
You’ve launched your company, you’ve had some clients or made sales, maybe you’ve taken on staff and moved into some brand new offices. Perhaps you’ve even established some pretty healthy turnover and finances are ticking over nicely. However, you now seem to have hit a wall in your company’s growth and things have begun to stagnate – and you can’t figure out why.
Sound familiar?
Although every business is unique, there are some common causes for a business reaching a standstill in growth.
A lack of management and/or delegation
In a small business you might be able to manage or handle most things yourself. However, once the business starts to expand, doing this will actively begin to restrict your growth. You need a trusted team who can do what you do so that not everything relies on your input. Partnerships, staff, collaborations and mergers are all key to expanding the scope of what you’re doing now – and what you could do in future.
The little inefficiencies
There is so much tech at the disposal of business these days that your organisation will fall behind others if you’re not using these resources to be as efficient as they are. Automating a process such as invoicing, for example, saves staff time on the menial tasks involved with invoice creation and sending, as well as chasing them up if they’re overdue. Integrated automation can handle a wide range of tasks; from calculating taxes to converting currencies, saving your business time and resources that could be channelled towards growth instead.
Poor cash flow
Thriving cash flow is like a healthy pulse pumping blood around the body. If your cash flow dries up or gets into difficulties, it becomes impossible for the body of the business to thrive. Evaluate the ways in which you could free up and improve the flow of cash in your company; from more efficient invoicing, to reducing expenses and collecting debts. If you’re not even sure where to start then call in the professionals for more expert advice. Spending a little in the short term to identify what you can improve is well-worth the investment long term.
No growth goals
Do you know where you’re trying to get to with your business? If you don’t – and your team doesn’t either – then you’re unlikely to move from the status quo. Set goals for the future, near and far, and then establish targets that you’ll need to meet to get there. From growing the workforce, to increasing sales and maximising your network, if you focus on what you want to do next then you have a far better chance of achieving it.
A lack of marketing
Marketing is essential for 95% of businesses. Creating new leads, generating profile and converting one time customers into loyal clients will generate revenue that can help you to expand. You don’t have to spend a fortune on marketing to see growth benefits. Social media marketing, for example, is an incredibly cost effective way to reach a very broad audience, so if you haven’t already, get up to speed on how you can market your business through popular social media platforms.