Rapid growth amplifies both strengths and weaknesses. Before you step on the gas, it helps to know if the car is ready. A scaling readiness checklist surfaces gaps in operations, finance, and leadership so you can grow deliberately instead of hoping problems will sort themselves out.

Operations readiness: Do you have documented SOPs for core workflows? Is there a single source of truth for tasks? Are delivery timelines predictable? Are quality issues tracked and resolved systematically? Is there redundancy for critical roles, or does everything depend on one person?

Financial readiness: Do you have a 13-week cash forecast and a monthly P and L you trust? Is gross margin stable? Are payment terms with customers and vendors balanced to avoid cash squeezes? Do you have access to a line of credit or reserve for unexpected bumps?

Sales and marketing readiness: Is pipeline generation repeatable, or is it founder-dependent? Do you know your conversion rates and cost of acquisition by channel? Can you fulfill increased demand without hurting service quality?

People readiness: Are roles and responsibilities clear? Do managers have bandwidth to coach and onboard? Are hiring plans aligned with projected demand? Do you have a simple onboarding path for new employees to become productive quickly?

Systems readiness: Are tools consolidated, with clean data and clear ownership? Do you have basic security practices—MFA, password manager, permission hygiene? Are key integrations monitored so they do not silently fail?

Leadership readiness: Is there a cadence for decision-making—weekly leadership meetings, monthly reviews, quarterly planning? Does the founder have time for strategic work, or are they trapped in daily execution? Is there a clear narrative for the team about why and how you will scale?

Score each area red, yellow, or green. Reds get addressed first—usually cash visibility, delivery predictability, or a single-point-of-failure role. Yellows become the improvement roadmap over the next one to two quarters. Greens are strengths to leverage. With this checklist, you can choose to scale with eyes open or intentionally stabilize before accelerating.