Top 5 Recommendations for Small Businesses Managing Rapid Growth
We are blessed to live and work in Texas, where there are so many opportunities for small businesses to grow and prosper. However, sometimes, along with that growth comes the difficulty of managing a rapidly growing company.
Our head of underwriting, Justin, has a great analogy. He compares growing a business to trying to keep a bunch of plates spinning in your hands. Add too many plates too quickly, and they all come crashing down.
Here are our top 5 recommendations for keeping those plates spinning and sustaining the rapid growth you are experiencing.
- Financing. The first key to managing that growth is to make sure you have the right financing in place. There are a number of options for you to consider, including equity, business loans, invoice factoring, and equipment financing, to name a few. [Insert link to an article discussing these]. To set yourself up for growth make sure that you have flexible funding available to you and that you have looked at both upside and downside scenarios. Make sure that the financing allows you to grow quickly but also doesn’t cause you to lose your business if that growth doesn’t materialize or you have a slowdown.
- Right People. In order to manage rapid growth, you will need to have the right people in place that you can trust delegating to. This concept was popularized by author Jim Collins in his book Good to Great when he discussed getting the “right people on the bus and getting them in the right seats.” For you to rapidly grow your business, pay particular attention to whether the employees in your company match your culture and are great at what they do. Once you do have those people in place, trust them to do their job without micromanaging.
- Focus on Your Niche. As you experience success and growth as a small business, you will see new opportunities everywhere. It is tempting to be pulled in multiple directions to chase these new opportunities. Instead, fight that urge and try to focus all of your efforts on that one niche where you really outshine your competitors. Focused energy in one specific area will have a greater impact on your bottom line, and you can always move on to other niches after you have fully maximized your first focus area.
- Systems. As you manage growth, it is important to have systems that will allow you to drive efficiency and accountability throughout your company while not adding unnecessary red tape. Any system you choose or create should provide for a weekly meeting where you are spending time on three key areas. First, go through your weekly KPIs and see if anything is off track. Next, check in on your goals to see if you are on pace there. Lastly, spend the bulk of your time going through your key issues in order of importance. There are plenty of systems already out there to choose from such as EOS – no need to reinvent the wheel.
- 90 Day Goals. As you manage growth in your business, don’t forget to come up for air every 90 days to set new quarterly goals. Less is more when setting these goals – try to focus on the 1-3 items that are going to represent the biggest move forward in the next 90 days. Remember to check in on the status of these goals at your weekly meeting to drive accountability.
Managing a growing business is an exciting time. Keep these five items top of mind as you grow and you will be able to successfully grow your business without any of your plates crashing to the ground.
If we can help you in any way as you grow, please give us a call.
