Some businesses are built for expansion, others are not.

A franchise is an example of a business model that’s scalable. Once a franchisor fine tunes the business systems to enable one outlet or unit to be both profitable and repeatable, it is said to be scalable.

After several years working in a business, many owners discover that their venture simply won’t scale up. Owner operated businesses often aren’t scalable because, in the mind of customers, the owner is the business. For this type of business, one owner will always equal one business.

The following six tips are for business owners who are thinking about scaling up.

1. Be Clear About Why You Started The Business. Was it for the money, or because you want to create a certain lifestyle? If you started the business to have more control of your time and find yourself waist-deep in flames around the clock, a sober self-intervention may be needed to detach yourself from the craziness and get on the path to building your business.
2. Stop Maxing Your Hours IN The Business. You don’t have to be first in and last out, nor do you have to show up for work every day. Set aside a portion of your time for working on the business. Deliberately pull back from spending all your time working IN the business, putting out fires—and gradually increase the amount of time you invest in working ON your business.
3. Network Like A Commando. Expand your circle of friends, both in the industry and outside the industry. Join networking organizations: Industry and Business Associations, Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, and social networking websites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
4. Take Control Of Your Time. Recognize that time management is always an issue in the early stages of business—most owners need to work in the business all day, leaving the matter of working on the business to evenings and hours that normal folks spend sleeping. Scaling up always requires the owner to seize control of their time, gradually reducing the time spend in the business, while increasing the amount of time invested working on the business.
5. Be A Learner And A Planner. A portion of your time must be dedicated to researching and writing your business plan. After creating the business plan, many owners go frantically to work implementing it, as they should. However,  there’s a tendency to get mired in the day-to-day activities out of busy-ness or ignorance. If you want to scale your business up, you must step back and take time to build the business.
6. Learn How To Scale Your Time. If you can earn $50 per hour working in your business, each hour is then worth $50. If you can hire someone to do the same work at $25 per hour, you have just freed up your time, increased your capacity, and made the business more profitable.

Business expansion is not for everybody, nor is it even desirable for many small business owners. No matter what business you’re in, scaling up will demand more of your time and energy in the short-term, not less. Scaling up is not for the faint of heart.