Grow! Grow! Grow?

The word ‘grow’ can be overheard daily in almost every office up and down the country but the question is do the people using the word actually know what it means? Growing sounds fun, exciting and lucrative. Surely it only has positive outcomes? Doesn’t it? 

People overuse and misuse the word ‘grow’ all the time and in the majority of the cases they haven’t really defined what growth looks like, why it’s important and crucially what are the associated risks and costs.

What does growth look like?

Put on the spot many business owners won’t be able to clearly articulate this. They like the sound of growing, use the word regularly throughout the day and assume anything associated with it must have positive outcomes. However it’s likely that they haven’t sat down to properly quantify what it looks like.

In reality the answer should depend on what you want it to look like. The age old saying that turnover is vanity and profit is sanity might ring true, but what’s important is that you have chosen how and when you are going to grow, rather than this occuring by default, and are happy with your metrics of growth. Sometimes it’s in metrics that don’t necessarily have a positive impact on profit and that’s fine but it all needs to be part of a well structured, thought out and executed plan.

Why is growth important?

There are numerous reasons why growing your business is important. From keeping ahead of the competition to diversifying your revenue streams and of course boosting your profits, growth can deliver some really tangible benefits. However whilst growth might be important in some cases, it might not be appropriate in others, for example the need for stability during turbulent economic times.

What are the risks or costs?

As attractive as growing sounds it does have associated risks and costs. Be wary of spreading yourself too thinly, not only from a financial position but also from a management decision making and execution perspective.

You might find that the opportunity cost of going in one direction far outweighs that of going in another. You might have 5 options for growth, one could destroy your business, another risks ruining your cash flow, others could be a golden ticket.

Take the time to consider each opportunity carefully and discuss it with people that are external to your business who will support and challenge your analysis and aren’t afraid of telling you the truth.

Summary

Growth can be great, life changing even, but making sure you focus on why you want to grow in the first place, combined with defining what successful growth actually looks like to you is critically important.

Planning well, identifying metrics of success and getting external validation are all equally essential. So go forth and grow, just do it for the right reasons!