It feels great when your business is running smoothly and growing. It gives you a sense of accomplishment and motivates you to take on new challenges. However, it's important to manage this growth effectively to prevent any negative consequences. In this article, we'll provide some valuable insights to help you navigate this process.
Why grow?
Not every company wants to grow. Some managers or business owners are happy with their current size, have satisfied customers and have no ambition to expand. Yet experts invariably recommend always choosing to grow, so that your business doesn't get bogged down in routine, but continues to evolve and respond to new trends. After all, the market is constantly changing, the competition is always coming up with new things, and your customer will want something new every so often too. It's therefore important as an entrepreneur to to respond to this issue in a sustainable and long-lasting manner.
But rapid growth is not blissful. The road to growth is littered with challenges and pitfalls.
Our advice for successful growth
The fact that bottlenecks arise as an organisation grows is perfectly normal. It's important to be aware of the key points to keep in mind if you want to make your growth a success:
1. CHANGING CAPS: FROM ENTREPRENEUR TO MANAGER
As your business grows, there are more and more things to manage. The orders or assignments are pouring in, you have to hire and supervise additional staff in the meantime, you're still engaged in product development, you're taking care of the administration or office set-up, etc. In short, you get absorbed by the operational issues of the day which you stubbornly try to keep under control by working more and more (and usually in the same way as before). The work's strategic and creative aspects recede, and one becomes more of a manager than an entrepreneur without realizing it.
This should not necessarily be a problem, but you still ask yourself whether this is what you want. The urge to go fast undoubtedly causes you a lot of stress and uncertainty, and before you realise it, you're in a spasm. Besides, a burnout is the last thing you need then…
Tip
If you want to have the space to think and work like an entrepreneur again or recover your role as a creative leader, first hire an operations manager to manage the internal organisation and also work on procedures and systems that make sure the work is done efficiently, supporting your strategies and objectives. Learning to let go of tasks and inspiring others to do the right things within the growth path is crucial. The key is to prepare structures and systems in advance that can accommodate growth.
Did you know?
Did you know that the "7 jours Santé" portal (FR) offers a series of tips and resources to help entrepreneurs maintain their well-being while growing their business?
2. HAVE A CLEAR VISION FOR GROWTH
Successful companies are distinguished in part by their clear growth vision. So you really do need to step back and think about your initial business model (does it still work?) and your growth strategy. What market do you want to serve, how many customers do you want, and what is your role in this process?
Try setting explicit goals and breaking them down into achievable pieces for yourself and your team. It's important to ensure that everyone has a clear understanding of where you want to be in the next few years. Without a clear grasp of goals, a team can become passive and lose momentum. Therefore, it's crucial for everyone in your company to know their role, what is expected of them, and what they can expect from others.
Tip
Put the mission and vision on paper and explain them clearly. Also, establish a real-time, online management dashboard that addresses the need for insight and oversight.
Did you know?
Several structures in the Brussels Region can help you grow your business:
- At the Local Economy Offices, coaches can help you with the phase after the start-up of your business (post-creation).
- Hub.brussels' Retail Unit can help you develop your retail business.
- Hub.brussels also has a team of financial experts who can assist you with the financial aspects of your growth.
- Some entrepreneurial networks also offer support for growth.
3. ANTICIPATE FINANCING YOUR GROWTH
Most business owners have a clear understanding of their finances when their business is small. However, as the business expands, it becomes increasingly challenging to manage and track financial matters. Both direct and indirect costs tend to increase, and investments in additional staff and infrastructure can lead to liquidity issues. It is important to note that many investments require immediate payment and significant pre-financing. It is crucial not to underestimate the potential consequences: failure to meet payment obligations can result in bankruptcy, even if the company is still generating profits.
Tip
A lack of positive cash flow is the stumbling block for high-growth companies. Then you have too many outstanding invoices and too little capital to absorb setbacks. Therefore, make sure you have solid accounts receivable management and clear payment agreements with your customers. A liquidity forecast is also much-needed for growth companies: identify expected receipts and payments for your business in a given period. If you do that exercise carefully, you'll have a handy guide to the timing of your purchases and investments and avoid hiring too many staff too quickly or purchasing overpriced systems and tools that your business can't sustain.
