4 Tips for Preparing Your Business to Grow Who doesn't want her business to scale? But getting enough customers to make your company sustainable can be challenging. Here are a few ways to make the process a bit easier.

By Babette N. Ten Haken

This story originally appeared on Salesforce

Everyone wants their business to succeed. You want your business to be around next year and the following year, don't you? The question is, how many customers do you need to be successful and, more importantly, sustainable?

Here are four tips for preparing your business for growth.

1. Treat your business like a restaurant.

Do you have enough capacity to accommodate an increase in your customer base? Before you decide to acquire more customers determine whether that strategy is realistic. Take inventory of whether your production and assembly facility can handle an increase of even 10 percent more customers. Everyone dreams of their business being wildly successful. The reality of growth without preparation is like giving a party where everyone shows up -- at the same time. Can you feasiblly and successfully serve everyone?

Related: How Buffett, Musk and Other Multi-Billionaires Hit It Big (Interactive Graphic)

2. Build your growth strategy around a loyal and retained customer base.

If you are constantly replacing customers you lose, that's no growth strategy at all. A loyal and retained customer base is comprised of your early-adopters and continuous ambassadors. These folks become the fulcrum for leveraging improvements, new product introductions, enhanced and expanded services and referral business. They are gold. Identify who they are early on and make them the focus of your attention over the long haul.

Related: 4 Ways a Small Business Can Scale to Profitability

3. Acknowledge customer growth angst.

Your early customers can become anxious as your business grows. Some early adopters will perceive that you have become "too big and famous" to meet their ongoing needs. Create a strategy for maintaining contact with and reassuring your first customers that your success is founded on their belief in you. Realistically, your growth strategy should include how to transition smaller accounts to other companies better able to meet their needs. Some original customers won't want to increase their job size to meet your need for a customer base seeking increased capacity and complexity -- especially in the case of manufacturers.

4. Differentiate yourself and your business via continuous customer touches.

Build your business on the basis of customer experience: The sum total of what each customer experiences when working with you and your company over the lifetime of your relationship. Think about it like a restaurant: You won't maintain a loyal customer base if you are running around your overcrowded restaurant trying to serve new customers while your original customers wait outside in the rain. If you need to make changes, be transparent. Communicate with your customers and prepare them for changes you are making. It's better to offer to transition them to other suppliers (in advance) than to disappoint them with your lack of attention and have them voice their feelings to the community.

Related: 6 Ways to Grow Your Business Through LinkedIn

Babette N. Ten Haken is the founder and president of Sales Aerobics for Engineers, LLC, catalyzes revenue-producing strategies for business transition, startup growth and professional development. 

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

'I Was Called Crazy': This 27-Year-Old's Side Hustle Hit $30,000 a Month in Under a Year — Now It's Worth Millions

Changing regulations forced Angel Rodriguez's jet ski rental company to shut down, and the young entrepreneur had to figure out his next move — fast.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Science & Technology

Want to Make Money With AI? Here Are Easy Steps to Unlock Explosive Profits in 2025

Learn to turn Google AI Studio into a profit-boosting machine with this three-step framework. Train AI to analyze data, uncover sales opportunities and maximize profits.

Side Hustle

This 31-Year-Old Spends 2 Hours Per Week On His $3,000-a-Month Passive Income Side Hustle: 'Trust Your Vision'

Hansel Moore's home office "wasn't cutting it" — so he found another place to be creative.

Marketing

Beyond Likes and Shares — How to Leverage Influencer Partnerships in the New Era of Social Media

Social media is evolving, and traditional marketing tactics are no longer enough. Learn how to leverage influencer partnerships, build authentic connections and navigate dark social to create impactful marketing campaigns that drive real engagement and trust.