Why Businesses Find It Hard to Transition from Small to Medium
Over half of growing businesses, struggle as they transition from one size to the next, according to Dr Peter Ellis, of Your Silent Partner. Often business owners find it difficult to differentiate between personal and business space but by using a structured process, incorporating procedures and strategies with the assistance of a forensic management analyst, this process can make both of these relationships a more profitable experience.
A fundamental management truth is that a business cannot grow once it passes the boundary of the owner’s understanding of how a business of that size needs to function. Many business owners have never considered that there could be a point at which their business will stumble, let alone know what to do. Help is needed to navigate through the ‘dangerous uncharted channels’ and ‘treacherous changing seas’ of the business world. Developing the relevant competencies and mind sets is critical.
When a business is growing most owners know they need to do something and being told to categorise their problems and growth patterns in a systematic way seems to be an overwhelming task. By using the knowledge and experience of a strategic analyst business owners can learn to understand what they should do to keep their firm steady, or how to change their structure as it grows.
Businesses are varied, in size, structure, management styles and capacity for growth. But what is apparent is that they experience similar problems at similar stages in their development. For example, the need to upgrade an existing computer system or to hire and train second-level managers to maintain planned growth. Assessing the current challenges can help in anticipating the key requirements at various points in the life of a business, such as, the inordinate time commitment for owners during the start-up period and the need for delegation and changes in their managerial roles when companies become larger and more complex.
Working through a structured process provides a basis for evaluating the impact of present and proposed governmental regulations and policies on one’s business. Just think about the federal government’s current economic response to the Coronavirus. Immediate asset write offs up to $150,000 are great, if you have the money to spend. Give an example where one policy assists one type of business but has no bearing on another.
