Will You Be Ready For Business Growth?
I saw an Instagram post a few days ago, which came out a day before a post I had scheduled warning business owners of the same thing. And that was not being ready for growth. When those customers you have been praying for finally come knocking, not being ready could have catastrophic effects on you and your business.
So, what does that look like exactly, and how can you prepare for it? Let's find out.
Your Systems and Processes
One of the first things you need to implement in your business is systems and processes. Think of every single process that takes place in your business, from onboarding new clients to accepting customer orders. Those processes need to be recorded, even if that's just on paper.
It's all very well and good that you know your processes like the back of your hand, but, it's no fun at all trying to teach them to someone right slap bang in the middle of a growth boom. This brings me back to this Instagram post.
It came from a small business owner who had prayed and prayed for more orders for her jewelry business, but when her prayers were answered, she wasn't at all prepared for it. Suddenly, she had orders she couldn't fulfill, and needed to bring someone in, amid this growth boom, and with no systems and processes in place, she tried to train them in time to help her get her orders shipped. This brings me to the next thing you need to implement early on in business to grow and survive a sudden growth boom.
People
Somebody asked the business owner in the comments of the Instagram post, what she might have done differently had she foreseen her influx of new customers and her response was, to have taken someone on to help her sooner. She admitted that trying to train someone amidst all these new orders, was one of the hardest things she had ever done, and she wished she had been more prepared.
You see, business growth is impossible without systems and processes and people, it just is. You can't do everything, no matter how much you think you can, and without systems and processes, you have to free up all the time you have, to teach someone else how to do it. Without people, you can only do so much, and, you can only earn so much. This is why in this example, the business owner needed to take someone on to help her, she simply couldn't do it on her own.
My post which went out a day later, was to warn business owners of this exact problem. I see it time and time again, business owners desperate for more, but terrified of taking on people, mainly because they feel they can't afford it, or worry about how they will make the time to train them with no processes in place.
Notice how I use the words; "because they feel they can't afford it'? Whilst it isn't easy to pay someone when you're struggling to pay yourself, there is always some sort of wriggle room. For example, pay-as-you-go options with us at L.T. VA Services are £50 per hour. Why do you need to jump to lots of hours per month, if one or two can help you? Sometimes, that's all it takes. Enough free time to help you to stand back, to be where your business needs you to be, or just to implement those systems and processes.
So, it's time to ask yourself if you suddenly grow, will you be ready for it, or will you be faking it to buy time? Not being ready could seriously cost you. Imagine not being in a position to fulfill those orders. Imagine sending them out late and getting poor reviews. Tell me, would that cost you more or less than the cost of paying someone to help you?
