There is a temptation among small business owners to not think about growth until such time as current resources are being stretched to their limits. But what happens if those resources are never stretched? Does that mean a company cannot grow? Absolutely not. In fact, there is a way to create self-sustaining, self-perpetuating growth that begins from the earliest days of being in business.
I’ve had the opportunity to offer small business coaching services to clients in a variety of industries. Over the years I have come to understand that as a business growth coach, I can adopt one of two growth strategies: reactive or proactive. The reactive approach is the one described in the introduction of this post. It is an approach that only looks at growth when doing so becomes a necessity. I prefer the proactive approach.
The proactive approach looks to start growing a business from the very beginning. It does not wait for growth to occur; it nurtures growth along the way. The proactive approach starts with three basic principles:
1. Invest in Yourself
Self-sustaining growth doesn’t happen by accident. It starts with the business owner and what he or she contributes to it. For example, imagine a business owner trying to attract the investors needed to implement the next stage of company growth and expansion. If that owner is not able to project a clear message and vision with confidence, recruiting investors will be very challenging.
Small business owners need to invest in themselves. Working with a small business coach is one way to do so. Small business coaching helps business owners be better employers, better marketers, better visionaries, etc.
2. Invest in Your Staff
The foundation of self-sustaining business growth is a company’s staff. The people who actually do the work will make or break a company in every single case. Therefore, it’s imperative to invest in quality staff during every new round of hiring. Also bear in mind that the quality is not measured only by education and training. It is also measured by those intangible characteristics like integrity and a willingness to work hard.
3. Invest in Scalability
Lastly, self-sustaining growth is only possible in a business that has scalability built in. Scalability allows a company to grow without necessarily expanding. When expansion is part of growth, scalability makes that expansion more seamless and fluid. A business that is not scalable has to overcome larger hurdles to accommodate growth that should be natural. This is no good for a self-sustaining growth model.
As a business growth coach, I’ve seen many companies succeed in creating self-sustaining growth. I’m also aware that plenty of companies fail. In order to create self-sustaining growth that continues for as long as a company remains in business, small business owners have to start with the basics from day one. That means investing in themselves, investing in their staff, and making a concerted effort to create a scalable company that can easily grow and expand organically.
By Peter Smith.
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