Business Best Practices: How to Control Business Growth

When you first decided to start your own company, you most likely did a lot of research using various outlets such as reading books on becoming an entrepreneur, taking a few classes about starting your own company, talking to other successful entrepreneurs, etc.  Now that your company is established and you are growing, you are probably concerned with one question, “How do I stay on top of my growing company?”

When I first started at The Alternative Board, the company was experiencing pressure to stay on top of being in high demand. I was chosen and brought in to take control over company operations and capitalize on the business growth. By following industry best practices and doing a little “housekeeping,” the company prevented a potential downfall and is now able to handle a thriving environment.

There are many lessons I’ve learned and employed to get TAB where it is today. As your company is experiencing high growth, keep these five lessons in mind:

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1. Keep track of your budget. Never let go of the concept and importance of strong budgeting. Without the process of checks and balances, you could find yourself being very wasteful on where you spend your money. This most often happens during periods of strong growth, when you make more extreme financial decisions because you are bringing in more money.
2. Know your competitors. What are you doing that differentiates your company from your competitors? You need to make sure your value proposition provides a strong value to your clients while continuing to contribute to your company. Stay on top of what your competitors are doing. Are they currently doing something you never considered, or are they doing something you know your company could do better? Do you need to enhance any of the products you offer to clients, or do you have the resources to develop new products? Consider their mistakes as well—how can you learn from your competitors’ mistakes so your company can avoid making them?
3. Always market. Evaluate your marketing plan on a regular basis. Oftentimes you are gaining a lot of growth due to an integrated mix of marketing tactics, but there may be some tactics that may be wasteful or less effective. Stay on top of what is working and what is not. By having key performance metrics, you will be able to measure the specific tactics that are showing results.
4. Communicate with and reward your employees. Reward your staff for helping to bring about this time of strong growth. Make sure they are well aware of how vital their daily contributions are to the company’s success. Also, make sure you are communicating with your staff about how they feel during this growing period. Are they comfortable with handling a larger workload? Are they feeling overwhelmed or stressed out? How does your team feel about existing in rapid growth—do they enjoy it as much as you do? What can you do to help them with the additional stress that inevitably comes along with strong growth?
5. Resist the urge to become complacent. When you are experiencing times of strong growth and things are going very well, it is easy to let yourself or your top executives sit back and become “fat and happy.” Once you start believing your own press, it’s easy to start spiraling down in the opposite direction. Your journey to the top never stops growing. Just because your company is doing well right now doesn’t mean it always will.

For more information on business leadership, check out TAB's PULSE Survey polling small business owners on complex ownership topics like succession planning, communication, culture, compensation, and strategic planning.