How to handle rapid business growth

If you have invested a lot of time into building your business and are now starting to see growth, it can be overwhelming. This isn’t because you don’t want your business to boom and prosper but because growth equals the need for more input from you – an investment in the form of time and money, to name a few. With this in mind, it is crucial that you work with the growth of your business and not against it to ensure that growth doesn’t turn into failure.

In this article, we have put together some helpful advice that can help you better handle rapid business growth, especially at a time when it wasn’t expected.

Top tips for handling business growth

Taking the time to put the following tips into practice will ensure that you easily manage the new growth of your business, meaning that in the long run it will be more successful and won’t cave under from the pressure.

Determine what caused your business to grow

When looking at the growth and expansion of your business, it is important to analyse what is going on and what your aims are. Having a clear set of goals will be much more effective in managing any growth that comes your way. Some of the following are points that you should consider:

• Am I in a financial position to handle rapid growth?
• What is the reason that I am trying to grow my business or why is it growing organically?
• Is the business expanding too quickly? If so, why?
• Do I have an efficient way of operating that will work well with rapid growth?
• Do I have access to additional finances should the moment call for it? For example, do I have assets that I can sell or money saved for emergencies?

Once you have established your need for growth, you can then be prepared. For example, let’s take the above point about your financial position. Many business owners find that sudden and unexpected growth can have a massive impact on their finances simply due to the fact that more money needs to be poured into the business to fuel growth.

It is always a great idea to have some cash set aside away from the get-go to deal with growth when it happens.

Why is the business expanding so rapidly?

If you notice that business is suddenly booming, it is essential that you determine exactly what it is that has caused this rise in clients and profits. By doing this you are able to provide yourself with relevant knowledge when it comes to further expansion as well as being able to better manage your assets, inventory, overheads and receivables.

Not only this but understanding why your business is succeeding will help you to keep reaping these excellent results by repeating the process.

Don’t forget your customers

It is easy to get carried away with the increase in profits during a time of business growth and for some, this can have an impact on the customer experience.

The reason for this is that lust for more can overtake and after seeing a rise in sales and profits, business owners may find themselves trying to fit in as many sales and clients as possible. But it is vital that you remember that it is quality over quantity. Your customers are unlikely to return if the service and product are not top class.

If your business relies on your website, it would be a good idea to introduce easier ways to get in touch. For example, you could add a helpdesk or live chat.

Assess if you need more staff

Of course, if the business is rapidly growing, it is likely that you may need to take on extra help but it is important that you do so within your means. You should take the time to properly assess the staffing needs and act accordingly.

That being said, there may not be an immediate need to start hiring, as you may be able to adjust the responsibilities and tasks of current staff members. Some companies consider taking on freelancers in order to do some of the work and this is an excellent way to not have to take on full-time staff for jobs that may not be permanent.

Just keep in mind that anyone you hire will shape the future of your company, so make sure they align with your company’s values.

Embrace change

For one reason or another, there may be the need to make changes to the business as a result of the growth. An extreme example might be that a new location for the business is required or further staff training might be beneficial. Despite this being a challenging time, it is important that you remain open to change because not only will this aid the growth but it will also be a fantastic opportunity to take the business in new directions.

If you have an online store or website, you may find that you have outgrown it. Contact us for a free and no-obligation consultation about your website and online presence.

Stay on top of cashflow

It can be easy to allow payments to go in and out of your business bank account and not pay too much attention to them. However, this can be extremely damaging to your business and therefore it is essential that you regularly monitor the incoming and outgoing cash flow of the business. By doing so you can ensure that you are not overspending and that your business’s money is managed as well as possible.

It is also worth looking at your suppliers and working out whether you can get a better deal elsewhere. The time of rapid business growth can be a prime opportunity to explore new options, and this ties in well with embracing change.

Don’t be afraid to take advice

Running a business can take a huge toll on a person and doing so alone can be even more pressing. When your business is rapidly growing, this is a time where you should make the most of guidance from a mentor or someone who has had experience in this area. This is one of the best ways to predict problems before they occur since your mentor will likely have dealt with these issues themselves and can advise you on how to prepare or cope with them.

Using a mentor is not the only way to take guidance, you can use some of your most senior staff to lean on when things become challenging. These are the people that you selected to help you in the day to day running of the business and part of their job should be to support you when you most need it.

Business growth: wrapped up

It is a very exciting time to see your business growing and becoming more successful, but it can also be a very difficult time in terms of managing finances and growth. This is why it is vital to take heed of the information provided here which will enable you to successfully handle this rapid business growth.

Parrot Creative can help you with your online presence, whether you need a new website or want to make your existing site more successful.