by Dan Radak, World Executives Digest |
From the outside perspective, a growth of a startup may seem as something spontaneous, even accidental, but in reality, future growth is something you need to consider as soon as you start laying the foundations of your company. A sudden and unforeseen success can sometimes be so overwhelming that it may cause a wide array of problems. Luckily, by taking certain precautions during the infancy of your company, you can not only increase the chances of future growth, but also make sure that you are ready when such a thing actually happens.
Encourage individual initiative
As a startup, it is most likely that your business will operate on a skeleton crew. Now, imagine a scenario where your entire sales department consists of four people. If two of them decided to take a day off or even a sick leave on the same day, you would be in some deep trouble. But, what if the exactly opposite happens? In a situation where your staff members are motivated to give their best either by a performance pay or chance of advancement, your small team could outperform even its several times bigger counterparts. Because of this, it is vital that you find a way to encourage individual initiative as best as you can.
Handle your finances
The way you handle your finances will determine how well your team performs. Still, this is something you need to think about even before you launch your startup. Try to dig through any available niche-specific data and see how well businesses similar to yours are performing. This will give you some idea about your financial capabilities and options in the nearest future. On the other hand, this is not all there is to it. There is always a possibility of some unforeseen expenses that can be quite situational which makes them easily overlooked by a layman. This is why these things are best left to companies that provide professional financial services.
Don’t promise what you can’t deliver
Once you are faced with a workflow increase, it can be incredibly difficult to say no to your potential clients. Nonetheless, this is much better than making promises you can’t deliver. Not keeping your end of the bargain can not only tarnish your reputation beyond the point of repair, but also force you to pay a penal fee for not honoring the contract you have made. All in all, in order to prevent such a thing from happening, you need to know the full capabilities of your company and learn how to say no to your clients. Both of these things, however, are far from simple.
Outsource
Finally, when you are unsure if investing in a new department, new equipment and training of new people is cost-efficient, you can always opt for outsourcing. Even though handling your projects in-house may be a cheaper solution in the long-term, outsourcing usually turns out to be a better temporary solution. For those who are suspicious of entrusting such vital tasks to a company that is half a world away, nearshoring could be a perfect alternative. This way, you can regularly check on your partners in person and rest assured knowing that everything is working as intended.
Conclusion
The problem with making simple out-of-context calculations is that they only work in ideal circumstances. Having a fixed pay is much more predictable, which makes it easier for accounting. Turning down offers is bad for business and of course, outsourcing is more expensive in the long run. Nonetheless, in the real world, things never turn out as they do on the paper. Once you manage to overcome these prejudices, you will be able to adequately enhance the growth of your startup.
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Dan Radak is a marketing professional with eleven years of experience. He is a coauthor on several websites and regular contributor to BizzMark Blog. Currently, he is working with a number of companies in the field of digital marketing, closely collaborating with a couple of e-commerce companies.
