Growth isn’t always good.
When you’ve met your business goal faster than you anticipated, you might find yourself on a path to failure. You could lose track of finances, overestimating your cash flow. And you could lose control of getting teams organized, endangering smooth business operations. Just ask what used to be one of the biggest cupcake vendors globally, Crumbs Bake Shop and former gaming powerhouse, Zynga.
Success is rarely sustained without some strategy. Every business needs some plan to manage growth because without one, it could end up losing precious resources and achievements.
So what do you do?
Plan and Audit
Remember that vision for your future, when you developed a plan to achieve it? You’ll need to do something similar for when your company takes flight. But this time, you need to map out an approach to how you’re going to sustain the growth.
Resolve the following issues you’ll likely face:
1.Do you need to hire more people?
It makes sense to add people to your payroll when business is booming, especially if you’re in a service-oriented industry. But before your human resource department recruits and hires several people, assess your staffing needs.
Maybe instead of hiring more people, you can look into optimizing your current staff’s tasks to meet growing needs. You could also opt to hire temporary workers to save on hiring costs.
2.Are you expanding too fast?
An analysis is necessary once your business grows. You need to know where your business is in terms of sales, inventory, overhead costs, assets, and the like. The results of your analysis will tell you whether it’s a smart move to expand to other markets or invest in new locations. Maybe your inventory is absorbing too much of your cash flow; perhaps you’re spending more now without being sure if all the spending will yield consistent revenue.
3.Are you taking care of your customers the smart way?
Your customers should still receive the same level of high support when you were starting. Pay attention to their needs and respond with a “small town” feel but big city capabilities. This means personalized service; forgot automated robots for customers who call in and standard email replies. And it also means innovative solutions to their problems.
For example, implement a state-of-the-art warranty management system when dealing with repairs and returns processes. Customers are easily turned off by a business that fails to address technical services efficiently. An innovative system doesn’t just help you serve customers well. It also allows you to control costs by making sure you spend only when necessary.
4.Have you identified the cause of your success?
Finally, an audit of your success nails down the cause for all putting your business in the black. What have you been doing that’s right for your company?
When you know the cause of your success, it will tell you whether that growth is for the long haul or if it’s just for the season. Maybe an unusual spike in the market is leading to favorable revenues for your business, but how can you tell if that rise will be sustained?
The result of your audit will also help you learn where to invest, from hiring more people to building new facilities, to maximize growth.
So you’ve achieved your business goal, and things are looking up. Now what? Don’t be left without a plan once your company hits it big. Sustain that success with the right approach.
Meta Title: What Challenges Will Your Growing Business Face?
Meta Description: Growth can be bad for business if you’re not prepared to handle the results of a thriving organization. Plan to manage success as you planned to achieve it.
Tags: