The time of growing a business is a period of excitement for entrepreneurs, but it comes with some common mistakes that we'll help you avoid.
There are some common mistakes that many businesses make when focusing on growth. We've compiled seven of them as well as easy fixes to avoid the same pitfalls of many entrepreneurs.
There's a lot of questions you should ask yourself before deciding how you'll grow your small business. How will you handle increased demand? Do you have all the equipment you need? Will you be making a marketing push?
Your path to growth starts at point A and ends at point B. But there are many different paths to get there and no two small business journeys are the same.
Taking time to do some upfront preparation gives you a roadmap to plan your journey. It can involve market research, looking for leads, and forecasting. The preparations will vary based on the size and type of business.
The fix:
A skill that pays dividends in a period of growth is prioritization.
For the sake of more sales, it's tempting to treat every opportunity as equal. After all, sales are sales, right?
Saying yes to too many opportunities creates a capacity crunch and a need to produce quicker. It might even mean doing something outside of your usual operations as you add a new product or service that you foresee customers demanding.
Knowing what opportunities to chase ensures that your work is focused on what creates the best long-term value for your business. This shows up in your sales process, choosing what to invest in, and setting your priorities. Keep your scope narrow and you'll bring your best self to a select few opportunities rather than not bringing enough to too many responsibilities.
The fix:
For businesses of all types and sizes, technology is changing the landscape of how work is done. Regardless of whether you're planning on fast or gradual growth, investing into some new tools changes the scalability of your business.
Start to look at all the tasks you manage as the business owner. Are you capable of tackling the same tasks as the scope increases? And if not, what are some of the options to make it manageable?
The fix:
Some problems can only be tackled with proper people power. But hiring new employees takes time with a process that requires an attention to detail.
If you wait too long to hire employees, you risk rushing someone through the process. Or you could potentially not give the process the attention it deserves as you're juggling many other things on your to-do list.
Can you afford to hire an employee? If so, it's better to get ahead of the curve when hiring. Timing the hiring process right saves you from being overworked when things pick up.
The fix:
The best kind of growth for a small business is sustainable growth. Short-term wins that cost you progress for your long-term goals will slow you down in the long run.
An example of this is choosing a marketing strategy. A short-term solution would be committing to spending digital advertising like Google Ads. However, you also need to have a lot of graphic assets to use on digital ads and not having enough could mean a low performing program.
When looking at the tasks you want to tackle, pay attention to whether you're prioritizing a short-term solution. Investing in a long-term solution helps you grow sustainably and saves you stress.
The fix:
It's likely you're going to try a lot of new things as you grow your operations. Some things will succeed, some will not. What's important is that you're measuring and reflecting on whether new strategies are effective.
If you're going to make a change or take a new approach, have some metric that you track to prove it's effective. Even something as simple as checking in on your orders in a new city you expanded into will give you some indicator of whether it was successful.
The fix:
New brands have to put in the extra work to start being recognized by new customers. The most common strategy is to do some traditional marketing, but don't let that thinking limit your approach.
Social media, in-person events, trade shows, and referrals are all examples of marketing that doesn't require a full-on marketing team.
How you approach growing your brand ultimately depends on what you're offering and who your prospective customer is. It's essential you meet your audience where they're most likely to see you.
The fix:
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The journey of growing a business is an exciting time. It's an opportunity to deeper invest in a project and achieve its fullest potential.
It's also a time when small business owners make mistakes that can set that growth trajectory back.
Be mindful of these seven common mistakes while growing your business. But also try to keep a circle of connections who are there to help out. Their input as a sounding board and their prior experiences might help you catch a potential mistake before it's made.
With the right support and a little bit of preparation, you'll set yourself up for growing your business successfully and sustainably.
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