You opened your business, started making sales, and now you’re doing better than you ever expected. You thought nothing could bring down the mood, but then the growing pains hit. As businesses expand, new problems emerge. If that’s the position you’ve found yourself in, here are five ways you can eliminate growing pains when your business is thriving.
- Hire More People
As your business grows, so does the amount of work that needs to be done. Here are some signs it’s time to expand your team.
- You and your current employees are struggling to manage the workload.
- More mistakes are being made than usual.
- Stress is running high.
- Employees are working excessive amounts of overtime or working while they’re at home.
- You’ve got backlogged orders and longer wait times.
- Employees have begun calling out often or are leaving the company.
If this sounds like your situation, hire a company that optimizes hiring using technology to make your search for new talent easier.
- Find A Bigger Space
If your business is outgrowing your garage, it’s time to invest in a larger space that will be more effective for the company. Here’s what to consider when choosing a new space.
- How much room do you need now, and how much do you expect to need in the future?
- What equipment do you need and will it fit in the space?
- How many employees do you need the space to accommodate?
- What area would you like to be in?
Finding the right space can alleviate many of your current growing pains and prevent them in the future.
- Outsource What You Can
Outsourcing operations is an option that cuts down on the amount of space you need, and the number of employees you have to manage. Consider outsourcing your:
- Accounting department. Let someone else handle your payroll and billing.
- Web design and graphic design. You can hire a freelancer to update these areas as necessary.
- Customer service. Employees don’t need to be in your building to address customer questions and complaints.
Outsourcing even one of these departments will cut down on the space you need and relieve tension in the company.
- Expand Your Organizational Structure
You can’t run your business if you have everyone coming to you with questions and problems. You need to build an organizational structure that will lessen your involvement in small decisions. Here’s one example.
- Have employees on the floor report to floor managers with problems and questions.
- Have floor managers report to one operations manager or assistant that reports directly to you.
- You’ll spend less time handling day-to-day issues, and solutions can be reached promptly.
An unclear system can lead to unnecessary hassle and delays. Create a system that flows easily and make sure your employees understand it.
- Operate Proactively
Don’t wait for the situation to get worse or for a new problem to arise.
- Come up with a strategy to tackle your current growing pains.
- Make a plan to prevent or handle problems that you can reasonably predict will occur in the future.
- Train your team to look for areas that aren’t operating to their full potential and create solutions.
- Evaluate where your business is now versus one year ago and use that information to predict growth for the coming year. That way, you can spot potential difficulties ahead of time.
Taking the time to plan for and prevent future problems will save you from more costly growing pains down the line.
If you’ve found yourself a little cramped or over-worked since your business took off, you’re not alone. Use these 5 tried and true ways to eliminate growing pains so your business can thrive now and in the future.
