3 Steps to Increase Capacity without Increasing the Bottom Line
If you are skilled at your digital services craft, it is inevitable you will reach capacity. It is the sweet spot where you have enough work to be profit positive but there is a trade-off with time. Do you sacrifice your most valuable asset to get more money and grow or is there another way?
Dream
No matter what stage you are at now with your digital agency, you started it for a reason. As you continue to chunk down, it had little to do with technology and more to do with how you saw yourself being able to have the kind of lifestyle of your #dreams. Somewhere along the way, you realised the best way to do business was to lead with the core experience and solutions your customers are looking for instead of what you wanted to sell because of monetary gain. Wasn’t it exhilarating the first x10 clients you gave service to? Who can forget their first compensation for services rendered? As is custom, you kept giving service and going after more and more business. If you haven’t reached the point yet where you do not know if you are coming or going because of all the work piling up, don’t worry, it is coming.
Reality
Once you experienced overwhelm, the novelty of your service has worn off. Overwhelm is a symptom of a lack of planning, inadequate systems and #accountability. So you started searching for solutions. Did you hire more people? Did you try outsourcing? Your first go at the plate most likely didn’t go well and your customer relations may have been impacted. Perhaps you did a combination of both. Either way, you didn’t know what you didn’t know and it became more work to manage the new assets than it was to be at full capacity.
Solution
If you are there now or see the signs that you may be heading to that place, do not fret. Here are 3 steps to keep your hair from going grey:
- Plan with a mentor and or marketing professional how you want it to look if you were to x2, x5 or x10 your capacity;
- Create systems for business automation such that the business could grow if you were not at the helm for 6 – 12 months;
Engage a wholesale digital services company that is infinitely scalable so regardless of what new business comes in, it can be accommodated.
Summary
Reaching capacity is a #blessing. It means you are skilled at what you offer and give tons of value such that your customers are sharing with others they know you can support. Be a leader in your niche by having plans in place that will prevent you from going into overwhelm and continually give your customers WOW!
