Welcome to the end of this series on how to sell physical products online. We hope you have enjoyed this series massively. We also hope your e-commerce store is doing well and that you have taken all the steps forwards to build your business. Today we will be discussing scaling. What is the scaling process? In simple words, it is taking your business to the moon. Getting more and more sales and building your brand higher and higher.
Scaling can be hard. It requires a lot of investment both in time and money. Sometimes, it just can’t be done. Therefore, you need to consider first whether your business can be scaled or not. Scaling is the hardest thing for any business as it involves a lot of cash and risk management. It also involves a lot of time management. Think of it as launching a rocket. You have to be organized and on top of everything.
Before you start to scale, make sure you have everything set out. Make sure your store is running somewhat smoothly, your supplier networks are all set up, you have some sort of a team behind you, logistics are set up, enough storage space to keep stock, all legalities are ok, etc. Just make sure your business is set up properly, it’s registered and your store is validated. It should be getting consistent sales now.
In scaling, consistency is key. You need sales every day pretty much. You also need to project and plan your future. Business planning is the key to scaling. You need to know what you are doing every step of the way and who is in control of what. There will be pitfalls in scaling for sure but there will also be high moments. You just have to be patient and consistent.
How To Plan Scaling
To plan you have to write down what you want. What’s your goal with your business? To replace your current job, create freedom, etc. It’s best to plan it by yourself. You can hire someone to do it for you but we don’t recommend this. It’s best for you to plan your own business. The reason why is because it gives you control over your business and you know what’s what. It gives you a better understanding of your business as it allows you to create the plan in your own way.
To plan your scaling you need to know:
- Your budget
- Your goals
- Potential setbacks
- Emergency fund
- Potential investors
- Logistics
- The time needed
- Any legalities
- Any loans. investments etc needed
- Your team
- Your projected revenue for the next year
- Your projected monthly revenue
- Budgets (advertising costs, store costs, etc)
- Supplier
- Your Sales Channels
- Marketing Projections (where you want to market etc)
- Ideal Customer (who they are, age, etc)
- Age range
- Customer Base
- Color code
- Company values (ethos, etc)
This all needs to be considered in your plan. A scaling plan is essentially a business plan.
You need to talk to your bank first prior to scaling. Make sure that credit is available and also to check your overdraft is set up. Overdraft is essentially a reserve that you get just in case you spend more than what you have. Check all the taxes, make sure accounting is ready, bookkeeping is ready, any legalities are ready, suppliers are ready, logistics are ready, and then before you do anything make sure you’re ready to scale.
Oh also get a credit card too before you start to scale. The best one is the American Express gold business. Not only will you earn rewards off it but it will also be there for ads etc. The reason why is because a lot of payment processors have holds which can delay a lot of things such as ad spend. It’s also great for buying stock too as it has no international fees.
How To Start The Scaling Process
This is where you will start to buy more and more stock. Get your storage and logistics ready prior first. You will lose money initially in scaling but look at the bigger picture and the opportunities.
Buying more stock can be a hassle. Delivery will be slower and more expensive from your supplier (depending on what the product is) and also you need to make sure packaging is all done. It will be less convenient for you to do the quality control by yourself hence why you need to get someone like a shipping agent etc to check the quality fo the goods before it leaves for you. Of course, check them out when they arrive but it’s not needed to open every single package.
You can have someone who checks your goods for you upon arrival in your country. this will save you a lot of time. This is why you need a good relationship with your supplier so that you can trust them if there is an issue or not. The thing is, most of the products you receive from the supplier will most likely be pre-packed. Hence why you need that trust-element.
Once you have all of your stock all in your storage facility, etc, you need to list them on your site. Time-consuming but easy. Then come the photos. You can no longer take amateur iPhone pictures anymore. They have to look professional hence why it’s best to actually get a model to shoot your product, a photographer, or even take your product to a nice location and shoot it yourself and either pay someone to edit it or you edit it yourself.
Pictures paint a million words. That’s why they need to be high quality and interesting. They need to represent your brand and your audience. If your product is high-end, it needs to be portrayed in a high-end way. If it’s a girly product it needs to be portrayed in a girly way. It’s not hard it’s common sense.
Your product page photos need to be on a white background or at least a minimalistic background. Make sure all photos on your website relate to each other the same goes for all social media platforms.
When it comes to marketing it’s best to stick to agencies if you haven’t got a clue about ad platforms. It will save so much time, money, and energy. When it comes to scaling you need to know where and when to delegate as you cannot run as a one-man-band because your not the best at everything.
Delegating is key. You’re not the best at everything. You have weaknesses that others can fill in with their strength. Your weakness is someone else’s strength. You may not be the greatest at copywriting but that could be someone else’s strength.
You need to keep track of your accounting too. You need to know what goes in and out at all times. You can use things like Quickbooks to help you out with filing. When you have reached beyond your bookkeeping capabilities, hire an accountant.