Fact or Fiction: Hard learnt lessons on growing a business

Most new businesses grow and enjoy a reasonable level of success largely because the owner is good at what they do. However this only gets you to a certain point. Longer-term sustainable growth nearly always proves to be much harder to achieve.

While different phases of the growth curve require some very different focus and emphasis from the business owner, there are some hard learnt lessons that tell us there are fundamental success factors that are needed in all stages of a company’s growth cycle. Lest take a look at them here.

1. Clarity of “Vision Future” vs here now today.

Many businesses set out to grow for the sake of growing believing that bigger is better. However, first and foremost, we need to ask where is the company going and over what time frame?  Be specific to what does that represent, what are your measurable expectations when you get there? Next, clarity of vision future compared to the here and now of today is paramount. This presents the gap that exists between them. Now we can identify the key stepping stones needed to get there and set them out with a higher degree of specificity and confidence.

2. Execution  + Discipline + Accountability

It’s all about the execution. The best plans in the world are meaningless if not executed. To do so effectively, keep the plan very simple, very relevant, very focused, and in bite size critical success factor pieces. We use rolling 90 day plans set out on 1 page, which is a proven way to drive action and results, maintain momentum and focus, and provide a high degree of accountability. Importantly, even the business owner needs to be held accountable to someone. 90 day plans then forms the foundation of your annual business plan. This of course rolls up and into your 2 yr and 5 yr strategic plans which brings you to your “vision future”.

3. Educate Sales Strategy and Leverage Marketing Strategy.

Most people don’t want to be sold too and are turned off by “hard sell” tactics so commonly used. Consumers are now more sophisticated and better informed than ever before, so we need to stop selling to our customers and start educating them. To be able to do that you first need to know the hearts and minds of your customers. In other words, understand their problems, needs, wants, styles, and preferences. Specifically what do they need help with and how can you effectively address that better than anyone else. This then becomes your Unique Perceived Benefit or UPB and is fundamental to your “Attraction Model”. Crack that and you are no longer selling to your consumer rather providing an attractive solution. The purchase is no longer a sell but now a buy. To do so, the right questions need to be asked so a clearer picture can be formed. Follow up reality checks to see what works are important. Then test it, reiterate, re-test it. Also remember, don’t always try and reinvent the wheel.  If you see something that really works don’t be embarrassed to copy success. Adopt, adapt and then execute better by using your UPB. Leverage your marketing strategy so your UPB message can be shared with the right people at the right time in the right way. Digital marketing now provides powerful channels that enable meaningful relationships to be built and ensure Recency and Frequency with your targeted customer market. This creates “front of mind’ decisions being made in your favour.

4. People Leverage + Delegation

Business success and growth is a team sport, you simply cant do it all yourself, no matter how hard you try. It is not possible to create significant wealth without leverage and scalability. The most effective way to create leverage is by automating processes via systems, and outsourcing to experts, and arguably the most important, hiring good people. It’s important for business owners to develop a team and delegate responsibilities so the right person is in the right job doing the best job they can because they want to. The extent to which you can inspire others to do their best with you, greatly influences the extent of which you will obtain your vision future. Similarly, this means moving the right person who is doing the wrong job, and quickly removing the wrong person.

5. Effective Financial Management Tools

As they say “Cash is King”, and for good reason. Most SMEs that go out of business do so due to cash flow problems. Rapid business growth presents new challenges in its own right, with working capital often being front and centre of those concerns. While statistics suggest that over 60% of SMEs do not perform cash flow analysis, a well measured monthly Cash Flow forecast & review is crucial for any business, especially for one that is growing rapidly. An analogy would be like flying your own plane and having no idea on how much fuel is still in the tank. A meaningful effective financial scorecard is also key as it tells us specifically how we are doing. I like to use a 3/4 page P&L with our businesses KPIs on the bottom quarter of the same page. That way you can quickly check the key financial record of how the business has done this month but importantly you can review the underlying factors, or KPIs, that drive and deliver the results onto the P&L. If we are successful on the KPIs then the P&L results take care of themselves.