Overcome Those Growing Pains!

Congratulations, your business is growing! Your business needs to grow just to survive. If you are not growing, at least as fast as your competition, it is just a matter of time before you go out of business. It doesn’t matter if you are an entrepreneur working by yourself, merging with another company or you find you are no longer a “small” business, growth is necessary, but it can be scary.

Give Control

I was talking to a client of mine this week and we discussed that she was just about to maximize her income potential the way she was operating. She was just running out of time in the day and was still way short of her income goals. I suggested she start looking at hiring some help so she can focus on working on her business and doing what she loves, and delegate the rest. She stated the usual objections, “I don’t have time to train someone”, or “I can’t afford them yet”. She was exactly right in both accounts. The trouble is, if she continued on her current path she’d never have time to train someone or to afford them because she is doing EVERYTHING! Moving from a solopreneur to a small business requires the same amount of courage and faith it took for you to start your business. Have faith in the process and do what needs to be done so you and your company can grow!

Losing Touch

What happens when your small company moves to a medium company? You used to know everyone that walked in the door on a first name basis. I mean you should right, you hired them! Eventually your business is going to grow. You’ve learned to delegate and let go of control, so you can take your business to the next level. Then one day you walk into work and it no longer has that small company feel. You’ve grown! Now what? Relax. It is OK. After all, you’re a great leader, right? Teach your team to become better leaders in their own right. Teach them how to inspire, motivate, and engage the employees. Teach them to run their teams as individual small businesses, all working toward the company goal. You’ll still be able to maintain the employee bond that a small company has while you grow! This helps your employees, company and clients!

Merging Cultures

Finally, I met a company that is trying to merge several companies together. This is a dramatic shift for almost everyone involved. There is fear, turmoil, anxiousness. You might have culture clashes between two companies or redundancy among positions. How do you deal with this? Communication! In the absence of communication, rumors fill the void, and the rumors are almost always worse than reality. This is where leadership is important. Leadership needs to clearly communicate decisions, good or bad, and the reasons and impacts of each decision. Articulate a clear vision of where the company is heading, and why it is good for everyone involved. Explain in clear terms how the company benefits, employees benefit and customers benefit. Everyone may not like the decisions, but nine out of ten times you’ll be respected for your honesty.

This Week’s Challenge

Whether or not your going through one of these growing pains, you are likely to experience one in your future. It’s never too early or too late to start laying the foundation for growth so you are prepared when you get there! Never stop growing, and never fear the growing pains. As you grow, your business grows, and your teams grow. Everyone wins!

If you would like to discuss the growing pains that your business may be encountering and how I can help you overcome and continue to grow, please contact me today.