How can you scale your business like Facebook?
Love it or hate it, Facebook is unquestionably one of the kings of scale. Last year the company brought in revenues of over $27.5B, and now has almost 2 billion active monthly users. It certainly offers some great insights into the potential and methods of scaling a business venture. In a recent episode of the podcast Masters of Scale, and breakdown of the interview on Entrepreneur, Mark Zuckerberg reveals what he believes are the secrets to how the company successfully scaled so large, so fast. Here are some of those key strategies that every entrepreneur, business owner, and investor should be applying to get more of what they want from their ventures…
- Conviction
You’ve absolutely got to be committed to your vision and business, and have strong conviction about what you are doing if you are going to make it. Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg have been among the most publicly criticized and ranted on businesses and personalities ever. Some of the popular staple features billions of people use today were once among the most hated developments added to the network. Yet, Mark says his team popped bottles, and celebrated, despite the raging critique, knowing that there was light at the end of the tunnel. There will be dark days, and days you have to work hard and grin and bear it. You’ll see the rewards, if you don’t quit.
- Test
Facebook can be testing 10,000 different variations of the site on any day. You might not even realize it. It is done to constantly test new things, and to keep improving. It’s all about getting your product or service up there, even if it is not perfect or beautiful, then constantly looking for ways to improve.
Do not wait until you think it is perfect. By then it will probably be too late. That’s if you ever get there. Go live. Then always be trying new things, be working on what’s next, and be ready to adjust to new demands and trends.
- Create an Innovative Environment
You can’t stay in the lead unless you are constantly innovating. That takes constant creative thinking and looking at things from new perspectives. Solo business owners, investors, and entrepreneurs can facilitate this by fueling their own creative thinking ability through better work spaces, exercise, travel, attending events, ongoing learning, taking time out to think, and getting coaching. Those with employees should be empowering team members to innovate. Give them the same opportunities, and the license of freedom to think, innovate, and test for themselves. Make sure they know they have it.
- Long Term Team Building
Mark Zuckerberg says it is critical to build your team with your eyes on the long term. Too many do the opposite. You probably haven’t heard of those guys. For Facebook’s founder that means hiring right, and giving staff a growth track within the company. You need to hire well, put people together that can work as a team, will continue to develop your mission and ensure the values stay adhered to, and that people see they can grow to the top and fulfill their own potential and dreams within your organization. If you don’t do this it is going to be hard to stay afloat, and you’ll be bleeding staff, at an extreme expense to your business.
- Hire People Better Than You
If you want to scale your venture than you are going to need some help. That can be traditional employees, freelancers, or coaches. Whatever you do, make sure you are bringing in the best. Your success depends on the quality of your team (not how little you can get away with paying for bodies in seats). Some new entrepreneurs can find this scary, but the successful always look to hire the best, those who have greater strengths and more experience than them. Do this, and your business can be scaled far greater than you could ever do by yourself.
Summary
If you want to grow your business you’ll want to incorporate these strategies into the DNA of your operation. Get committed, launch, test, cultivate innovation, and build an awesome team.
