Transform Your Business Before You Scale Up
Maybe you’re familiar with the feeling that your business can’t quite “make it over the hump” and take things to the next level. You’re motivated. Your team is eager. But month after month and quarter after quarter you’re just not seeing the high level of growth you want to see. It’s time to transform your business! I’d like to highlight a few signs that can be strong indicators of why you’re not growing. Unless you change them, your results won’t change. How do you know if your business needs to transform before it can scale up?
Signs of Shackled Business Growth
Often businesses look at sales, profitability, or market share as key indicators for success. Don’t get me wrong: Those are important measurements, but they don’t necessarily tell you what the real problems are. You need to figure out why your sales, profitability, and market share are off. Let’s look at a few reasons why those indicators may be under-performing.
Lack of Vision
Sometimes businesses have been so busy “doing business” that they forget what they are all about. Why are you in business? What do you really want to accomplish? How are you different from your competition? Why should people do business with you? Improving your sales numbers may be a worthy goal, but it’s not a vision. Think about what would motivate you and your employees to really give it everything you’ve got? Having a big vision (A Big Hairy Audacious Goal) is critical for big growth.
Poor Strategy
It’s great to have a motivating vision and impressive goals, but how are you going to achieve those things? Without a clear strategy to accomplish your goals, you’ll be frustrated because nothing will happen. Solid strategytakes a hard look at exactly what steps you’ll need to take to fulfill your dreams (your vision). It was a great vision to say that we were going to put a man on the moon in the 1960s, but it took a lot of planning and research to figure out exactly how to get Neil Armstrong up there in the first place.
Inconsistent Productivity
Many businesses have good vision and even a solid strategy, but that doesn’t guarantee success. Too many companies fail when it comes to execution of their plan. They aren’t tracking and measuring the right things along the way. That’s really the key to execution: You have to make sure goals and responsibilities are clearly defined—and then tracking them to make sure they’re happening.
Constant Cash Flow Issues
There is probably nothing that sucks cash faster than a growing company. It’s simply a fact of business life. If you don’t have adequate funds (cash) on hand, you’re simply not going to be able to grow. Unfortunately, too many companies assume that the answer is to borrow money. That, however, won’t help if you don’t have a good handle on how you manage your cash. It may not always be possible, but the best way to fund your growth is to do it yourself by making sure you have cash reserves.
Good News: There’s a Plan (And You’re Not On Your Own)
Transforming, scaling up, and growing your business can be an exciting and demanding proposition. It can also be a bit daunting. The good news is that you don’t have to do it on your own. As an executive business coach, I’ve taken many companies through the steps required to transform the way they think about business and do business. No two businesses are the same. Your business is unique and requires a personal, hands-on touch to get you where you want to go. Still, there are basic business principles that apply across the board that can be customized to your specific needs.
What’s Next?
I invite you to check out our Business Transformation Programs to get an idea of how this works in general. Then, contact me so that we can talk about how to transform your business so that you can scale it up and enjoy the kind of growth you want to see!
Need help growing your business? With over 35 years of experience and thousands of companies assisted, Chuck Kocher and The Transformation Company can help you scale your business into a truly exceptional business capable of high growth strategies. Businesses are always changing, don’t let yours be left behind. Stand out with our business and executive leadership programs – designed to challenge and improve your business. Your business will thank you for it. Contact me today for a free consultation! 719-339-9505