Read pretty much any guide for new small business owners and you’ll likely see a tip that tells you to be sure that you are able to “manage your growth” and pull in the reins once your growth spurt begins.

To some people, this might seem a bit counter-intuitive—don’t you want your business to grow as quickly as possible? The answer is a bit complex. Growing quickly as a company, while certainly exciting, poses certain risks that you’d be better off avoiding.

Consider the following risks of overly fast growth:

• Lack of consistency. If you’re in a constant stage of ramping up your operations to keep up with the growth that you’re experiencing, it’s hard to really find any consistency as a company. Rather than being able to fine-tune your operations and really nail down solid processes, you’re constantly looking ahead and trying to keep up. You need to make sure that all of your processes are strong before your major growth takes off.
• Lack of inventory. If you’re running a product-based business, fast growth could mean you run out of products faster than you can produce them. When you’re a new company, the last thing you want is to turn people away because your inventory has been depleted.
• Lack of staff. The quicker you grow, the more likely it is that you’ll become understaffed. In these situations, it’s easy to think that you need to quickly fill a position to keep up with growth, which could lead to you not doing your due diligence in determining whether or not a candidate is actually the right fit for your team. You should be able to feel like you can take your time whenever you decide to hire a new team member.
• Strain on cash flow. Growing quickly while your business is still young can put a major strain on your company’s cash flow. You shouldn’t have to feel like you’re constantly scraping the bottom of the barrel just to make sure you can keep growing.

In general, being able to manage your growth so that it remains at a steady, reasonable pace is the best option for any small business. It allows you to grow your operations without feeling like you’re going to fall off the rails. It is a less stressful method, and much better for the long-term health of your company.

Contact us today at Viral Solutions for more tips about managing your business’s growth.

by Christine Kelly

CEO and Queen Bee | Viral Solutions LLC