As the saying goes, “more money, more problems,” and when it comes to your growing business, you’re going to face a wide range of challenges that will require a different set of solutions — the solution you had for a particular inventory issue last year may not be the best solution for where your business currently is now.
Being able to recognize and avoid the pitfalls associated with a growing business is going to be key to growth success. But, of course, it doesn’t always work out that way for businesses. In most cases, it’s not due to the lack of determination, motivation, or hard work put forth by the entrepreneurs themselves; Typically, entrepreneurs fail at growing their business because they first and foremost fail to plan.
Planning for growth is an essential part of expanding your business, and without it, the other forthcoming challenges will be much greater. Aside from failing to properly plan for a growing business, here are some of the biggest challenges you’ll face as your business gets bigger.
Finding a Bigger Office Space
Maybe in the beginning, you were running your business from the comfort of your home and storing all your products in your garage and spare bedrooms. But business is booming and you’re now facing the problem of running out of space. As much as you enjoy waking up and working from your home office, it’s becoming impractical and unaccommodating to your growing business… It’s time to open up shop.
So how do you find an affordable office space? Well, you’re first going to have to look at all your options. Do you actually need an office space or more so a storage space? Will an office turn your business into a brick-and-mortar business? You have to really think about what you need to be efficient with your spending because you don’t want your home to be flooded with business products, yet if you can keep your office at home, and simply store your products in a storage unit, that will be a more cost-effective solution.
Staying Current With the Market
Market research isn’t a “one and done” type of deal. The market changes every day, which means your research should be an ongoing practice, otherwise, you’ll be running your business based on outdated market trends, which will ultimately cause your business to fall behind and fail.
Check out your competitors, see what types of products they’re putting out and the prices they’re selling for. Loyal customers stick around because they’ve used your products or services and like them, even when competitors offered them for less. Acquiring new customers is where your market research is going to make a big impact.
Online research, talking to customers through surveys, and even talking with your vendors and suppliers can all be great sources of insightful market research for your business.
Having the Right Systems in Place
For the past two years, your business may have gotten by just off creating spreadsheets in google docs to log inventory and track spending. But now that your business is expanding, you’re going to need a better management system in place that can handle large volumes of data. Everything from inventory and financials to employee information and online security, your business won’t effectively grow or project accurate numbers without a competent infrastructure.
JDE consulting not only provides an all-in-one ERP application system that gives businesses access to all their business operations in one program, but it also provides managed and consulting services to clients over a broad spectrum of business, functional, and technical processes. This type of business infrastructure will definitely be capable of accommodating the demands of a growing business.
Hiring the Right Employees
Hiring the right employees will be an integral part of growing your business because your employees are the backbone of it. But in hiring, how can you tell that a particular candidate will be as hard-working and as passionate as you are about your business?
Well, you, of course, want to conduct a thorough background check. But when you actually set up your job posting, be very thorough on the job expectations, what the daily responsibilities will be, and the type of experience required. Depending on the type of business you’re running, you can even conduct job-specific testing to see who makes the cut.
All in all, your business will face some very unique challenges. The challenges listed above are some common challenges and solutions, but as your business grows, you will find obstacles specific to the type of business you’re running as well. The key thing to remember is to have a strategic plan in place first before you start scaling your business. In your business plan, be sure to include the potential challenges your business may face, along with effective solutions to prevent disruption.
