It’s a good problem to have. Your creative juices are bursting with energy, clients are rolling in and your business brand is finally getting out there – insanely quickly. YES! Unfortunately, fast-growing businesses are both a blessing and a curse. And if things are starting to crumble under the pressure, it’s time to call for help.
Building a great business takes a lot of time. At the start, it’s stressful, challenging and slow. You pour your heart and soul into it and start racking up a ridiculous amount of hours. But it doesn’t matter because you’re working towards your own adventure. It’s a good feeling! Then just like that, the hard work pays off. Suddenly things aren’t so slow and the set of challenges that come with building something amazing turn into a hair-pulling madness as you desperately try to keep up. Like I said, it’s a good problem to have initially. But if it’s not managed properly and you’re starting to drown in paperwork, the quality of your products/services can diminish just as fast.
Struggling to keep up with your fast-growing venture? Here are some actionable tips you can implement now:
Invest in the Right Resources to Stay Organised
Growth requires investment and the right tools to be organised and stay on top of things. If your business is beginning to boom and you haven’t got your organisation skills down to a fine art yet, you’re going to crash and burn pretty quickly. Successful entrepreneurs who are organised use multiple tools to accomplish goals and priorities. It’s a vital part of streamlining how the organisation operates and communicates.
Use productivity tools for keeping track of customers, project management, meetings and communication, and accounting and bookkeeping. Streamline the way you invoice and take payments through accounting software like MYOB Exo, which will assist in managing cash flow. Make sure your systems and processes can keep up with the growth too so you’re not losing sales, staff or clients. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems may need to be implemented or upgraded to cater for the change.
Don’t Stop Listening to Your Customers
Communication is key – especially when it comes to the people bringing business in. Customer retention is a vital part of small business growth. Once you stop listening to their wants and needs, or you’re too busy to handle complaints properly, you may start losing them and business expansion will be negatively affected. Put in a formal approach to the way you listen to your clients and act on their input.
According to these statistics by Huffington Post, 66% of customers switched brands/businesses because of poor service. Your customers want to feel like you still care about them – regardless if you’re drowning in work or not. They’re your biggest revenue driver (and the reason why you’re reading this article!), so it pays to look after them.
Understand You Can’t Do Everything
It’s a tough pill to swallow. You may be fantastic at running a business, building a great brand and attracting clientele, but it doesn’t mean you have the capacity and skill to take everything on. In a fast-growing business, hiring the right team to back your business up is essential to managing growth. Delegating work to the best available people allows you to focus on the overall business strategy and gives you the breathing room to just… breathe. At the very least, consider the benefits of outsourcing
Measure EVERYTHING!
When your small business was starting out, it was easier to manage the finer details. Once things pick up and business is propelling forward at an alarming rate, it’s much harder to find the time to keep track of your KPI’s. True success just isn’t possible if you’re not measuring everything. This includes all the setbacks, milestones, client value, sales and online platforms. Details have the potential to make or break a business. Even as the work piles up and you find yourself running out of hours in the day to make magic happen, making measurement a necessity is crucial.
Don’t Forget About You and Your Staff
One of the biggest problems about fast-growing businesses is the deterioration of your health. Keeping up with the demand (and running a successful business) takes it out of you. It doesn’t matter how hard you keep your health in check, there will always be times when you feel overworked and mentally exhausted. You – and your staff – are no good for anything if you’re crumbling under the pressure.
Everyone needs time out to relax to avoid burning out. Employees that are overworked usually end up hating their jobs or becoming depressed and isolated. Whilst it’s important to make time for yourself, it’s just as critical to make sure your staff are happy and not working ridiculously long hours to keep up. Find ways to manage your mental health so you can be the fearless and positively effective leader that you are.
Fast-growing businesses need to be managed more carefully. By implementing smart productivity tools, staying on top of cash flow and looking after your customers, staff and yourself, you can minimise a lot of the challenges that come with it.
