How To Grow Your Business Without Losing Your Mind

A successful business needs to grow and expand. But growth can cause stress and overwhelm. So how do you grow your business without losing your mind?

A System For Success

If you research top business owners, one of the things they credit for continued success is establishing strong systems from the beginning. But why do you need systems when your business is just starting out?

The truth is, having a system for your business breaks down your processes into checkpoints and anticipated outcomes for each task. A comprehensive system is much more than a simple checklist or training document. Your establishing methods and efficiencies that will grow your business. So as your team and offerings expand, you won’t need to start from the beginning each time. You’ll react to growth by changing and updating the systems already in place.

How will you respond to emails? How will you handle customer complaints and inquiries? Are there parts of your business you can automate or outsource? These are the questions your system can answer in real time–without team members coming to you every time they have a question.

For example, if you sell physical products, you should consider automating your ordering processes from your vendors so you don’t have to set aside precious time each month for manual entry. If you sell services, consider using an app like Acuity that allows your clients to put themselves on your schedule, cutting out the need for a scheduling assistant. Any tasks that can’t be automated should be grouped into batches. Need to schedule an email campaign? Set aside a specific block of time to get that together and the use an automated email server to deliver those emails to your contact list on a specified date.

Develop a system now to figure out how you’ll handle the daily tasks that come with running a small business. When you have a solid system in place, you’ll have the time and energy to focus on your business rather than the day-to-day.

Offer The Right Products At The Right Time

Beyond handling daily tasks, your systems will help you to know when it’s time to rollout the new products and services.  In Module 6 of Cash Flow Cure, we talk about the importance of planning your rollout of new products and help you set up a timeline in your business. We didn’t include that planning step by accident.

In setting up your system, what checkpoints or sales goals do you need to set up to know when to roll out your new products? You shouldn’t plan to offer everything to your customers at once. So how will you know when the time is right to transition from your entry-level offerings to your high-end service packages? Make sure you build those milestones into your system.

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 You’ll be far more successful and prepared for the growth if you plan ahead. Your timelines may change based on business needs and income, but you need to have at least some idea of your end game. Knowing how and when you grow your business offerings so you’re not caught by surprise and feeling overwhelmed is incredibly valuable.

Hire Your Dream Team

When starting a business, there’s a good chance you’ll handle most of the day-to-day aspects yourself. But that’s impossible. Trying to do everything in your business leads to burnout and frustration.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you have to, or should do, everything yourself. Too many business owners believe that unless they do everything themselves, they’re not successful. They see hiring someone to help them as a weakness, or think they could never afford it.

Successful business owners know that nothing could be further from the truth. You don’t have to go it alone. Plan your team needs into your system before you start, and you’ll know when to hire your next team member. You won’t be caught out, because you have a plan in place.

The best time to hire someone is BEFORE you need them. When you panic, bad hiring decisions happen. You can derail a good business in no time by hiring the first person who walks in the door. Always go for the best fit for the position.

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

As a student of Cash Flow Cure, you planned your exit from your business from the start. But you also need to plan for the type of growth you want now, before you need it. Have an overall goal of where you want your business to go and know the products or services you want. Then take some time to think about the type of help you will need to get there. Develop strong systems that will continue to serve you long after your business has expanded beyond your wildest dreams. Growth in your business doesn’t have to be stressful. But you have to start planning now.

Community Question: What’s one area of your business that you know right now could benefit from having a system in place? What’s stopping you from moving forward? Share your thoughts with us over in the Business Owner’s Only Community.

image credit: Bigstock/gstockstudio

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