If your company is experiencing rapid growth, you may enjoy new opportunities when it comes to funding, and your team might be given additional room to spread their wings. But excitement aside, it’s well worth getting to grips with the challenges that rapid growth can present and readying your business for the extra pressure presented by the sudden increase in demand.
Here are some of the most common pitfalls your business might face at this stage, and some insights to help you avoid them.
Higher Stakes
One of the most exciting and yet daunting changes to occur when your business grows exponentially is that suddenly you have more customers depending on you to provide your product or service. Complacency is your worst enemy at this stage of your business. Whereas before you might have a few angry customers on your hands if your business premises experience a power-surge, for instance, now an electrical disaster could cost you massively, both in terms of your bottom line and customer trust.
When you know that an unexpected event could hit your company hard, it’s important to have well-regarded partners you can trust to respond immediately and solve your problems on the stop. For example, a commercial electrician with 24hr availability could make the difference between a minor disruption and major inconvenience for your customers. The types of partners your business needs to secure for emergency situations will depend on your industry, of course, but what matters is going through all the ‘worst-case scenarios’ that could affect the running of your business and create a sound action plan for these situations.
A Tight Squeeze
Quite literally, your business is growing. Putting out more product could mean the need for extra space, both at the production end and at the operations level. You’re likely recruiting extra employees or contractors to help you meet that increase in demand and cater to your larger customer base. This means you will probably need additional workspace. If you decide to lease office space, you are likely to be required to sign a lease for ten years to make the move pay. If you’re in your first growth phases, it may not be wise to make such a big commitment, especially as things could level out, and even dip, before the next phase of growth.
At this time, it can be helpful to look check out real estate solutions that offer maximum flexibility for minimum commitment and upfront investment. Whether that means investing in temporary warehousing for your commercial space requirements, or signing your new team members up for hot-desk memberships at a local coworking space, the key is retaining the ability to scale and grow at short notice.
When your business hits a mega growth phase, the feeling can be truly exhilarating for everyone involved. But it can also be quite daunting, and rightly so: this is a make-or-break time for your business. You’ve clearly been doing a lot right to have brought your business this far, but whether you can make the most of this growth remains to be seen. Hopefully you’re reading and rearing to embrace the challenges that come with growth, but if you’re a little unsure, these tips will help you manage that rapid growth and avoid the pitfalls.
