When you are a new business owner who is starting out, there are a lot of things that you need to be thinking about. You also need to have incredible resilience and the ability to wear approximately a gazillion (yes, it’s a real measure of things) hats in order to ensure the success of your business.
When I started my first business I was very concerned with making sure that everything was done exactly as I wanted it, and I knew the importance of commercial interior design as a key focus. The problem was I wasn’t hiring the right people, and I was too worried about little things
Suffice to say, my business didn’t last too long. I realised later on that I was far too focused on wanting things to be perfect and not focused enough on making sure that I was making the business profitable.
When I started my next business I focused on making sure that the business was making money and growing, and worried less about whether things were perfect or not. I figured that I could always sort out the way I was going about the business later on, and any mistakes that I made I learned from. Sadly for me, that business failed too – because we grew far too quickly and I wasn’t ready for rapid growth.
The third time was the charm for me. I started my third business and made sure that I was focusing on the right things, that my cash flow was right, and, most importantly, I think, I was ready for rapid expansion.
I have spoken to so many people and they all say the same thing: If you’re not ready to grow, get ready to fail. I reckon the reason behind this is because you underestimate the power of rapid growth and what it can do for your business.
So I have decided to pull together what I know and share with you how to prepare your startup for rapid expansion. Read on and enjoy business success!
Get the right people working for you
Your business success depends on the people who you have working for you, and you want to make sure that if your business is going to grow rapidly that you are ready for the growth. How do you ensure that you are ready for this? By hiring the right people. You want to hire people who are committed to growing with your business and who are going to be there come hell or high water. After all, rapid growth is never all sunshine and lollipops, and having a core team of people in the trenches with you is going to make all the difference.
Make sure your office is equipped
You know how I mentioned the importance of commercial interior design before? It is super important as far as growth is concerned. You need to make sure that your office space is equipped to manage growth and that your space can adjust to take on more people. Speak to specialist office interior designer for your best options.
Cash is king
There’s a reason why businesses fail. Would you like to know what that is? Cash flow. You never fail because your business isn’t profitable. You fail because your business doesn’t have the right cash flow. You need to watch what you’re spending your money on – because if your cash flow isn’t right it means that you’re going to have problems.
Eradicate risk
There are always going to be problems with your business that you’re going to have to overcome. The key thing here is to ensure that you minimise the risks as much as possible. When you minimise the risks, or at the very least when you know what they are and are ready for them, you’ll know what you need to be prepared for.
Be agile
The number one way to manage your growth is to ensure that your staff and business is agile. An agile business just means you have a business where people are prepared for change and they are ready to embrace it. A key part of the failure of some businesses is that they aren’t flexible. Some people take a long time to adjust to change, and you need to make sure that you’re always training your staff to accept and to love change.
There you have it folks, my key things to do to prepare for rapid growth. Good luck with your business, and remember to watch your cash flow.