Exiting the startup phase and taking your business into its next stage of growth can be a paradigm shift for many entrepreneurs. Scaling business operations to serve more customers and redesigning the business model to steer it towards revenue generation can be challenging and downright daunting.
Here are some strategies that have helped entrepreneurs propel their start-ups to the next stage of growth.
Use Technology to reach an International Audience
Digital marketing has steadily overtaken traditional marketing channels as the preferred choice for small businesses to reach out to a wider consumer base. No longer are large marketing budgets needed for global expansion and brand building. Businesses are also no longer tied down to physical stores or offices. Online businesses and ecommerce enables start-ups to sell products and offer services to an international audience.
Smart phones and mobile technology have simultaneously allowed businesses to directly talk to their customers to get feedback and suggestions. It also gives their customers the ability to buy products or services conveniently through mobile applications. This unprecedented level of connectivity provides new and exciting opportunities for start-ups to build their brand and serve a wider audience.
Accelerate Distribution through Partnerships
Partnership can provide a quick way to expand and develop the business. Start-ups can partner corporations to build their brand and gain market credibility, tap into corporate distribution channels to reach a larger audience, and leverage the corporation’s larger resource pool. For corporations, it allows them to capitalise on new market opportunities without having to develop the product or service from scratch.
Leverage Government Grants
The Singapore government has numerous schemes to help start-ups commercialize their services or products. Start-up grants provided by the government such as the SPRING Start-up Enterprise Development Scheme (SPRING SEEDS) helps to provide capital for start-up companies.
Government entities like SGInnovate also provide support for start-ups in deep-technology and science. Its mission also includes helping start-ups access investment capital, seek advice from industry veterans as well as hire talents needed for them to expand the business.
Outsourcing
Outsourcing non-core functions can play an important role in helping businesses maintain focus on their growth strategy. This helps to reduce the administration burden on entrepreneurs which allows them to fully focus their attention on expansion of the company rather than operations.
Outsourcing can also be an important strategy used by start-ups to access advisors and specialists who are only needed for certain projects or periods. It allows them to continually reconfigure their workforce’s skillsets to overcome different hurdles that impede growth.
If you would like to learn more about how CorpServe can help, please contact us.
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