By Erin Daniels, The KNOW Women
Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, according to Forbes, 2.2 million women left the workforce. This drastic change was due to the combination of many variables; business closures, increased need for at-home child-care, reduction in demand for certain goods and services, along with many others. The pandemic also laid off many from their jobs leaving them searching for new streams of income. At the beginning of 2021, the number of applications for new businesses in the United States went up 73% from the previous year, many of which are women-owned.
Despite the setback, many of these businesses have exploded and grown immensely. They have scaled with intention, persistence, and connection. This is true for Sunshine Foss, co-founder of Happy Cork, a wine and spirits store that opened in Brooklyn, NY right before the pandemic. Since opening, Foss has grown her business to have a successful e-commerce website along with her physical store all while supporting many other women and minority-owned businesses. She has been featured in the New York Times, BBC World News, and many others. In order to grow, she adjusted to the pandemic demands by hosting virtual wine tastings. This adjustment led growth and allowed to her feature celebrities such as John Legend and Mary J. Blige on some of her episodes. As many of our KNOW women mention below, she saw a need and created a solution resulting in major growth in her business.
In order to scale successfully, you need to evaluate your current offerings and the needs of your customers. How can your business become the answer to a problem?
At KNOW, we understand the importance of knowing when and how to scale your business! We asked our dynamic KNOW their advice on knowing when to scale, what tools to use, and what personally led them to grow their own businesses. Follow along to start scaling smart!
What are the tools you have used to scale your business?
I have found that new ventures and partnerships have helped us to scale our business. We are a service business focusing on marketing solutions using technology, so we find growth opportunities when we partner with new technologies and can offer supporting services to our existing clients and new prospects. These types of partnerships also offer new marketing opportunities and media outreach with these other companies.
–Elyse Flynn Meyer, Prism Global Marketing Solutions
Collaboration is ‘queen’! Finding superstars to work alongside is one of the most rewarding ways to scale. I’ve received service provider recommendations and partnered with other KNOW Women on several projects.
-Teri Crenshaw, Teri Crenshaw Consulting LLC
To scale, I have used mentors, furthered my education, and created partnerships with community leaders which is always a tremendous help.
–Lynne Kimmich, Alliance Financial Group
I’ve tried many tools over the past five years of my business. Having a support system of like-minded women who have been in each stage of my business, including scaling, has been the most significant asset for me. Having a business coach is great for the daily step-by-step process. I’ve also expanded my team to those who have more knowledge in areas I don’t. That was a massive lesson in giving up control.
-Myra Ray, Print and Web Designer
Project management tools like Trello have been a lifesaver for my business. It is the one place I can see a snapshot of everything that is going on, and all staff can refer to it to get anything they need. Social media scheduling tools are another lifesaver, as well as a team of virtual assistants who can handle the things I don’t know how to do.
– Megan Coghlan, Backcourt Marketing
