46 | JUNE 2019
Business
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
5 EXPERT TIPS FOR MANAGING
RAPID BUSINESS GROWTH
In modern business
circles, advice groups
and seminars, having
a ‘growth mindset’ is
lauded as a vital part of
doing business well. But
is it really that simple?
Is your business is growing
too quickly to keep up with? Here
are five expert tips from Nick
Pollitt, Managing Director of office
design specialists Diamond Interi-
ors, to ensure you stay in control
without having to sacrifice that
positive growth mindset.
1. Outline your
game plan
Lightning-fast growth is rarely
accounted for in an entrepreneur’s
initial game plan (unless you’re
particularly optimistic). Your long-
term strategy probably looks a
little redundant now because rapid
growth has changed the goal. On
the contrary, short-term goals feel
all but pointless. Focus then on
your medium-term goals such as a
12-month business strategy instead
of the 5-year projection you put
together originally.
2. Crunch the numbers
Poor cash flow management is
toxic to a rapidly growing busi-
ness. As your operational costs
increase, you need to ensure you
have enough money in the bank
to keep things moving. Here are a
few quick tips for getting enough
cash into your business account
to make your growth financially
sustainable.
• Automate invoice follow-
ups.
Some accounting software
will allow you to schedule
automatic follow-ups so you
spend less time chasing in-
voices. That way, you get more
payments in without having to
find any more time to do so.
‘
Upskilling staff is a great way to
increase retention and staff satisfaction
’
• Migrate clients to Direct
Debit.
Moving any regular payments
into your business over to
Direct Debit is easier for both
parties. Some clients may
object, but even migrating a
small share of your client base
can give you enough financial
breathing room.
• Liquidate spare assets.
If you’ve got any assets that you
could turn into cash without
hurting your future prospects,
now might be the time to do it.
If you have a plentiful supply,
map out how much you’d need
to liquidate each month to
make up any cash deficit.
3. Get the right people
Many employers know the
dangers of making bad hires or —
worse — keeping bad hires, but
when under pressure that comes
from fast growth, those decisions
don’t seem so clear cut.
• Promote from within.
Upskilling staff is a great way
to increase retention and staff
satisfaction because you’re
rewarding them for their hard
work. Plus, existing staff are
likely to have played a key
part in your growth in the first
place, so giving them more
responsibility will help your
business.
• Alleviate pressure with
short-term outsourcing.
Recruitment can take a long
time, especially if you’re work-
ing in a niche industry. You
can buy yourself some time
to make the best decision
and prevent staff burnout by
outsourcing some work to
sub-contractors in the short-
term. Be selective about the
work you send out, though:
hiring a bad sub can damage
your reputation if the prop-
er quality control measures
aren’t in place.
• Focus on quality over
quantity.
If you’ve outsourced work,
you’ll have breathing room to
wait to recruit the best people
rather than going for the best
of a bad bunch. It’s better to
wait four months to make
the right hire for that crucial
position than hire in the first
week and have them leave
four months later with your
company in worse shape than
it was before they arrived.
4. Stay focused on
the core product
A lot of businesses that grow
too fast do so because they’re so
busy expanding into new areas
that they don’t take the time to
refine their core offering. If you’re
not already set up on a reviews
site like Trustpilot or Yelp, do
so, and share the link with your
existing customer base. Ask for
honest feedback in the form
of anonymous surveys. Honest
customers are incredibly valuable
because they’ll identify the flaws
or restrictions of your product that
you didn’t know were there.
Build your refinement strategy
around feedback, and prioritise it
over those exciting expansions into
new markets you’ve got in mind.
5. Upgrade your HQ
If you’re hiring lots of new staff
to help sustain your business
growth, chances are that you’ll
quickly run out of space in your
current location (if you have a
HQ).
1. Move to a bigger office (or
set up a space if you don’t
have one).
Consider hiring a third party
to locate the ideal space for
you, one that suits your needs
and your budget alike. They
may also be able to plan out
a transition process for your
company to minimise any dis-
ruptions to your business that
a move might have.
2. Change the way you use
your space.
For some businesses, the
problem may not be a lack
of space but a failure to fully
utilise the space available.
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