Growing Your Company: 8 Challenges That You Will Certainly Face
When your start-up makes it, you are inside. That’s a misconception that many believe. It would now only be a matter of upscaling before the millions pour in.
Unfortunately, that is not the case. Growing your company involves many challenges that you have not yet faced in the start-up phase. In this article, we list 8 challenges for you, which you will almost certainly encounter if you want to grow with your company. We also give you tips to overcome these challenges.
8 Challenges Face Growing Your Company
As an entrepreneur with a growing company, you naturally know that challenges are there to be overcome. Otherwise, you would never have gotten where you already are. But growing your business presents completely different challenges than you have experienced so far.
Challenge 1: Lack of Financial Resources
Growing a business is almost impossible without investing. But to invest you need money, which is sometimes quite difficult. Your start-up is probably not yet profitable enough to make all the necessary investments.
The solution
Many companies choose to look for external financiers. With such a financial impulse you can often take very big steps in the growth of your business. Be well informed so that you don’t give away too much of your company in exchange for an investment.
Challenge 2: Growing the Business is no Longer the Focus
As you have grown the business, chances are you are spending more and more time on the day-to-day business. You have many roles in your company, so you lose focus and don’t have enough time to plan your growth.
The solution
Prioritize your growth plans and schedule a fixed moment to reflect on them. If you do not do that, it is very difficult to grow your company in the direction that you have in mind. Write out life goals, annual goals, monthly goals, and weekly goals. This way you can see every day whether you are still moving in the right direction.
Challenge 3: Finding Suitable Personnel
Those who want to grow their business cannot do this alone. So you need personnel. A process that takes a lot of time and energy and the outcome of which is difficult to determine. You read CVs and motivation letters and conduct job interviews to find the best candidates. And then it is hoped that they want to work for you.
The solution
Determine in advance what you expect from your staff and communicate as clearly as possible. The vaguer your vacancy, the more likely you are not to get the right candidates.
Pay close attention to the competencies, skills, and experience that someone should have and don’t be blind about CVs. Also, ask them what it takes to bind them to you for a long time and see if you can make that happen. After all, you are looking for motivated, competent employees who want to realize their growth ambitions.
Challenge 4: Not Knowing How to Grow
You are reading this article because you are reaching the limits of your growth. In the current structure, you are unable to take the next step. That is a challenge that almost every entrepreneur will encounter sooner or later, precisely because there are many roads that lead to Rome. What ways are there to grow and which path is best for you?
The solution
There are many ways to get help in growing your business. You can, for example, seek advice online, or attract people who have often minced meat with this ax. But what is also a big problem is that entrepreneurs cannot delegate. This means you don’t have time to discover how to grow further. Take a look at yourself to see if you can divest your duties so that you free up time to work on growing your company.
Challenge 5: You Forget Your Network
You have undoubtedly already built up a nice network. Many entrepreneurs forget to only use that network. It is very valuable to collect input from your network about growing your business.
The solution
Before you ask for favors, it’s smart to hand them out. Therefore, regularly invest in your network by sharing valuable knowledge and helping others. After all, you cannot withdraw money from the bank unless you have deposited it first.
Challenge 6: Innovation Does Not Work (anymore)
As your business grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to remain innovative. In a larger company, there is often more bureaucracy. This can lead to your organization being less flexible and innovative than before.
The solution
Embed innovation in your company. By ensuring that your employees are given the space to innovate from the start, it becomes part of your company’s DNA. Encourage collaboration, be open to failure, and keep learning.
Challenge 7: “It’s all right, like this.”
The right mindset is vital if you want to grow your company. Those who are satisfied with stable turnover never dare to take the risks that are necessary for growth. Those who think too small miss those unique opportunities to take the next step.
The solution
Make it crystal clear to you what you want with your company and why you want it. Of course, it is not mandatory to grow, but if you want to, you have to dare to act on it.
Challenge 8: do not color within the lines
It is full of entrepreneurs in all kinds of sectors. However, there is a great risk that you will stick too rigidly to your own sector and miss out on interesting solutions for your problems.
The solution
Simple: dare to walk off the beaten track. You’ve come this far by being innovative and taking risks, keep doing that. Look beyond the boundaries of your own industry to see how other entrepreneurs have grown their businesses.
Bonus tip: Growing Pain? Do not despair!
If growing your company was easy, everyone could do it. You already discovered this when you started doing business, but it is important to remember that growing pain is always part of it. It is logical that you sometimes doubt yourself and want to give up, but successful entrepreneurs are not shy.
There are great opportunities for those who insist and know that growth comes with trial and error. As long as it is clear to you where and for whom you are doing it, no challenge will be too powerful for you. Keep working on your goals and realize that you are not the first to have a hard time. And seek help where you can!
