Common Scalability Mistakes Small Businesses Make

Most small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are stretched for time and resources, so they may end up rushing through process implementations, technology upgrades and new hire training because of that. Inevitably, this results in botched executions and a foundation that doesn’t support sustainable scalability and winds up being an even bigger hassle down the road. Repeating already updated processes and systems again in order to keep up with the advancements within your company is not the way to go about growing.

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Sustainable scaling allows you to scale up or down as needed and considers your people, processes, and technologies. This is important for the future of your business because it prepares you to deal with unexpected changes in the process. However, before embarking on the path to sustainable scalability, you should be aware of the most common mistakes to avoid ahead of time.

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Look out for these mistakes!

The first step towards sustainable scaling is knowing what mistakes to avoid. So, keep an eye out for the following:

Lack of proper documentation (for processes, knowledge, technology, etc.)

We've all seen it happen. Your best employee moves on to the next chapter in their career with a new company, taking years of undocumented expertise with them, causing tremendous stress on remaining team members and occasionally leading to other resignations. Therefore, documentation is crucial for every business.
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Other serious effects of poor documentation include the following:

- Incorrect company decisions that could lead to revenue loss

- Unnecessary time spent searching for data and info

- Uncertain communication within the company, resulting in problems such as organizational stress

- Inaccurate information on employee performance, client preferences, etc.

- Inadequate customer service and human resource management

- Inappropriate billing, which could result in fraud charges

Disconnected systems

For several reasons, disconnected systems make your organization unproductive and likely cost you money you don’t even realize. It can primarily result in unnecessary data duplication, leaving you with dirty data piling up on your network, wasting space and time.
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Because there is no free flow of data from one system to another, it could slow down processes. Finally, disconnected systems limit real-time data, which impedes your ability to understand what's going on in your company and restricts the validity of analytics and trend reporting you can use to make crucial decisions.
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In short, the separation between systems causes unnecessary expenses due to redundant, sometimes erroneous and delayed data. As a result, the goal should be to build a single integrated system in which data is created and efficiently flows through all systems.

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Outdated onboarding and ongoing training

Many companies don’t have proper customer or employee onboarding and training procedures laid out. This leads to higher employee and customer turnover, which negatively impacts your bottom line.
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Other repercussions of inadequate onboarding and training include decreased employee/customer morale, diminished employee/customer engagement and confidence, a lack of trust within the company, and a failure to meet financial goals.

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Unknown vulnerabilities

An unexpected cyberattack is one of the worst things that can happen to a business. It could be the result of an undiscovered software vulnerability, a security bug that hackers took advantage of before a patch was released, or a security flaw where the company released a patch that you missed or purposely skipped. (There’s a reason you should never skip over those random software updates your systems prompt!)
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Unknown vulnerabilities can harm your information and sensitive data significantly. When these circumstances come up, being proactive rather than reactive will assist you in avoiding or minimizing the extent of the damage, and better prepare you for future instances.

Unsupported technologies

If not addressed promptly, out-of-date legacy systems might become your growth story’s biggest failure — the consequences of which can have a massive financial impact on your organization.
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Remember, outdated systems expose your network to hackers immediately, lower overall productivity and could even push your most valuable employees out the door because they are tired of dealing with crappy systems that make their jobs even harder.

Ultimately, day-to-day operations and finances may suffer since the costs of maintaining obsolete components and the likelihood of failure are so much greater.

Partner for Success!

To avoid repeating these mistakes and to achieve long-term scalability, you'll need a thorough understanding of the tools and best practices required to address the situation, as well as a lot more time and effort than you may have available in your hectic schedule.
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That’s why working with a managed service provider (MSP) like Tekie Geek that can relieve you of this significant time burden while simultaneously giving you the necessary guidance and expertise to help you navigate the wave is ideal for your business' future growth and sustainability.
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Why look further? Our decade of experience and subject knowledge is likely just what you need! Reach out to us for a no-obligation consultation!

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