5 Ways to Cope with Rapid Growth as an Entrepreneur
So business is booming, your sales and profits are up, and you have never felt so great about your business. Rapid growth is great, however, it also comes with a lot of extra work. And it certainly is no easy task. If you aren’t prepared for it then things can quickly spiral out of control and ruin your business.
The challenges that come with rapid growth need to handled with caution. Whether it’s figuring out your fulfilment cost, meeting your orders in the time promised, or finding the right delivery service, you need to make sure you have a plan in place.
Let’s have a look at 5 ways you can cope with rapid growth:
1. Understand Why You Are Growing
It is important for you to understand the reasons why you are rapidly growing. Of course, you are doing something right, but you need to pinpoint it.
What is making you desirable and stand out from the crowd? You then need to keep this prominent in your business model and as part of your core values.
It can be far too easy to lose your core values if you are growing rapidly.
This means you need to be:
- Looking at your overheads
- Analyse your sales
- Look at your assets
- Your receivables
- Assessing your inventory
Once you get into the habit of doing this, you will be able to remain on top while you grow, regardless of if it is rapid.
2. Remember that Customer Service is a Top Priority
Regardless of the level of growth, your business is going through, you need to make sure you are both meeting the needs of your customers and listening to them.
Think about the times when you speak to an automated voice on the other end of the phone, or having to spend time on hold listening to elevator music?
If you started off by providing a high level of interactive customer service try not to reduce this, and if you have to, make sure you let them know when the times when they are able to contact you in the same way.
Remember your customer are the reasons you are rapidly growing right now, so make sure you repay them for it.
3. Carefully Choose Your Team
When you have rapidly grown you may find that you need to quickly hire a team of people to come on board, however, you still need to make sure you take the time to carefully choose your team.
At the end of the day, your team can have a massive impact on your business. Get it wrong and it could be disastrous. It doesn’t matter how great your product is, without a good, supportive team behind you, you will end up falling short.
Never be afraid to take on people who you feel might be smarter than you, or stronger than you in some areas, they will end up being assets and strong team members. You can’t be strong in every area, so make sure you hire those who are in the areas you’re not.
4. Remember to be Open to Adapting
You have to remember that you need to be open to change. Trends change, needs change, and people change, so why shouldn’t your business change with them?
Some of the most successful businesses change with the times and always make sure they keep up, even if it’s something as simple as adapting to the contactless pick of goods through the Coronavirus.
You just need to make sure you are an effective leader and inspire the rest of your team. You are bound to be faced with many challenges and have to make decisions that require you to adapt at every turn. If you aren’t open to possible changes when making decisions, it might lead to trouble for both you and your employees.
5. Find a Mentor
Being at the front of a rapidly growing company does not mean you need ot do it alone. Put your ego to one side, and ask for help and advice when you need it. Speaking to an experienced entrepreneur can be a great way to minimise stress and get back on track. They are also the best people to turn to in order to identify any common or arising problems.
Remember that if you are going through a period of rapid growth, you can sometimes be in a volatile environment, however, once you get on track and put things into a place you will soon get out the other side.
Have you started to rapidly grow? How are you finding it? Do you have any advice?
