1. Know your vision for the future: Plan out, make the vision, and make it plain. You must be able to see it to obtain it. Knowing where you want to go in the long run will allow you to build a business brand to expand in the future. When planning you should have the 1st year broken down by months. Then plan out for the next 4 years following. At least 5 years of planning!
2. Find a mentor/ coach to help you plan, it is imperative you have a person around you that can take you to the next level. You can not go further than your knowledge, therefore you can have a connection who will partner with you to get you to the place you are looking to reach. Your mentor/ coach needs to have credibility. They need to have a level of understanding for your overall vision and dream. You must be able to trust them and respect their opinion.
3. Assess the increased responsibilities, it is important that you do an inside audit and revise the business structure according to your current growth pattern and where you are going. If you do not do this, you will become stuck and complacent. You do not want to hit a glass ceiling.
4. Consider the effect of change on your team, your team bares the load of the business, be careful not to get lost in growing the business that you forget who’s growing the business. Be sure you are putting support systems in place for your staff, give them extra care, and remember they are human beings with lives and families. They are the reason you survive and if you take care of your staff, they will take care of you! They will not mind going the extra mile for you.
5. Involving your team in implementation, at this point, you have developed a team and have delegated tasks, as the owner the roles have reversed you are not working in the business, you are working on the business. More than likely you know nothing about what is going on in the daily operations, therefore, you must involve them in strategy and planning to go to the next level successfully! Involving your team will ensure everyone is working in one accord and moving in the same direction. They can lead will full confidence and understanding of where the business is headed and the way the vision includes everyone involved. They can ensure the culture is carried out from the janitor to the COO everyone is treated will the same respect and care.
6. Set Clear Goals and Expectations: When running a company there needs to be a culture of unity and organization. How can everyone reach a common goal except they know the reasons (Goals) and the how (expectations)? Think of it as a sports team, the goal is to win the game, but the expectations (plays) are set by the coach. Everyone knows the reason for playing and they also know what plays are expected to get them to the win. The same is true for your company Everyone should know why they are a part of the Company, and they should be fully aware of how you expect them to get there.
7. Give your plan a deadline: I can not stress how important this is, if you don’t give deadlines, you will go around in circles. Deadlines are vital to keeping the timeline in tack for the overall vision, it will help you to scale the growth of your business! Hold yourself and your team accountable for running all deliverables on a timeline that includes the deadlines.