Originally published on thetechblock.com
What business owner doesn’t dream of their company growing rapidly? Most would love to see their idea take off and prove successful overnight.
At the same time, there are some pitfalls of rapid business growth, as entrepreneur Scott Crockett of Everest Business Funding explains. These include creating operational inefficiencies, cashflow problems, issues with customer service, and overworking your employees.
These are just a few reasons why managing rapid business growth is so essential. Here are ten tips to help you do that.
Tip #1. Don’t Lose Sight of Customers
It’s easy to lose sight of your customers as you grow rapidly, but this can be a major downfall. No matter what growth stage the company is experiencing, never lose sight of the experience you’re providing customers.
These customers are who helped you experience this rapid growth. If you ignore them or don’t care about their experience, they’re not likely to stay with you, which will hinder your ability to sustain success.
Tip #2. Have Good Support
Whether you are experiencing rapid growth or not, it’s essential that entrepreneurs have good people supporting them. During times of rapid growth, though, a company’s employees will be key to their long-term success. Getting the right team in place from the start and constantly recruiting new talent is always wise.
Tip #3. Analyze Staffing Constantly
As you grow, it’s likely you’ll need to bring on more people to support your endeavors. Even if this investment wasn’t in the original plans, it’s critical to add to your payroll during rapid growth periods. Hiring workers on a temporary basis is a great way to overcome an unexpected period of growth while you work on building a permanent staff.
Tip #4. Be Adaptive
Periods of rapid growth can be very unpredictable. Scott Crockett says this is why it’s essential that entrepreneurs are flexible and adapt to what’s going on around them as it’s happening. You may need to test a different strategy than the ones you initially employed, and that’s OK. Your ability to adjust on the fly will be key in determining your long-term success.
Tip #5. Understand the Reasons
If you’re experiencing rapid growth, it’s because you’ve done something right. Understanding what this “thing or things” is that you did right will help you sustain your growth. It’ll help you see how you were able to separate yourself from the competition, and what you have to do if you want to do this long-term.
Tip #6. Create a Strategy
To prepare for rapid growth, you’ll need a strategy in place to determine how you’ll handle it. This plan will allow you to pull certain levers when needed to help the company keep customers happy.
Tip #7. Manage Cashflow
Managing cash flow is one of the most essential parts of managing rapid business growth. As Scott Crockett explains, this includes understanding your accounts payables and receivables in-depth and being able to project cash flow accurately. This will help you avoid taking on too much debt to finance the costs you need.
Tip #8. Control the Costs
One of the biggest downfalls of rapid growth is out-of-control spending. Many entrepreneurs will simply throw money at problems and challenges, hoping to fix them. When the rapid growth period ends, though, they’re left holding the bag with all these debts. Don’t be stingy; just be smart with your investments.
Tip #9. Don’t Rack Up Debt
Another pitfall is racking up loads of debt to finance new equipment, larger office space, and more employees. While some of this debt might be necessary for the short-term, try to avoid taking on too many long-term obligations while you’re growing.
Tip #10. Stay Laser Focused
Rapid growth periods can be chaotic at times. This requires entrepreneurs to be laser-focused on the tasks on hand and concentrate their efforts on the most important areas of the day. You’ll never be able to get everything done all at once, so don’t waste your energy trying to.
About Scott Crockett
Scott Crockett is the founder and CEO of Everest Business Funding. He is a seasoned professional with 20 years of experience in the finance industry. Mr. Crockett’s track record includes raising more than $250 million in capital and creating thousands of jobs. Scott has founded, built, and managed several finance companies in the consumer and commercial finance sectors.