Part 4: Small Business Growth

Small business doesn’t mean you are not going to grow, in fact, if you are not growing you probably need to revisit your short and long term strategies and make sure you are on pace to hit your stage gates.  If you are running a small company and you have not put a plan together for growth be aware that a high percentage of companies fail not because of a lack of work but rather because they cannot handle growth within their market.

So how do you insure smart growth for your small business?  For us, it is pretty clear that an organization must build upon what has made them great.  Too often when a company starts to grow they look for some sort of business norm.  There is nothing wrong with studying the market, to get advice and gain wisdom, but more often than not people give up innovation for a standard and that is the beginning of the end.  Christine Lagorio from INC. sat down with Carol Sanford who has had years of experience with small business growth and she has some interesting thoughts on how to stay innovative starting with looking inside the organization as the first step rather than trying to bring new blood.

However you choose to manage your small business growth, we know from experience it isn’t easy and there really is no template to draw from.  Every company is different and it is good to embrace the qualities that make you unique.

Final Thoughts

There is nothing easy about starting your own business, but every second is worth it.  The freedom you have to create work that you control and are proud of is priceless.  Not having to deal with office politics makes living off of rice and beans for six months absolutely worth it.  Good luck, and we would love to hear from you if you have questions, thoughts, or ideas.