Therefore, sit regularly with your bookkeeper or accountant!
4. PROPER RECRUITMENT IS THE MESSAGE
The success of a business depends largely on the quality of its employees. As your business expands, it becomes increasingly challenging to be personally involved in every aspect of its operations. so it's vital to ensure that the right people are in the right chair and that the expertise of the new employees makes the difference for growth. This is precisely where you feel the squeeze: due to rapid growth, additional employees are rapidly recruited, some of whom later turn out not to fit into the company's culture, have difficulty dealing with change or do not have quite the right skills. Additionally, if you fail to offer developmental opportunities or provide the necessary tools and resources, you may hinder your own company's growth. Never forget that 'growth' means everyone on a team evolves along with it.
Tip
It is better at some point to leave the venture to people who can turn your original idea into something bigger. Therefore, have the courage to hire people who are more intelligent or creative than yourself, and ensure that team members are treated equally within the company
Did you know?
Actiris has a service for employers that can advise you on hiring your first employees. This service can also inform you about the various employment measures and subsidies.
5. MAINTAINING INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
The growth of a business means that, as an entrepreneur, you need to communicate with more and more people – customers, prospects, colleagues and partners – about what your company has to offer. Internal dialogue has become much more complex and is no longer always taken care of optimally. Employees do not have immediate access to the right information or always receive the correct feedback on time. That inhibits a company's operation at all levels. Growth brings with it a greater need for structure and you certainly need to maintain that in terms of communication!
Tip
Organize and facilitate interplay, interaction, and dialogue with and between the different levels (if any). Deploy some good tools for this purpose (intranet, wiki, social platform, knowledge platform, etc.). Reinforce what works well and regularly evaluate with the team the effectiveness within or between organizational units. Then determine which strategies can be implemented to achieve better results
6. KEEP YOUR FOCUS ON CUSTOMERS
The constant influx of new customers will put pressure on your organisation. You can no longer handle increasing demand, your employees are swamped with work, answering e-mails and phone calls are falling behind, product quality or service levels are unstable, etc. The customer becomes dissatisfied, drops out and may even leave for a competitor. At worst, they also briefly share their experiences on social media, putting pressure on your reputation. Potentially with fateful consequences.
Tip title
If you do not want to go from darling to pariah, then keep your focus on the customer despite the growth of your business. Keep in mind the customers that have been with you through thick and thin. They are the ones who have helped you grow and become successful. Constantly evaluate the customer experience. By investing in customer data analytics, you can become more responsive and increase customer satisfaction.
Growing or not eventually?
Given the numerous risks associated with rapid growth, one may question whether it is wise to prioritize growth. However, despite the potential risks, focusing on growth is still the smarter choice, as the risks of remaining stagnant or regressing are considerably greater. As an ambitious entrepreneur, it is imperative to move forward, but with prudence. We will provide some additional advice on this topic
- It's better to focus on one area of growth rather than trying to do too many things at once.
- Don't cripple the growth of your business through your fear of failure or your drive for perfection. This prevents you from daring to experiment and inhibits much-needed innovation.
- Try to keep a good balance between the need for structure, systems and procedures and the need to keep the innovative, entrepreneurial culture alive.
- It is important to focus on creating a robust and inclusive corporate culture. Doing so leads to employees who are motivated and committed to the company, resulting in higher levels of customer satisfaction, increased sales growth, reduced staff turnover by 40%, and decreased absenteeism by 40%, according to research conducted by Gallup.
- Still take the time to study and develop yourself. And don't forget to slow down once in a while. Sufficient rest is not only needed to recharge your batteries. Rest and relaxation also allow you to get some ideas and inspiration and seek new opportunities for your business. In other words, sufficient rest is the ideal foundation for even more growth.
- And last but not least, hundreds of entrepreneurs have already gone through a growth phase. That means some problems are predictable. So don't hesitate to seek assistance from independent and experienced advisors.