Many businesses do not plan for growth, but just take challenges as they come. Without planning, your business may encounter difficulties or lose sight of its goals. Growth can come from a range of sources including a widened product range, an expanded capacity to serve more customers, or entering new markets. Each source of growth comes with different benefits as well as different time and monetary costs.
You should always prepare for growth. Some important things to consider if you are looking to grow your business include:
1. Hire ahead of the need – if the goal is growth, make sure you hire people who will be able to perform in a larger role and company. Their natural growth will boost your own.
2. Be ready to adjust your own role – as the business grows, you’ll have to learn to trust your employees and to delegate tasks.
3. Stay conscious of the financial state of the business – do regular cash-flow planning and projecting, stick with planned budgets where possible and consider all possible outcomes when taking financial risks.
4. Speak to professionals – you will benefit from an objective viewpoint and advice about your business. Identify the experts you need to speak to, listen to them and learn from their advice.
5. Improve processes – consider whether you will need to change your business structure, implement different practices, or meet new obligations. Define clear channels of communication and intuitive systems for your operations.
6. Explore new possibilities and options – investigate new technologies that can build efficiency or customer relations, consider new methods of advertising and distribution, or conduct research and create an analysis of the market to try and foresee where growth is possible or likely.
It’s important to always be ready for the next phase of the business life cycle. Here at The Quinn Group, our experienced team of accountants can assist you in preparing for growth as well as creating and maintaining a business plan. For more information submit an online enquiry or call us on 1300 QUINNS (785 667) or on +61 2 9223 9166.
