Start-up companies are said to be in the expansion phase when they are able to generate a consistent source of income by capturing new customers or are by scaling up the business with their existing customers. Once this phase comes in, the start-ups and the founders of the start-up should start thinking to grow steadily with more profits. At the start-up phase, they need individuals but once they reach the expansion phase, they need to start focusing on building the leadership layer, setting up the right process and acquiring the new customer base.

Even in expansion phase, the entrepreneurs have a dilemma whether to focus on acquiring the new customers, talking to them, focusing on recruitment etc. therefore, they try to wear all the hats. So, all the entrepreneurs need to be cautious and have to build a focused and strategic approach to expand their system. Even a single decision during this phase can either rise or fall the system. They need to invest more time in building their leadership layer, hiring people with multiple skills and sharing their work and responsibilities with their great leadership team. Another primary focus area of the founders is to keep their teams together, sharing the roles and responsibilities to their leadership teams and make the system scalable. This approach always brings high levels of satisfaction and builds good careers for their teams.

During this phase, founders should also not neglect to set up the great processes. It is the best time to set up the right and robust processes that help the system to be in the discipline when the growth is multiplying several folds in quick successions. Many times, the founders don’t focus on these processes and tools during this phase. Due to this, the system reaches to a messy state as the expansion and transactions are not handled smoothly. They need to see their processes and tools set-up considering the expansion that can happen in next one to two years at least.

As far as business expansion is concerned, focus in various new geographic areas is also a must. Careful planning is very critical in

gauging the impact of growth to service quality so that a corrective and a preventive action can be taken much earlier.

Entrepreneurs during the expansion phase get options to venture almost in all the areas. But this approach could give quick returns but they are not able to build a brand and niche expertise. Hence, they need to focus on building their products or services in some niche areas. This will help them to target some specific areas and markets too.

Innovative hiring, attracting good talent, encouraging teamwork, celebrating milestones, and thanking employees for their work are the ways for HR department to overcome the challenges in start-up companies and give an advantage over the competition

Founders also need to focus on their team. The team is their biggest asset. Without team, they will not be able to make happy customers. Many organizations start focusing on the customers only and ignore their staff. In my opinion, this is not a good approach. Make your team happy and they will make the customers happy.

Many times, it is seen that the entrepreneurs prefer to keep everything within their plate. They need to distinguish what is core and what is non-core for their business. One should try to outsource non-core activities to the external vendors. Don’t try to build the expertise on non-core activities within the system.

The entrepreneurs should not ignore the other areas and strategies around HR, Marketing, Sales and Recruitment. Without an HR strategy in place for any start-up, you risk allowing negativity and toxic work habits to establish themselves in the workplace, leading to reduced employee morale and low employee retention.

Innovative hiring, attracting good talent, encouraging teamwork, celebrating milestones, and thanking employees for their work are the ways for HR department to overcome the challenges in start-up companies and give an advantage over the competition. Summarizing, all the founders need to prioritize their work, follow 80-20 principle, build a niche for themselves and take care of their teams and the customers.