As the owner of a small business you should be running things, not letting your business run you. Unfortunately, in some cases and more often than not, the excitement of new customers, business interests and expansion means taking time to breathe seems like the last priority on your list. It was your idea to set up a business and therefore you should be
spending all your time on making it a success, right? Wrong!
Regardless of the industry that you are in, detailed planning and the right perspective for your business is vital for growing in a sustainable way. We have put together a list of steps you can take to manage your small business in a sustainable manner.
Business growth
To a certain degree you can plan for the growth of your small business and work out how to manage it when the time comes. However, no one is ever quite sure when that growth will happen. For this reason, it helps to have a few ‘what-if’ scenarios that you can turn to when an exciting growth opportunity arises.
You can start by identifying some key indicators that will help you to determine when a surge in growth is happening. An increase in sign-ups for your services or a surge in sales is an obvious indicator but what about all of the things that lead to that increase? Are you receiving more interest on social media, is there a news article about your company, exposure at a conference? Having a baseline of numbers will help to ensure that your systems can handle your growth.
Customer focus
As you start to see your business grow it can be easy to get even more controlling over what happens and you begin to take your responsibility to your customer’s demands even more seriously. However, perspective matters. Your business isn’t all about you – a surge in customer demand may mean you’re not able to run it the way you would like to. You may lose some of that control, and for a period of time flexibility and the right attitude towards customers is vital.
Be realistic
In some cases you may have to turn down business opportunities because your business is currently unable to meet the increased demand. It does not mean that your small business is a failure, it is simply confirmation that the demand is out there when you are ready to handle it in a sustainable and smart way. Be confident and when necessary take the decision to step back and plan properly to meet the demand and move forward.
We’d love to hear what your small business success stories are! Please like and share this article if you found it useful.
