By: Mark Kirkpatrick

Ask any successful entrepreneur about what made their business take-off, and with all of the calculated advice and hard lessons learned, there’s always one aspect that’s a little harder to pin down. Simply put: most successful startups have the benefit of being in the right place at the right time.

Obviously, you want your own business to succeed on something more substantial than a roll of the dice, so how do you figure out when and where your company needs to be?

The science of figuring that information out is called scaling, and while it may not make you the next Apple, it will help keep you from fizzling out like so many others have. Scaling will help you figure out how to market, how to expand, and what your business is capable of sustaining in terms of growth. Whether it’s a mobile expansion or starting an international campaign abroad, having a scaling strategy will tell you what risks are worth taking and what still lies outside of your reach.

Whether you’re a business veteran or working on launching your first startup, the facts presented in this infographic can give you a good idea of what your business needs to prepare for, and what challenges it might face. The best defense against those roadblocks is to have a plan in place, and that’s what scaling is all about.

Mark Kirkpatrick is a tech enthusiast and online entrepreneur from California. As someone who enjoys helping small businesses succeed, he strives to become an expert in his niche. His writing also covers business communications and the process of globalization.