Should You Grow Your Business or Stay Small?

 Should You Grow Your Business or Stay Small?

Congratulations! Your business is succeeding. It has evolved from a glimmer of an idea to a well-oiled, profitable machine. This is what every business leader dreams of, whether they’re heading up a tech start-up or starting a new venture as part of their retirement strategy.

But what now? Every successful business will reach a point where its leaders must decide: do we go big or do we go home? In other words, will you keep the status quo or will you push to expand your efforts? Here are a few questions to ponder if you’re currently straddling the line.

What does growth mean to you?

Depending upon your business model, growing your business could mean a variety of different things. Deciding which type of growth is right for your business will help narrow your focus and determine what’s actually feasible given your current assets, financials, and risk tolerance. For example, some companies scale by:

• Expanding their product offerings
• Adding more staff members to sell their products or to serve their existing customer base
• Casting a wider geographical net, whether that means opening an additional office across town or moving into a market across the country
• Developing your online presence

How could innovation affect the business?

No matter what industry you are in, if you don’t continue to innovate and pivot according to the market, you will ultimately phase yourself out of business. Are you already seeing signs that innovation is moving ahead of your business? It might be time to roll up your sleeves and start to assess:

Are your products/units moving well? Or are some not experiencing the same customer demand they used to? Can you make updates or do you need to move away from that product and/or strategy entirely?

What do your customer satisfaction ratings look like? Evaluate whether slipping scores mean your product is falling out of favor or whether you need more staff to provide the support your customers need.

Have you leveraged technology to improve any aspect of your business? Could you improve your efforts with website updates or an app for better communication, customer service, upselling, etc.?

Is standing still really an option?

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” That mindset might have been in vogue two decades ago, but it just doesn’t work today. Society and technology are advancing at breakneck speed: If you want your business to succeed, you have to make some effort to keep up.

Staying stagnant really isn’t an option for most businesses. Thanks to the world wide web, your customers are always comparison shopping. This means they’re just a few clicks away from choosing someone else’s offerings that may outshine yours.

 Final Thoughts

You don’t have to pursue an aggressive path for growth if you’re not ready for it. But you do have to make strategic investments of your time, money, and energy to keep your business moving forward in one way or another. It doesn’t have to be pedal-to-the-metal growth, but staying in idle mode won’t get you anywhere.