secondly, when a growth journey had started to slow down. Furthermore, the research looked at what business leaders thought would have happened had they not received professional business mentoring, 42 per cent said they would have missed out on growth opportunities.”

The ABM’s research also found that a majority of business leaders felt that the business mentoring they had received had helped them directly boost their revenues (65 per cent) and their profits (64 per cent).

Fractional leadership

Rather than having a full roster of higher-ups, fractional leadership gives you a part-time C-suite, allowing for a more flexible senior team.

For growing businesses, employing a fractional C-suite – whether that’s a full C-suite or just to fill existing skills gaps – can make all the difference between incremental growth and making it big, according to Sara Daw, Group CEO of the CFO Centre.

“These leaders have been there, seen it, and done it when it comes to their function. They know what it is like to feel ‘big’ and how to get there. They’ve got the networking skills and contacts that can open the necessary doors for the organisation – and they are more than just employees, they are mentors,” she said. “The fractional leadership team is there to support and advise, allowing entrepreneurs to focus on other core areas of the business while also helping equip them with the confidence and skills they need to take their business forward.”

Franchising

“A business owner is always going to be more motivated to succeed than an employee,” said Pink Spaghetti  co-founder, Caroline Gowing. 

To achieve business growth through franchising, your company must be replicable and scalable, she adds. “By this, I mean that you are currently selling your product or service in one region and you have good evidence that the product or service would also be saleable in multiple other regions.”

Another key factor is that the skills needed to successfully operate the franchise are trainable and within reach for a large number of people.

Gowing says that growing by franchising can initially be an expensive way to do it and there are several specific costs to consider. At the very least, you will need to have a robust franchise agreement drawn up by a lawyer and sort out trademarking for your logo. “You may need a consultant to help you to document your business processes. This is your future franchisees’ recipe for success – though we found we were able to do this ourselves,” she said

You will need to invest heavily in your branding before you are ready to franchise as this goes a long way to demonstrate to both end customers and potential franchisees that you are well placed to become a national business. BFA (British Franchise Association) membership can also be very useful. “However, if you consider that you will not be paying regular wages to employees, many of these costs cancel themselves out,” she said.

Service-based, B2B businesses are also highly franchisable and represent a fast-growing part of the franchise market. These tend to be white collar i.e. office-based companies.

“I would say you need an absolute minimum of two years’ trading under your belt – with evidence of profitability and replicable processes – before you start franchising,” Gowing added.

Read more

5 steps to prepare your company for scaling – Rajiv Nathwani, founder and director of Quivira Capital, gives 5 tips on successfully scaling your business

Business scaling strategy: How to manage growth – From putting customers at the heart of your messaging to getting key media coverage, here are the considerations to make when scaling your business aggressively

Expansion through franchising – McDonalds and Dyno-Rod are two brands that have successfully used franchising as a means of business expansion. Here are the pros and cons