Growing Pains- 5 Strategies to Successfully Manage Business Growth

Creating a startup is an exciting, innovative time but can be hard to handle if you aren’t prepared for growth when it happens. Of course, every company pins its hopes on expansion, but it can be a mixed blessing if it comes at a faster rate than you were expecting. Here are five strategies to successfully manage business growth.

Find the right space

Like a hermit crab outgrowing its old shell, your company too may need to move on up once it has reached a certain size. You don’t need to go directly from the garage to the world headquarters with a full-service gym and spa. Instead of buying or renting a larger workspace, alternatives like serviced office solutions can provide professional, flexible spaces during periods of upsizing and beyond. Find a location that fit your needs at the moment with the flexibility to increase at the appropriate rate. Don’t lock yourself into a two-year lease if only a few months from now you’ll find yourself bursting at the seams.

Create an efficient hiring process

Business growth means new people, and you don’t want to waste time or resources hiring people who aren’t a good fit. To prevent this from happening, you must know what you are looking for and institute hiring processes that reflect that. Good hires will have a healthy balance of the right skills and experience, combined with the personality and temperament that matches the culture that you’re trying to build in your organization. You’re better off exercising patience until the right candidate comes along than rushing in to hire someone that is not a great fit for your team. For more techniques to help find the right personnel, check this article out.

Delegation

You can’t do everything yourself and that is why finding the right team to divide the work needed is vital to your company’s expanding health. Functions such as HR, bookkeeping, AR, marketing and others will eventually need to be handed over to responsible, competent employees. With a team you can trust, you don’t have to worry about unexpected pitfalls because of staff that are less capable, or ill-matched with the rest of your team.  By creating the right startup culture and consistently sticking to your business goals and values you can thrive without having to control all the day-to-day details.

Watch your cash flow

The bane of any start-up is for things to be going swimmingly and goals being met, only to have everything came crashing to a halt due to a lack of cash. That is why it is imperative you track all the money coming in and how it is going out. Skip the constant company luncheons or happy hour trips on the organization’s dime to avoid falling victim to one of the most common new company killers: running out of funds.

Pay attention to the customer

It can be easy to overlook your original clients in the quest for new ones. Business development is essential, but neglecting your existing customer base is a common and potentially fatal error. Take the extra time and effort to nurture those clients that helped get you to this point, so they remain committed to you for the long-term. Something as simple as an occasional text to check in can make a client feel like they are a priority and build loyalty.

So there you have it: five strategies to successfully manage business growth. What are your next steps to take in this exciting time? With these strategies in your mind, you can easily continue your expansion to new and greater heights.