Scale sustainably by moving into a productized model

Here is a cool business brain teaser for you.

What if your company received a thousand orders tomorrow? Would you be able to deliver the same results to every customer, or would that sudden spike in volume wipe you out?

That all depends. If you’ve built your brand on the traditional client services model, then it will be impossible. Nobody can service that quantity of orders without the quality of the work degrading, and without going crazy. It’s not a scalable offering.

On the other hand, if your brand operates out of a more productized model, then a thousand orders is just another day at the office. Not only can your system cope with the dramatic uptick in new business, but it can also generate the highest possible leverage out of it.

How could you systemize your business in such a way that it could be replicated a thousand times, and that thousandth unit would run as smoothly as the first?

Fifty, thirty or even twenty years ago, that question was much harder to answer. But today, with the invention of innovative technology to help brands builds digital businesses, it’s not only possible, but probable.

One friend of mine built a tech startup from scratch that offers a text messaging and email solution for salespeople. He has three employees, minimal overheard, runs fast and lean, and has hundreds of customers. The best part is, those people sing his brand’s praises because the value added vastly outweighs the measly monthly subscription fee.

This is what’s possible when you fundamentally rethink your business processes in the digital age. You may have to change what you’re used to delivering and how you’re used to delivering it.

But once you discover that your thousandth unit will run as smoothly as your first, and without any additional time, energy and money, there’s no going back. It’s the only way to compete in today’s world.

What modern engine can you put in your car to get you where you want to go?