Growth. Are You Ready?

Your Past Could be the Key to Future Growth

If you’ve reached the stage in your business where you’d like to expand, consider evaluating your client base and analyzing the unique qualities of your best repeat clients. Repeat clients are typically your best clients because you have built a relationship with them based on trust and loyalty. Trust is a key ingredient of success. Another key indicator of trust are referrals and introductions. Getting referrals from clients is an excellent way to grow your business and it shows prospective clients that you do your job well. Consider asking your top clients what brings them back. Thank them for their trust and consider letting them know that you are interested in meeting more people like them. Share what it is about them you like most and don’t be surprised if they start introducing you to others in the future.

You Feel You Are TOO busy

As a business owner your To-Do list can feel endless. You may find yourself complaining that you have too much work to do. That’s a good thing because more business typically leads to more revenue. Unfortunately, you may find yourself unable to handle the additional workload without sacrificing the quality of your work. This is a sign that you need to add more members to your team. Begin by hiring someone to take on the time-consuming work that requires the lowest level of technical skill. This frees you up to focus on the high value work that brings in more revenue.

You Must Have Set Processes in Place

If you are considering expanding, you should be sure you have clear, comprehensive, and precise processes. Processes are like blueprints. Without them what you build may not last. Having all necessary processes in place before your expansion, allows you, your current team, and any future members to uniformly implement those workflows as the business grows. Even if your business model changes, having workflows in place gives you an advantage because you already have a foundation to work with. Having processes in place also makes it easier when adding new team members to the business. You can provide any new team members with a blueprint for their new role and have a clear framework for future performance assessments. Finally, having workflows in place makes your employees less reliant on you, giving you more time to spend on other aspects of the business.

What Your Space Says about You

A lack of office or warehouse space is often a giveaway that you need to expand. You may find that your employees are struggling to keep up with demand due to lack of functionality. Desk cramped too close, background noise during important meetings, people constantly walking back and forth in front of you are just a few common challenges faced when you’ve outgrown your space. Distractions like these could be detrimental to your business. Every team member has an important job to do, and it is important they have the space to do so. If you find your business is not yet able to expand physically, consider implementing a hybrid or remote work model. Your employees may find it more efficient to work from home some days if they feel they need to be free of distraction for important meeting or calls.

CRN202601-3931457