Small Business is Getting Bigger: How to Handle a Fast Growth?
Friday, April 29, 2016, 6:00 AM | Leave Comment
A majority of small businesses never gets past the first year of operation, but those that do are facing a great challenge.
Business owners dream of entering the global stage with flying colors and experiencing an overnight success. As much as these visions are unrealistic, they can also be a dangerous notion to endorse.
Rapid expansion is a double-edged sword which may bring both prosperity and ruin. The only way to tackle the issue is to plan ahead, but then again, how do you pull that off when you do not possess the crystal ball?
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Growing pains
One of the obvious results of the business growth is a rising number of clients. Whether they are flocking to your online storefront or shop windows, you need to do more work with the same capacities.
Spreading yourself too thin could undermine your ability to deliver offerings in a timely fashion and display top-notch customer service.
Hence, many small enterprises undertake office reorganization and rethink their business models. After all, staying flexible is the only way to survive in the highly-competitive arena.
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A money pit
Managing money flows is a key item on your checklist. Learn how to deal with the lag between the time you pay your suppliers and workers, and the time when you collect revenues.
The art of delaying the outlays of cash until people who owe you money pay is one of the possible tactics. Beyond that, one has to be able to project monthly, quarterly and yearly cash flows. This is a time-consuming activity, but you can take advantage of the digital finance tools such as Expensify and FreshBooks.
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Belt-tightening
A growing company must also monitor the expenses closely. Surge of sales should be good news, but what if the expenditures exceed the profit? Well, cutting down the costs in non-vital areas is the best way to go.
Furthermore, note that financial tasks are encompassed by a broader effort to turn your material into products, inventories into receivables, and these into profit.
Take a holistic approach and do not fail to utilize productivity tools for managing time, social media accounts, creating to-dos, etc.
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May the workforce be with you
One of the major considerations involves the workforce, its level of motivation, number and productivity. You can take many new people on board, but they are not likely to become an integral part of your organization right away.
It is estimated that it usually takes six months for a new employee to become productive and up to all the daily tasks. Many of us cannot wait that long, and luckily, we have some productivity hacks at our disposal.
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Have a good run
Namely, workers’ performance is affected by a wide array of factors— the office temperature, visual appeal, presence of fresh air, training, break time, schedule, etc.
Also, experts from the JP Office Workstations point out to the multiple benefits of owning a dedicated, decluttered, and customizable workspace. It provides comfort, treats the worker’s health right, and prevents perpetual distractions. These things are the mainspring of business machinery that runs like clockwork.
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Designing the success
These measures, however, will not be worth the paper they are written on if you overlook one vital problem: An increase in the number of employees could cause space shortages.
So, you have two options, to move to the new space, or remodel the current office. In both cases, put the focus on well-designed layout, color psychology, plenty of natural light and fresh air, as well as aforementioned performance factors. Tailor both the work and resting area to the needs and wants of employees and they will respond by being at their best.
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Invested businessmen
Coping with the sudden growth does not come easy for businessmen. Projecting this trend is a numbers game, one that requires both impeccable analytical skills and cutting-edge technology.
More people on your payroll require more management and room, while more customers push the organizational and operational capabilities to the limits.
Keep up the pace with increasing demands, and remember that in order to sustain growth and make leaps and bounds, you will also have to invest smartly.
Read more about apps for small businesses.
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