One of the Most Critical Moments for any Business…

Many entrepreneurs are aiming for rapid growth – fewer think about the problems and challenges that growth brings with it. But a whole gamut of previously unencountered problems can emerge at this point, and seriously jeopardise success. Here are just a few key questions you need to consider…

1. ARE YOU FOCUSING ON THE RIGHT OPPORTUNITIES?
 
Supper Club members that have achieved the greatest growth have been focused on just one core business. It means you can streamline and focus processes and strategies on what’s really key.
 
It’s not as easy as it sounds! We know entrepreneurs are often capricious, impatient and full of ideas – the root of innovation and energy, but also blurred focus and stunted growth if it’s not reigned in. 
 
2. HAVE YOU MASTERED LETTING GO?
 
Trying to micro-manage everything when you grow beyond a certain stage cannot work – at some point you have to let it go and trust your team to deliver. Micromanaging also disempowers your team so you can end up in a destructive cycle.
 
3. ARE YOU ABLE TO MAINTAIN CUSTOMER SERVICE IF YOUR ORDERS DOUBLE OR TRIPLE?
 
Having appropriate processes when selling and dealing with customers will help ease things along. But this is when a streamlined recruitment and training procedure will come into its own. Likewise, you don’t want to be hunting out new suppliers to fulfil orders – these kind of things should be built into your business planning and processes. 
 
4. DO YOU TRUST YOUR SENIOR TEAM TO LEAD?
 
Trust plays a key part in stepping away as you need to feel confident that the team you have in place can run things without your input. People will make mistakes and learn from them, don’t interfere.
 
5. HAVE YOU DERISKED YOUR BUSINESS GROWTH? (DON’T PUT ALL YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET!)
 
Basing growth on one client contract has been a huge mistake for a lot of businesses – if it falls through (as they so often do) the costs and missed opportunities can be disastrous. 
It’s a careful balance between building a lean, process-driven business and over-processing – you need some autonomy to be agile. But if you don’t have some kind of contingency plan, any one of these issues (and many others) can bar the way to the next stage of growth. And in the worst scenarios, overstretching yourself can even lead to business failure.