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Every entrepreneur dreams of seeing their business take off. But rapid growth can easily turn into a nightmare if the company’s foundations are still shaky. Here are a few tips to successfully manage your SME’s expansion!
Businesses that experience rapid growth are faced with several potential dangers. If you don’t want your SME to be undermined by its success, build solid foundations that include
Many people believe that a business’s rapid growth and its success go hand in hand. And yet, a fast expansion carries with it a number of potential dangers, including the following:
If you want to avoid these pitfalls, you must build solid foundations before ramping up operations. It’s as if you were entering a car race, you would take the time to fine-tune your engine so it doesn’t overheat!
Wanting to grow is understandable. Being ready to grow is better. Before you speed ahead, make sure that you have established the right foundations to enable you to keep pace when the time comes.
Can your business operate without you doing everything yourself? If the answer is no, start by documenting the processes in place.
Recruit ahead of time, train and delegate. A business that relies on only one individual is not ready to grow.
Selling more usually means more spending. Make sure that you have enough financial flexibility to absorb the impact of expanding operations.
Your software, website and billing system must all be able to move forward without breaking down. Invest in time-saving solutions.
What is spurring growth? What are your goals? Keeping your team involved in that vision helps prevent people pulling in different directions.
The following are two concrete examples that demonstrate that, for a business to grow, you should be building, not racing.
After being featured on TV, this company saw its sales skyrocket. It therefore decided to subcontract part of its production to a local business and hire a manager who could help structure operations. As a result, the company was able to deliver on time without undermining its green mission.
Overwhelmed by the demand for more online stores, this Quebec enterprise quickly trained more staff and recruited an operations manager. By improving how it allocated projects, it was able to maintain the quality of its products despite the booming demand.
In summary, take the time to build a strong business, which can withstand expansion without collapsing. After all, what really matters isn’t how fast you run, but whether you can sustain the pace!
If you feel overwhelmed by your own success and your business has accumulated debt to support its growth, don’t hesitate to contact us. It will be our pleasure to help you.
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