A growing business is a wonderful thing. But there comes a point where it becomes very difficult to continue scaling their business efforts without sacrificing quality.
That usually means it's time to find that perfect person who will take on some of your tasks and help you grow your business even more.
But how do you find that person? How do you onboard them and get them doing your work without losing your voice and control?
That's the big question, and something I talk about in my latest podcast. So tune in!
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Highlights from episode 33
Overcome the biggest challenges
Tight budget
Most startups don't have money to waste, and the same goes for onboarding. But the secret to doing onboarding on a tight budget is to do it right the first time.
To do that, you need to have your processes in place right out of the gate before you even start looking for the right person. It's crucial that you get a plan in place and think through all the pieces ahead of time.
The environment
As you're looking to scale your marketing efforts, you need to make sure that you find the most qualified person for your company.
Contrary to what many believe, qualifying for the job should not be the only criteria. The perfect candidate needs to qualify for the job just as much as they qualify for the culture you've cultivated.
You need to find someone who will fit into the fast-paced environment of your business and your working style.
Understand your challenges
Never hire someone just for the sake of hiring. You need to keep up with the expanding needs of your business while maintaining balance. However, you'll only be able to do that if you understand your challenges and find someone who helps you solve them.
That means you'll need to:
- identify what the job is
- understand what kind of person person fits the job and culture
- know what matters most about that job that will allow the person to expand on what you've been able to do
Get the processes in place
You need to make sure that you document all of your marketing processes. Not only will it help you re-assess all your consistent tasks and assign times to each, but will make onboarding much easier.
So, think about the things you do on a consistent basis that keep your business on track. Document all of them and write up instructions.
Now get them out of your head and into instructions all your new employees will be able to follow. These processes will help them understand your methodology and way of doing work.
New people bringing their past experience and the process documents will help you merge those experiences with the system you have in place.
Do a social media audit
Before you can move forward, you need to stop and re-assess. After all, there's no point in scaling something there's no need for.
Do a social media audit and make sure you're not spending your precious time on channels that don't give you ROI.
You can look at your Google and social media analytics to see which platforms are the most successful for you. See where your audience is spending time and engaging with you the most. Those are the channels you'll need to double down your efforts on.
Create your customer journey framework
If you haven't thought about the customer journey for your business, it's time to sit down and answer the following questions:
- How are you capturing your audience's attention?
- How are you nurturing that relationship, educating them and sharing what you're about?
- How are you moving people into the potential of purchase?
- How do you continue to flourish that relationship?
- The key is to create a communication workflow between you and the people you're looking to connect with.
You need to make sure that each piece of the content you're creating is working to move your audience through the stages of the funnel.
It's all about positioning your unique selling proposition (what differentiates you from others) and answering your audience's questions before they think to ask them.
So, think about what the customer journey looks like and be sure that your message is crystal clear in the minds of your audience.
Final thoughts
A growing business can put a lot of strain on you as a business owner, making it harder and harder to maintain the same level of quality.
If that's happening to you, know that it's time to stop, reassess, and get a process in place to delegate some of that work so that you can grow your business even further.
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About Rebekah Radice
Rebekah Radice, co-founder of BRIL.LA, has traded narcissism for purpose. When not driving growth, you'll find her tricking family into thinking she's Emeril Lagasse - likely covered in marinara. The spotlight was fun, but impact is better. These days she's using 20+ years of brand brilliance for good.