Growth vs scaling

In simple terms, you scale your business in order to provide it with

more capacity to grow. Growth can happen without scaling though, so
let’s dip into the intricacies of each term so you can better understand
the right focus for your business.
What is business growth?
Business growth represents the increasing value of a company over
time. The value can be measured in different ways according to what
represents success for a business. Some of the most common metrics
include:
 sales revenue
 net or gross profit margin
 market share
 average order value
 new customers acquired
 average sales cycle length
 customer retention

Companies in highly competitive markets or those seeking to expand

quickly usually focus on growth over scaling. Such growth-focused
businesses typically invest more time and money in marketing and
sales in order to boost immediate sales and acquire new customers.
Scale your business: definition
Business scaling involves the process of increasing a company’s
capacity for growth. To scale your business requires a longer-term
strategy than a mere focus on immediate growth. There are a number
of ways to scale your business, including: 
 expanding into new markets
 launching new products
 broadening marketing efforts
 strategic outsourcing
 investing in technology such as automation

A scaling focus typically involves reinvesting company profits back

into the business in the form of new product development and
expansion into new markets. It could also include maximising
operational efficiency to reduce costs and improve profit margins.

How to scale your business

Trying to scale without having the capacity for it is one of the
common business scaling mistakes, so it is crucial to understand how to
scale your business before implementing any changes. Here we
describe the three main steps towards scaling a business, so you are
prepared for success.
Identify scalable areas
The first step is always identifying what parts of your business can be
scaled. A product range could be expanded, or additional services
provided. It could be more internal, with operational processes
streamlined or marketing efforts broadened. Once you know what to
scale and how currently able you are to scale it, then you are ready for
the next step.
Invest in scalable areas
Investing in the areas that can be scaled to support your capacity is
vital at this stage. There is no point designing a new product if you do
not have the capacity to manufacture and market it. Offering an
additional service without trained staff to provide it is also pointless,
as is expanding marketing efforts without the proper resources.
Create a support framework
Scaling also involves creating new or updated processes and systems
to support the new business framework. This could be in the form of a
new inventory management or accounting system, as well as a reliable
payments system offering more payment methods and secure payment
processing.
GoCardless is the easiest way for businesses to get paid on time during
and after scaling. Collect payments easily on the day they are due, with
approximately 97.3% of payments successfully received at the first
time of asking. For any payments that fail, Success+ allows businesses
to retry payment automatically at the best time.