The Main Cause Of Business Growth Impairment And How To Avoid It.

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Many business owners aspire to have thriving operations.  How that word "thriving" is defined varies dramatically from one person to the next .  Invariably, however, the realization of that goal is constantly suspended for multitudes of reasons.  Most certain, though, are that those reasons are usually symptomatic of an underlying problem: a lack of planning.

 "But what do I have to plan for?" many retort.  "I have my business plan, and as long as I consistently execute that plan, the law of averages will comply and my anticipated growth will eventually come to fruition."

 Those who have been up and down the topographically unbalanced road of business growth pursuit understand clearly that planning requires a) an understanding of how to deal calmly and logically with unforeseen circumstances, b) maintaining patience and- to the best of one's ability- c) a level of emotional fortitude in order  to survive those a) times that exceed our human capacity to process and incorporate into our busy lives.

 Business owners who have been able to grow their businesses and are ready to scale them from small- to medium-size must be able to delegate many responsibilities to people who are as good as, or better than, themselves to compete.  This is hard to do given the fact that certain things have historically been done a certain way, and in a efficient amount of time by the owner without any help, making  it difficult for him/her to relinquish responsibility.

 And herein lies one of the main reasons why great businesses-and great entrepreneurs - are unable to scale their operations - they don't take the time to find great people to do those things in the business which can be done better than how they themselves do them.

 The very fact that the business is growing suggests strongly (though not absolutely) that the business owner has or does something that s/he is best at and that shouldn't be delegated.  All other things, however, should be delegated. You yourself are not the optimal person to perform every task in the business, so you need to price your products/services, and market accordingly, so that you'll have the financial resources in order to acquire the right people to help you scale your business.  You won't scale the operation on your own, and hiring just  another body won't facilitate your business growth dreams.  Finding the right person takes time at interviews, and time once hired, to see if they meet the right  leadership or operational criteria to become a part of your inner circle of core employees.

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 Finding great people, hiring and testing/ evaluating them takes time and money, and many are unwilling to forego short term losses for possibly monumental gains.

 The amazing reality is that great people can do for your business what you will be unable to do for yourself - take your business to heights you yourself never thought possible.

 Most business owners have heard of the potential perils of hiring people that looked perfect at the hiring table, yet devolved disastrously into incessant sub-par performers and  continuous value-wasters.  This is - unfortunately - a prevalent and ever-existent risk to business  growth that business owners have the unenviable task of shouldering on their way to entrepreneurial freedom.  

 Business owners therefore need to budget a certain amount of time continuously  monitoring existing staff to determine where they may best fit in the organizational chart of the growing business.  So do you have an organizational chart?  Such charts are hard to accurately create if you don't have an idea of where you want the business to be and how you're going to get it there - which requires a strategy.  So do you have a growth strategy?  If not, you need to plan by getting a strategy and organizational chart in place.  The former shows how you're going to grow, and the latter will clarify the people you need to help you get there.

 Which brings up back to planning.  People are your most important asset, and over the long-term one of the greatest investments of your time as a business owner is to assess people to determine if they can help you get your business to where you want it to be.

 The right people will be looking for good compensation, so your compensation model has to be competitive.  Therefore, as stated before, you need to structure your pricing model to ensure that, when budgeted targets are met, that there are enough resources in place to secure the right people.

 So of you're aspiring to growing your business, look to hiring the right people who can help you get there, because you won't be able to get there on your own.

 Comments and suggestions are welcome. Read more of our blog posts at http://www.burgesskilaptrick.com/blog or at https://www.facebook.com/BurgessKilpatrick  

Nicholas Kilpatrick is a partner at the accounting firm of Burgess Kilpatrick.  He leads the firm’s consulting and strategy practice and works with companies to enhance their Analytics, Forecasting, and Data Optimization functions.  The practice’s focus includes quantitative forecasting, corporate and unit strategy and planning.