Top 10 business ‘milestone moments’

As a small business owner, you may be able to point to a particular moment in which it felt as though your venture was really starting to take off.

The transition from being a start-up to a ‘scale-up’ – defined as a business with at least 10 employees and an average of 20% or more annual growth in the last three years – is defined by some as a ‘milestone moment’.

The latest Barclaycard research* has revealed the top 10 milestone moments among the leaders of the UK’s scaling businesses**. The findings reveal that moving to bigger premises is the top milestone moment, followed by experiencing a rapid increase in customers in at second place, and launching a new website in at third.

The top 10 business ‘milestone moments’ according to the UK’s growing business leaders:

1. Moving to bigger office or shop

2. Experiencing a rapid increase in customers

3. Launching a new website

4. Developing a social media presence

5. Investing in customer experience and not just products

6. Starting to trade internationally

7. Implementing a more reliable payments system as transaction volumes increase

8. Working with a finance expert to look after the business accounts

9. Hiring an HR consultant to recruit and retain the best talent

10. Refreshing the look and feel of their brand, for example introducing a new logo

Entrepreneurs and Barclaycard Business customers Lucy and Emma, founders and owners of dating website Muddy Matches, both point to a definitive moment in which they felt their venture had gone beyond the initial start-up phase.

“I knew it had properly taken off when I was able to move back to the countryside from London,” Lucy told Barclaycard.

“For me, it was when we were able to pay back our initial investment of £50,000,” Emma said.

According to Bianca Miller-Cole, an entrepreneur and former runner-up on the BBC’s The Apprentice, small business owners should make use of all the help they can get.

“Getting the support you need in the early stages is vital for making your business a success, even if it’s just recognising the moment when you’re no longer a start up,” Bianca told Barclaycard.

“My advice to any scaling business is not to be afraid to ask questions and always approach growth as a chance to innovate. This does not just refer to your product; your website, social media presence, events, and store layout are all areas where you can test out new approaches. Ultimately, from my experience, scaling is growth for the greater good – but inevitably there will be challenges along the way.” 

*Research was carried out by Opinium between 22 January and 14 February 2019. 500 online interviews were conducted with senior decision-makers in businesses that meet the OECD’s definition of a ‘scale up business’.

**A ‘scale up business’ is defined as a company which has seen average annualised growth of at least 20 per cent in last three years with 10 or more employees at the start of the period, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).