It is the goal of
any business to grow that is a fact. But the big question is when is
the business ready to grow? Many small businesses try to grow before
they are ready and end up in cash flow problems. Others keep waiting
and never work on growing to maximize their potential. Knowing that
key moment in time is vital to the success of a business growing
successfully.
For a business owner
to know when it is right for growth, the mission, vision and values
of the business must be in line with each other and with each part of
the business from sales to production. If the owner’s eye is not on
analyzing the current situation to make the smartest decisions for
the future, then growth will be a struggle for the business.
One of the first
steps an owner has to do in preparing to grow is to define what
success means to him. Kauffman, the world’s leading foundation for
entrepreneurism, says, “you need to define success in three ways:
personal, professional and financial.” Only the business
owner/partners can say what the goals for success are when you talk
about those definitions.
The second step,
according to Kauffman, is to evaluate your business. Here owners need
to take an internal assessment of their business where they look at
operations, sales, employees, and trends. Also seeing what is
happening in the industry and in the local area to make sure the
growth plans are capable.
The final step is to
finalize your goals for growth and start to work on them. While these
goals are focused on the future, they affect decisions made daily
because the daily operation is what allows the future to happen. The
goals should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and
timely). Departmental, sales, production and other areas of the
business needs to have the goals set for the future so the business
owner can see the movement towards them and the future growth.
The local Small
Business Technology Development Center of Cape Girardeau County
serves the Southeast Missouri area. If there is a question on small
business, feel free to call Richard Proffer at 573-243-3591 or email
him at profferrd@missouri.edu
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