We hear this statement a lot from our current MastermindJam members. So much so that it’s becoming clear that the meaning is slightly different for each entrepreneur who says it. What one businessperson thinks is leveling up, isn’t necessarily the same for the next.

When some of our members say they’d like to level up, they mean they’d like to increase sales and top-line revenue by double. For others, it may mean moving from a home office to a brick-and-mortar, more professional business front.

Yet, in all cases, it boils down to business owners wanting to increase in scale and show some growth. Usually, when someone tells me they want to level up, it’s a combination of two or more of the topics we’re going to discuss below. Each one of these topics signals some area of growth.

So, how do you know when to level up your business? Let’s talk about the ways.

Growth

Are you ready to grow? To level up and add employees, you’ll have to ask yourself some of the following questions:

  • Is your space adequate, or do you need to move?
  • Do you need legal help to expand?
  • How will you hire staff?
  • Who’ll manage your clients while you spend time planning your growth?
  • Do you need additional marketing?
  • Do you need IT help?

Systemizing processes

According to Entrepreneur Systems, systemizing your process means you take a look at what you currently have in place and what you need to have in place to deliver on business growth. Then, you create a plan to bridge the gap.

You’re ready to level up when you’re gone through the steps to create a plan for the many different systems in your business. You’ve come up with how they work together as well as independently.

Increases task delegation and/or outsourcing

If you’re running a one-man operation, you’re doing the primary work of the business. You may have a few helpers, but you are solely responsible for the revenue.

You’re ready to level up and transition to delegation and outsourcing when the work is too much for you, and you’re ready to take on a supervisory role. Once you delegate, your success now depends on how well you hire and manage your employees.

Another step to level up your business comes when you’re ready to insert another layer between yourself and the people doing most of the work. This step comes when you hire managers. You’ve now gone from managing staff to managing managers.

This is a big step in leveling up, because once you add managers to the mix, you’re giving up a certain amount of control. Ensure you’ve hired and trained these managers well, created processes and evaluation metrics.

Increasing revenue

One of the most common reasons people want to level up is to increase revenue. Before you take the next step, involve a neutral third party. Ask them to study your current revenue and your plans for growth.

Increasing profit

Before you decide if you’re ready to level up, make a realistic analysis of your gross profit margin. You want strong enough margins to justify growth. They’ll help you see the big picture.

Attracting better leads

You’re ready to level up your business, when you have the staff necessary to attract better leads. You’ll want to make sure you have enough people and processes to handle the leads, so you have adequate time to handle new clients.

Streamlining onboarding

You’ll know you’re ready to level up when you have streamlined the onboarding process. You’ve got guidelines, training and employee manuals in place.

When you’re ready to add employees, the first days and months of each new employee is critical. It determines their long-term success with your business.

Seventy-six percent of new employees say training is the most important thing to them in their first week of work. Training manuals are the first step in leveling up.

In Conclusion

Your business is good, and you’ve hit your stride. If you’re reading this article you’re probably wondering if you should maintain things as they are or push fast forward and grow your business.

You want to know if you should level up.

The trick to growth is finding a perfect balance between what you’re doing and what you want to do. It’s finding the time to make it all happen.

This is an exciting time. Make sure your business can handle the expansion. This will allow you to grow gradually and with few headaches.

Looking for expert help and advice? With MastermindJam, we’ll connect you with the right people to help you know when and how to level up your business. You’ll meet people who’ve done just that and have success to show for it. Interested in learning more? Visit our website to get started.

Image: FutUndBeidl