Preparing for Growth by Darryll Gillard Where to start? Hello and welcome to my new column, Preparing for Growth. As business owners, we often dream of the “Big Idea” that will grow our business and set us on the path to financial indepen - dence. Sometimes that never comes along, sometimes that isn’t what we are looking for, but sometimes, just sometimes, you uncover a gem that you want to polish and build a grow- ing business on.
I’m Darryll, and I’ve helped dozens of businesses grow exponentially in the US, Canada, the UK, and Germany. I’ll use these columns to explore the hundreds of methods to grow your business, whether you want slow and steady or ready to replace Mark Zuckerberg. As we know, you can only build a house when you have a good foundation, and it’s the same principle for growing your business. So, in this first column, I’m going to look at some of the fundamental principles behind business growth, and some of the myths around it too. The very first decision you are going to make about growth is your market approach. Do you want to follow demand, building up when you know there is an audience willing to pay, or do you have a “Field of Dreams” approach – if
you build it, they will come? This is often closely related to your risk/reward profile. People who take less risks tend to want some proof before investing, those with higher risk tolerance will often go “all-in.” It’s important to note, there is no right or wrong way, just your way here. That being said, the “Field of Dreams” approach normally results in quicker growth – it just doesn’t guarantee sustainable growth. Once you know how you want to approach your growth strategy, we hit our first myth. I’ll just hire a salesperson or four and they will find new customers. Bingo. If only it were that easy. Planning for growth will depend on your business model. You need to understand what marketing makes sense for your business, who your ideal customer is, what message you want them to hear, and a dozen other factors. Do you have ‘inventory’ to support growth? Inventory is
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