As your business grows, so must your processes and systems. Incorporating policies now that help your business as it scales throughout the year is a vital way to keep your company growing.
Business Growth Do’s and Don’ts
Most companies want to grow, but not all know how to do so successfully. Below are strategies for both scaling your business effectively and managing a growing business.
Do plan ahead
If you are planning to grow your company, write down how this will happen, along with any contingencies. Additionally, think through all of the issues that may arise and come up with potential solutions well in advance.
Prior planning and contingency plans provide a significant buffer as you grow – and can be changed and updated as new situations arise.
Don’t forget your company goals
A company that grows rapidly can lose sight of its original purposes. These may be as simple as “Filling a particular niche in ___ industry by providing the product at a great price with excellent customer service.”
However, if you lose sight of your goals, your company may be in for slowed growth or may begin to fail. Keep your goals in mind at all times as you plan ahead, as your company grows, and continue to share them with employees – even while your team expands from five people to five hundred.
Do keep up with documentation
As employees get busier and busier, the first thing to go out of the window is usually documentation. However, this is a vital part of your growing business. The type of documentation that needs to stay up-to-date includes:
- A keyword glossary that defines any “jargon” or specialized terms specific to your industry or company.
- Process documentation to train new or transitioning employees about their job.
- Product or system documentationthat shares how an item was built and may point out flaws that need to be fixed.
- Job position information which may not be readily gleaned from a job title. This would include task lists, daily actions, and any strategies needed.
- Meeting notes, including notes taken during final meetings with employees who are moving on from the company.
- HR policies for hiring, firing, and general employee rules.
This may seem like a lot of documentation, but having it will save headaches and keep you or your team leads performing your tasks instead of training new employees. Additionally, it saves you from having to call a former employee in as a consultant to figure out how a particular piece of equipment or software functions.
Don’t make compromises
As businesses work toward a year-end financial goal, they may decide to make a compromise that shoots the company in the foot rather than put in the work to truly grow the business.
For example, if you decide to lower overhead by making subpar products, you may make quite a bit of profit. However, you will also likely lose your company’s hard-earned reputation, lose money due to returns, and lose sight of your overall goals.
Instead, refuse a shortcut and find better ways to accomplish your goal. Who knows, your company may come up with the next idea that “disrupts” your industry.
Do track your data
Operating a business off of instinct can be rewarding in the short term, but it is not a long-term strategy for growth. The best way to ensure company growth is to collect and compare data points. Information like profit/loss, customer conversions, employee performance, rapidity of service, and more can help you and your team leads determine next steps and areas of improvement within the company. Additionally, the correlation of this information with ongoing sales and marketing strategies will show you what is genuinely working and what is not.
Don’t over or under hire
As your business grows, it can be tempting to go on a hiring spree immediately. However, finding a balance between hiring long term employees in administration, product development, and service-related positions can be tricky. Additionally, if your business is seasonal or has growth during specific seasons, you may need to balance seasonal hires with more permanent hiring actions.
Do gather your resources
Having resources, support, and expert assistance to-hand as is vital for controlled company expansion. As you plan ahead, be sure to put together a list of resources you will need. This may include financial guidance, industry experts which you can call on when you need help, business consultants, overflow buildings for additional employees, and more.
Building a successful, growing business is not a one-person task. Contact Business Success Consulting Group and find out how we can help your business scale.
