The path to growth is through proper planning. (Photo: Unsplash)
One day in 2000, I got the flu and had to announce that I would not be able to make it to a lecture I was giving at a famous college.
The management's response was: "There is no one else in your place who would be willing. You have the knowledge, only you know how to convey the material of the lesson."
Then the token fell to me, that I must build a study set and a training booklet, which will include the study material, to allow any new lecturer who arrives to get into things quickly.
This decision allowed us to increase the business from 4 lecturers to over 100 lecturers in a few years.
This was an example of building a "system", method and format, the purpose of which is to scale up and make the transition from a small business to a large business.
The growth of a business is an important issue that requires planning in advance even at the start of the business, since after that it will be very difficult to keep track of all the accumulated material and knowledge, and pass it on.
This is also the first and most important principle for the growth of the business.
Over the years, I have learned firsthand several other important lessons that have become key principles in the method:
Connecting employees to the goals and values of the company
A business that wants to go through a process of upgrading and growing needs to build around it a team of employees and managers that it can trust.
It all starts with formulating a strategy for hiring employees for the business.
The way to grow the business is through attracting talented employees, who will also fit your culture and vision.
However, a small business that has not yet managed to build a brand around it will have difficulty attracting talent or employees with experience, which are very essential to scale up, because it does not have the possibility to offer them conditions or wages, such as those offered by the large companies in the field.
The solution in this case is to encourage the existing employees, to try to recruit their friends to work with them, using "friend brings friend" methods.
A well-known practice of high-tech companies and start-ups, some of which cannot afford to pay high salaries, is to grant options to employees.
This move should also be made in a smart way that anticipates the future.
When it comes to existing employees, try to highlight your top talents, and offer them even without them asking.
Another important emphasis is knowing how to recognize burnout, and motivate your employees to prevent them from leaving.
Today we are in a much more frenetic era in terms of the length of time employees stay at the same workplace.
You have to assume that most employees, after a year and a half or two years, will already be wondering where to move forward.
Employees need to feel a challenge in any workplace, they need to be connected both to the purpose of the business and to the team and its values, and to be rewarded for their work.
It is also very important to show them appreciation for good actions they have done.
In the end, employees who choose to stay at the same workplace for many years, do so not precisely because of the salary or the conditions, but because of the sense of belonging, the connection to the purpose of the business, and the feeling that they take a significant part in it.
Instruct your managers to follow up closely on the employees, have periodic honest conversations with them, and understand from them what can be improved in the business.
True, this is not a simple issue, but a business will rise and fall on its employees.
Just like that.
An effective marketing plan as a basis for business growth
When you increase the marketing budget, do sales increase at the same rate?
In most cases the answer is no.
When you increase the marketing budget, what usually happens is what is described in economics as "diminishing marginal productivity".
Every additional shekel generates less sales and sometimes there are funds that do not generate sales at all.
To deal with the situation, it is important to remember that any growth decision must first go through an effective marketing plan.
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Personal development as a career jumper
Along the way, no matter what point you are in your business, you must also promote your personal development.
This is a critical point without which it will be very difficult for you to grow the business.
Personal development also pertains to the field of professional knowledge but also to comprehensive areas of management and conduct such as dealing with crises, maintaining motivation and the ability to drive initiatives, developing creativity, dealing with employees, suppliers and customers, and the ability to create a consciousness of abundance, which will make you constantly want to learn and move forward.
In recent years, you can see a significant jump in awareness and understanding of the importance of personal development, and with it many entrepreneurs who share their insights regarding this important issue.
Add a partner with added value
Two are better than one, said Kehalat, and I will even add that you must build a whole beehive of partners, who will help you grow.
Here too, creating connections with the same hive, goes through your ability to create closeness, to create a feeling that you are much more than colleagues or work partners.
You must build, as much as possible, close friendships with your wider team, and make them want just as much as you to promote your goals for growing the business.
Growth of the business may also involve the introduction of another partner, who can bring a different line of thought than yours, challenge your perceptions, and complement the abilities you do not have.
Most of the people I know cannot be equally experts in building a strategy, in marketing and sales, in building infrastructures, and in the other areas that build the business.
Each partner brings their own network, knowledge and creative ideas to the table, and that can be worth a lot to you.
There are quite a few small business owners who do not want to add another partner to their "baby".
They assume that he will not understand your line of thought, the vision and the path they are trying to outline for the business.
A partner can also disturb the existing balance, create conflicts and damage the business.
But from my experience, the road to scale up goes there and without it it is very difficult to grow.
It is very important to know how to choose the right person for you.
In the end, partnerships are based on trust, chemistry, and the ability to compromise and not be fixed in opinions and beliefs.
After all, the purpose for which you bring in another partner is for him to bring in ideas and a creative spirit, bring added value to your business, and help him reach places he would not have reached without him.
Don't neglect the old customers along the way
Many organizations in the midst of a rapid growth process forget the existing customers and the quality of service they provide to them decreases.
It is very important to make sure, even before starting the process, that all your service systems are in place;
All your employees have passed all the appropriate trainings;
And that they have the required knowledge in all relevant fields, starting with professional information, marketing and sales, strategy, and changing the line of thought according to the growing structure of the business.
When the organization expands, all employees, from the most junior to the CEO, have to make this leap, without exception. The
author is a serial entrepreneur, and one of the founders and owners of the alternative investment houses Investo and Be Rich, the representative of Grant Kardon in Israel
Marketing and digital
Entrepreneurship
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Entrepreneurship
growth
Company expansion
