This Is What’s Holding Your Business Back From Growth

The post This Is What’s Holding Your Business Back From Growth appeared first on The Founding Moms.

Business owners wear all sorts of hats, from target marketing to ensure your team stays on track. It can be overwhelming to ensure your operations are running smoothly and efficiently. However, small businesses eventually hit a point where they must scale. While you most likely thought starting your company was the hard part, business growth is even more challenging. What’s holding you back from achieving this?

Understanding the factors that keep it from growing is key to overcoming the challenges. Once you know what this could be, you can create a plan to help you obtain long-term success.

1. Unproductive Team Meetings

Team meetings are supposed to help business growth. However, these gatherings often become unproductive due to many things. There may be no clear objective, leading to uncertainty. Sometimes, people need an agenda or go way over the time limit. 

Unproductive team meetings can greatly hinder your company from achieving more. However, business owners can avoid these pitfalls by implementing key tactics. First, keeping gatherings to one to two hours is sufficient. Aiming for even shorter durations can still yield better results. 

To achieve this, start by establishing a clear plan before the meeting. This should include what topics to discuss, how long to cover each subject, and how much time to leave at the end for questioning. By keeping your meetings shorter and more focused, you make quicker decisions and maintain momentum toward growth. 

2. Experiencing Burnout

Running a business can be exhausting. It takes much physical, mental, and emotional energy to keep it going. However, if you avoid maintaining balance, your work may eventually take a toll on you. This leads to burnout, which negatively affects your personal well-being and business growth. It can lead to decreased productivity, poor decisions, and negative customer relationships. 

Business owners can combat burnout by prioritizing work-life balance. You may have to delegate tasks to your team members and trust they can get the job done. You should also set realistic goals for yourself and take breaks regularly. 

Consider incorporating time management techniques by blocking your schedule for the most important tasks. You could also use the Pomodoro timer to ensure your operations run more efficiently. Once you create a more organized workflow in your business, you will be well on your way to reducing stress. 

3. Fear of Change

Being afraid to change is a common obstacle for many small-business owners. Often, this fear stems from uncertainty about the future. Change is inevitable, and business owners must embrace it. However, the unknown can be quite scary. 

It’s natural for people to revert to their comfort zones when unsure about what will happen. However, the business environment is constantly shifting. Customers will always find better prices elsewhere. As technology advances, so do the companies that adopt them. When you are unwilling to adapt, your resistance to change stops your business from moving forward. 

The human brain despises change, but cultivating a mindset that embraces it will help you improve. It is important to start small. Make the changes more manageable to build confidence. 

You can even involve your team in decision-making to ease transitions and foster support. 

Another tactic that helps businesses take control of change is creating a plan for success. Find out the risks of this shift and develop a strategy to maintain your company’s stability.

4. Scaling Operations

A growing business must be able to scale by expanding its capacities and capabilities. However, scaling requires a happy medium. You can run into operational or financial challenges if you climb too quickly. 

Scaling a business is challenging and requires a plan of action. When your company grows, every aspect of your operations does not work as well as it once did. This is because your old processes can’t handle increased workload and customer demands. 

You may have to invest in the right technology or hire skilled personnel. At the same time, you must refine and streamline your processes. Consider assessing the challenges that exist within your business and make a plan for success. For instance, investing in automation of routine tasks significantly enhances efficiency. Also, maintaining financial health through budgeting and cash flow management will be crucial during this stage.

5. Limited Access to Capital

Small businesses often start with little to no capital, which can be a huge obstacle when you want to grow. Typically, this is due to a lack of collateral or limited credit history. Companies can invest in new opportunities with sufficient funding. You have plenty of options for gaining additional capital. 

For instance, you can turn to your state or local government to apply for small-business grants. There is also crowdfunding, where people gather to raise capital for your company online. Angel investors are also worth looking into, as they are always looking to invest in startups with potential. 

Remember that these options have their own requirements, so it is crucial to research and choose one that aligns with your company’s needs. Building a strong business credit score can also improve your chances of securing a loan. In the meantime, consider engaging with other business owners in your area to find new funding opportunities.  

Moving Forward With Business Growth

Small business owners experience all types of barriers to growth. However, they can overcome them by reassessing their strategies and understanding their challenges. Each obstacle is an opportunity to innovate and strengthen your company. Resilience, adaptability and strategic planning can push boundaries and take it to new heights. 

To further support your journey, consider joining The Founding Moms for more resources and being a part of a community of like-minded entrepreneurs.

Eleanor Hecks is the founder and managing editor of Designerly Magazine. She’s also a web design consultant with a focus on customer experience and user interface. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and dogs, Bear and Lucy. Connect with her about marketing, design and/or tea on LinkedIn!

The post This Is What’s Holding Your Business Back From Growth appeared first on The Founding Moms.