If you own a business, no matter if it is big or small, the concept of growth is probably fairly central to your operation. It is the goal of many entrepreneurs to grow their business from humble beginnings. Some only want to grow it to a certain level where it pays the bills and gives them the flexibility they crave, whereas others have grander ambitions for their business to reach the top. But, no matter what business growth may look like to you, it’s crucial for maintaining a healthy organisation that is able to survive anything that’s thrown it’s way. The unexpected can strike at any moment as we well know, so being in a robust, strong position you can overcome and grow through any difficulties.
In this article, we will be discussing the question of why is growth important for a business? Of course, whether you are an entrepreneur or not, you know that growth is significant. But why is this the case, exactly? What benefits can it bring for a business, the owner, and the wider team? This article aims to answer these questions and more, including some key elements relating to the importance of growth that you may not have thought about before.
So, why is growth important for a business?
Everyone ultimately wants their business to thrive. To do so, you need to be utilising unique strategies and identifying opportunities that can lead you towards success. Let’s take a closer look at some of these crucial elements and benefits that make growth so critical for a business.
Growth can help you take advantage of new opportunities
There are so many opportunities out there. In fact, there is room for every business to take a different path and be successful if they wish. However, more opportunities tend to open up for businesses that take growth seriously. Part of this is creating your own opportunities for growth, such as spotting a gap in the market and producing a solution to fill it. But on the other hand, as your business becomes more established and a higher rate of growth occurs, other opportunities tend to open up for you. For example, you may attract more investment (that in turn allows you to grow further), your buying power with suppliers increases, and others may take note of what you’re doing and offer interesting partnerships. So, to answer the question of why is growth important for a business in this regard, often it can have a ‘snowball effect,’ where initial growth leads to more and more, as long as you take advantage of the right opportunities.
Lower your costs
Often, and perhaps ironically, businesses find that as they grow, their relative costs actually decrease. These relative costs include advertising, materials, and supplies. This is because larger operations have more buying power and notoriety than small businesses. So, they can leverage this power to get a better deal. The end result is, again, fairly cyclical. Businesses save money on these costs compared to what they used to spend, leaving them with more money to spare. This can then be reinvested into the business and used to encourage further growth, and so on. Identify what resources you need to operate successfully – is everything necessary? If you find an area in which you can reduce spending now, invest it into your strategy for growth. Perhaps trial a new marketing tactic or tool to increase visibility, gain brand awareness and ultimately, win more revenue.
Increase your market share
What does success look like to you and your business? Every entrepreneur will have a different answer to this question. However, many of them dream of becoming a successful and recognisable brand with a significant market share in their specific niche. Of course, growth and market share go hand in hand. To be able to claim a higher market share, you need to have the systems and infrastructure in place to be able to meet this demand and cope with everything that goes along with it. This can happen organically as you gradually grow. But, many businesses make the investment to improve their systems that in turn allows them to reach more customers. However you do it, growth is important for a business that wants to become a recognisable brand and serve a higher quantity of customers with its products or services.
Reach your business objectives
Everyone starts their business for a different reason. Perhaps you have an innovative product or service to share with the world. Maybe you are looking for a better work-life balance than what the corporate world has to offer, or more money. Any of these objectives are valid, but it can be difficult to reach them. So, what’s the secret? Of course, it is business growth. It may seem counter-productive. How could growing your business lead to you working less hours? In many cases, this is true, so it’s crucial to ensure that you are not growing too fast to keep up with. The key to achieving your goals is a sustainable rate of growth, with the right teams and systems in place to support you in your mission.
Invest in the right people and allow yourself to take a back seat in the long-run. Your employees are the very backbone of your company and so, you need to ensure they understand where you are going on your mission.
Survive periods of downturn
It is natural for all businesses to occasionally face periods where things aren’t going as well as expected. This could be seasonal (such as certain items or services not being in demand year-round) or influenced by wider outside factors (such as the Covid-19 pandemic forcing many businesses to close for months at a time). But why is growth important for a business in this respect? Well, it is an unfortunate fact that smaller businesses are less likely to survive these tougher periods. As a business grows, it tends to develop the ability to better weather these storms. This is usually because larger businesses tend to also have larger cash reserves which can be used to tide the business over until things pick up again. They effectively have a pot for these ‘rainy days’ and therefore, it’s essential you look to understand how your business can grow and also achieve this.
Business growth also affects your hiring
Finally, to answer the question of why is growth important for a business, it’s crucial to look at recruitment. After all, any organisation is only as good as its team. So, if you’re thinking of hiring, it’s only natural to want the best possible people on your side. Smaller businesses do, unfortunately, often struggle to attract the best of the talent that’s out there. This could be due to a number of things, such as candidates who may be unsure of joining a smaller business, the fact that there isn’t always room for growth, or that the budget may not be in place to pay them the salary that they are looking for. As a business grows, however, these factors become less prominent, and better talent is more likely to be attracted to the organisation.
Look to showcase how your business can add value to the employee when you are still in a stage of growth. It can be an exciting time to join a business and so, you can use this to your advantage.
Final thoughts on why is growth important for a business?
Overall, it is clear that growth is important to any business or entrepreneur that wants to achieve their goals in a way that is sustainable and realistic. Rates of growth differ between businesses, and where one achieves it seemingly overnight, it may take months or years for another. Also, it is true that initial growth tends to encourage further growth. So, once your business has started to take off, it only tends to get easier to grow from there. No matter what ideal growth looks like to you, there are things you can put in place as a business owner to help you get there, including getting the external support you need to have the best chance of success.
Here at Chrysalis Growth, I help businesses to achieve their goals for growth, whatever they may be. So, if you want to increase your sales and profitability, make your business more efficient, work less hours but increase your income, and more, I can offer you the guidance you need. Click here to visit my website and discover more about what I do, or click here to get in touch today and discuss how I can help you and your business grow.
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