24 Apr 4 Hard Decisions Entrepreneurs Make to Grow Their Business
Starting the business is the hardest hurdle every entrepreneur has to leap over. But that doesn’t mean that everything will be smooth sailing from there on. Nope. Every decision an entrepreneur makes is just one hard step after the other. And just when you think your business has reached a growth spurt, you believe that any decision thereafter will just be a walk in the park. Nope. Every decision you have to make will just be as hard as the last one and the next one—some are even harder.
Here are some of the biggest decisions entrepreneurs have to make to grow their business.
Technical plans
When it comes to business, planning does not just happen before the opening of the company. Every day of the business should be planned ahead of time. But you don’t have to do the planning every day. Plans can be made quarterly, bi-annually or annually—although, the more planning is done, the better. But what is hard about planning? For one thing, you have to be wise about people you want to include in the planning stage. You might want the wisest and smartest people in the brainstorming process, however, you also have to realize that buying a product or service is not about intelligence. So get a mix of different people with various types of technical expertise to make plans for the business in order to keep it growing.
Expansion
When is it the best time to expand? This is definitely among the most difficult decisions an entrepreneur has to make. Expansion carries with it different challenges, the biggest of which is the financial aspect. Granting that you have enough money to carry out an expansion, the question now is: Is it practical to expand? Expanding the business is just like starting over. You have to hire a new set of people, find another venue and invest another large amount of money. And if your current supplier will not be able to accommodate an expansion, you have to find another one that could.
Franchising
Do you go the franchising route? Now that is another important matter to consider. Nick Friedman, president and co-founder of College Hunks Hauling Junk, told Inc. magazine that franchising was one of the biggest challenges for his business. While the people behind the company have ample knowledge about their business, they didn’t know jack about franchising. But every problem has a solution. Friedman said that representatives of the company joined associations that showed them the rope on franchising.
Letting go
Life, in general, has taught us that letting go is not always an easy process. It’s the same in business. For one, if your business is growing, there might be some tasks that you have to let go. As a business owner, you can’t be too hands-on over a specific task because you have to oversee everything. Allow an able manager to handle your previous tasks so that you can carry on a bigger role. This will hold the same for people. If there are those who are no longer fit for the company, you have to let them go—even if these people were with you when you started the business. Also, some tools may no longer work if your business is expanding—let go of them, too. Invest on better equipment and machinery.
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