Rapid business growth is an achievement. After all, it signals that the company is moving in a good direction, has a handle on its value proposition and has current offerings that are resonating with customers. However, increased sales are not a time to sit back and maintain the status quo.
While the business may currently be operating smoothly, there’s no guarantee that this success will continue to sustain itself without intervention. As experts, the members of Forbes Business Council know which steps will help set a business up for long-term success and the pitfalls that spring up alongside fast growth. Below, 17 of them each share one factor that leaders tend to overlook when their business is growing rapidly and how it can be addressed.
1. A Plan For Scaling
Congratulations on hitting rapid growth, now the fun begins of trying to keep the wheels on the car as it picks up speed. Having a scale-up plan to sustain growth at a healthy pace is essential for businesses and often overlooked. This plan needs to identify the critical business processes that are needed to support the rapid growth and enable the organization to function. – Paula Skokowski, Oxford Angel Fund
2. Organizational Structure
One factor businesses often overlook in the face of rapid growth is organizational structure. Without structure, leaders risk losing the culture and values that the company stands for. Rapid growth makes it difficult for leaders to prioritize tasks and manage resources effectively. This can lead to missed deadlines, confusion and a feeling of chaos within the team. – Brandon Pena, 787 Coffee
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3. Rising Costs
One often overlooked factor is increased running costs and organizational structure due to increased sales. I think it is important to create a plateau for the business and prepare for the next growth without preparing for unreasonable sales growth. – Karita Takahisa, Unify Platform AG
4. Accurate Financial Projections
The importance of accurate financial projections should be considered. Map out where and when you will invest in your company. Forecasting is essential for every area of your business in light of rapid growth, from the cost of maintaining your infrastructure and your employees salaries to your service or product costs. – Kelley Higney, Bug Bite Thing
5. The Need To Grow The Team
Many businesses, in the face of rapid growth, overlook the need to scale their team and operations accordingly. Instead, try taking a grow-consolidate-grow approach. Leaders should prioritize hiring, training and retaining employees, as well as implementing effective methods to support the scale up. Transparent and frequent communication about the company’s goals, values and expectations is germane. – Nikhil Maini, Synergogy
6. Company Culture Maintenance
One factor many businesses overlook during rapid growth is maintaining a strong company culture. As teams expand and new employees join, it’s crucial to ensure that the core values and vision of the company are consistently communicated and upheld. Leaders can address this by emphasizing the importance of cultural fit during the hiring process and by providing training and mentorship. – Fabrice Testa, Maana Electric
7. Hiring Too Fast
One of the most common mistakes businesses make during rapid growth is hiring too fast. When you hire fast, you are not able to assess if you are hiring the right people to put on your team. This results in people leaving your company when they find out they are unfit themselves. Putting the right people into your business is crucial because you invest in their skills as they invest in you, too. – Pavel Stepanov, Virtudesk
8. Cash Flow
When you’re growing much faster than anticipated, the cash burn is real. You need to ensure that you have enough money to cover that upward trajectory. Keep a firm understanding of your cash flow and project for it. If you find that you’re going to need an infusion, get out in front of it early before you’re in a crisis. – Dr. David Lenihan, Tiber Health
9. Employee Involvement In Decision Making
It is important to understand the impact that rapid growth will have on the company and how that growth affects current employees. Leaders must remember to communicate the reasoning behind their actions and allow employees the opportunity to align with the vision of the organization. Make sure that your employees continue to see the value of the company’s long-term objectives and business goals. – Brian Fugere, symplr
10. Potential Communication Breakdowns
One overlooked factor in rapid growth is effective communication. Communication breakdowns can hinder growth, so leaders must prioritize it through team meetings by promoting transparency and encouraging open and honest communication. By addressing communication issues, leaders can help ensure that their teams are prepared to handle the challenges and opportunities of rapid growth. – Stephen Sokoler, Journey
11. Communication Overload
As the business grows, there is an increased need for coordination and communication within the business. When lines of reporting are not clear—which is often true in smaller companies in which everyone wears multiple hats—people tend to overreact by including too many people on exchanges. The “CC” field can grow faster than the speed of light and explode inboxes. – Neil Bearden, Neil Bearden
12. Stabilization
At each level of growth, the team must pause and recalibrate before moving on to the next growth phase. Business foundations need to remain strong, teams need to learn from success and mishaps and planning needs to happen to continue to support the company entirely. – Danielle Levy, Danielle Levy & The Boardroom League
13. Post-Purchase Customer Engagement
Many businesses often overlook their post-purchase customer engagements when they prepare for handling rapid growth. This leads to a decrease in customer satisfaction as most customer service agents are already overworked. Business leaders should consider outsourcing this step in per unit metrics, which can help them scale grievance redressal capacity in sync with their capex. – Shubham Yadav, StrategyConnect Inc.
14. Supply Chain Risks
One thing that most companies tend to overlook during periods of rapid growth is supply chain risks. They assume that their suppliers have the infrastructure and capacity to keep up with their growth. While this may not necessarily be untrue, assessing potential supply chain disruptions and implementing contingency measures to mitigate such risks is still important. – Erik Pham, Health Canal
15. Mindset
If a company is still in a startup phase mindset and not in a growth or expansion phase mindset, mistakes will be made. Informal procedures should give way to proper documentation and by the number motions. Take McDonalds as an example. Every burger or fries they make is done by the numbers with no variation. – Zain Jaffer, Zain Ventures
16. Leadership Training
Growth is amazing but also challenging—and this is where control freaks and top-heavy systems crumble because of a lack of willingness to properly delegate and share duties in expansion. Training in the form of various levels of leadership is necessary to help your current leadership understand how important it is to utilize delegation as a management tool rather than growing a toxic environment. – Dana Neiger, HIVE Talent Acquisition Firm
17. Company Culture And Team Cohesion
A factor often overlooked during rapid growth is maintaining company culture and team cohesion. To address this, leaders should prioritize open communication, promote shared values and invest in team-building initiatives. By nurturing a strong company culture, businesses can sustain long-term success and adapt more effectively to the changes brought by growth. – Andrei Neacsu, HyperSense Software SRL
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