When a business is performing well, the next step is scaling operations. However, pursuing growth and implementing new processes and systems can introduce new challenges that inadvertently turn potential business growth into a failed business venture.
To successfully navigate the risks of business expansion, business leaders have to study common challenges that often arise and develop a strategy to address them head-on. Below, 19 Forbes Business Council members share challenges many businesses face when attempting to scale their operations, as well as which methods have effectively enabled them to overcome these obstacles.
1. Growing Too Quickly
Scaling too fast without strong systems is a common pitfall. Early on in our SaaS journey, we grew quickly but lacked solid onboarding, leading to churn. We fixed this by aligning teams on client success, building playbooks and focusing on product adoption. Real growth happens when systems catch up to sales. – Samad Syed, SRS Web Solutions Inc.
2. A Strained Culture And Systems
Scaling challenges include maintaining core values, norms and infrastructure. Rapid growth can weaken culture and strain systems. To prevent this, document values, reinforce norms through leadership and invest in scalable processes. A strong operational foundation ensures consistency, while structured hiring and training embed culture into new teams, preserving the business’s identity as it expands. – Jon Osterburg, Jitasa
3. Declining Quality And Consistency
Maintaining quality and consistency is a challenge for growing businesses. As demand increases, it can be tough to keep the same level of service, product quality or customer experience that made the business successful in the first place. For us, the key is strong systems and processes. Investing in standardized training, automation tools and clear operational guidelines helps us ensure consistency, even as our team expands. – Adam Povlitz, Anago Cleaning Systems
4. An Overwhelmed Business Model
Be willing to let go and say “no.” The business model you start with is not what is going to scale, as it’s often too niche and too costly to do so. To transform into a scalable model, you will often need to say “no” to certain projects or even to let go of services entirely. This will require great courage when you’re looking in the face of immediate financial benefits. – Gary Romano, Civitas Strategies
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5. Stagnant Leadership
Leaders who excel in a small business may struggle in larger, more complex operations, so scale leadership accordingly. A chef who cooks for five can’t run a restaurant without new skills, delegation and structure. Scale your leadership by identifying gaps, offering training, redefining roles and bringing in expertise to ensure leaders evolve with the business. Scaling is also about scaling leadership. – Majeed Hosseiney, Cloudpay
6. Lacking A Sales Strategy
If you want to scale, you need to know how to sell. Relying solely on commission-based hires to push your product or service is a recipe for failure. The best salespeople believe in the company as much as the founders do. After all, the founders were the original salespeople! A strong sales team is driven by passion and alignment, not just incentives. – Larry Bomback, Strategic Nonprofit Finance
7. Focus Misalignment
Scaling challenges often stem from misalignment. Focus on outcomes, not tasks, by asking if we’re achieving the impact we intended rather than just determining if the project details are on track. Scaling brings complexity, but clear goals, strong communication rhythms and staying engaged help to keep our cross-functional teams aligned. – Linnea Geiss, PDI Technologies
8. Financial Instability
Maintaining financial stability while expanding rapidly is a major challenge. This is why a robust financial plan is crucial. What’s worked for me is focusing on building strong relationships and adapting our financial strategies as we grow. – Mark Berookim, High Rise Financial LLC
9. Neglected Standards And Systems
Neglecting standards and systems when you are small is the biggest downfall. Even if you are a one-person show for now, start writing down your core processes, what systems help you and what needs to be done when. How do you generate leads? How do you close a sale? This can be done in an Excel sheet for starters, and it will help you to onboard, automate and scale. – Barbara Wittmann, Digital Wisdom Collective
10. Data Fragmentation
One major challenge in scaling is data fragmentation from using too many disconnected tools. Businesses end up juggling multiple platforms, leading to inefficiencies and lost insights. The solution is to invest in a unified system early, whether it’s an all-in-one platform or tight integrations between tools. Streamlining data flow ensures better decision making and smoother scaling. – Shubham Nigam, Questera AI
11. Increasingly Complex Operations
Managing operational complexity while scaling is one common challenge. As businesses grow, processes can become disjointed and quality can suffer. What’s worked for me is investing in scalable technology and establishing standardized, yet flexible, processes. By using data-driven insights and proactive communication, I ensure our operations remain efficient and our service quality stays top-notch as we expand. – Dr. Chibuzor Uwadi, Eat Well & See Well Ltd
12. Getting Stuck In The Weeds
Most businesses don’t scale; they just get bigger and more chaotic. The biggest issue is founders getting stuck in the weeds, doing $10 tasks instead of making $10,000 decisions. You need to leverage automation and delegation. If you’re answering customer service emails, you’re not building a business but running on a hamster wheel. Step off. – Greg Clement, Realeflow
13. Self-Doubt
One challenge in scaling is the self-doubt that creeps in as stakes rise. Many leaders second-guess themselves or try to do it all alone. What’s worked for me is building confidence through clarity — knowing my vision — and surrounding myself with the right coaches and mentors. Their perspective helps me lead decisively and grow without losing control. – David Centeno, David Centeno Law, PC – NY Divorce Lawyer
14. Unsuitable Business Processes
Processes that worked well while your team was small may not suffice once your business scales. Be flexible and audit your policies and procedures regularly as you grow. Don’t be afraid to try new things and make changes. Growth is not easy, but staying nimble helps! – Emily Reynolds Bergh, R Public Relations Firm
15. Communication
Communication is a major issue when scaling a business. As new people are hired and new projects launched, those who are doing what has kept the company afloat for years can feel ignored. Be sure to bring everyone along for the journey. Allow every team member to touch the future and help them see their role in it. Rely less on email and text and more on face-to-face contact. – Chris Adams, Ellis Adams Group
16. Inefficient And Repetitive Tasks
A key lesson I’ve learned is the power of process automation and strategic delegation. When scaling my business, I focused on automating repetitive tasks to free up time for high-value work. Additionally, hiring the right people and empowering them with clear roles and responsibilities helps maintain efficiency and a strong company culture. – Bojan Ilic, Swiss Security Solutions LLC
17. Employee Buy-In
Even when scaling is exciting, any change has an element of loss. I see companies so focused on growth that they miss how the team members are responding and where they are in relation to the change. Determine whether you want compliance or commitment because those require two very different forms of leadership. – Sarah Noll Wilson, Sarah Noll Wilson, Inc.
18. Keeping Up With New Demands
As a business scales, early employees may struggle to keep up with new demands. Instead of replacing them, create an internal growth accelerator program. Offer role-specific training, mentorship and cross-functional projects to help developers, managers and frontline staff level up. This keeps institutional knowledge intact, boosts loyalty and ensures your team grows with the company. – Sabeer Nelliparamban, Tyler Petroleum Inc.
19. An Inability To Maintain Quality And Culture
One challenge in scaling is maintaining quality and culture as complexity grows. What’s worked for me is investing in leadership early. You can’t oversee everything, so you need people who align with your values, make smart decisions and are willing to learn. Clear communication, leadership development and empowering your team make sure growth doesn’t dilute what made your business successful. – Maren Perry, Arden Coaching
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