We all start a business with dreams and vision of it becoming more successful than our wildest dreams. Realistically, we know that it’s not going to make us a millionaire overnight, but what happens when it does grow faster than expected? When it takes off, and growth is faster than anticipated?

It seems like it might be nice problem to have, but this situation does bring problems of its own. Things can quickly escalate, and get out of control quickly, and if you aren’t careful, this fast expansion could spell the end of your business.

So if you find yourself in a scenario where sales are rocketing, and your targets are being smashed 10 times over, what should you do? Here are some tips on how to cope with unexpected growth to help you keep your feet on the ground.

• Get yourself a mentor – this is great advice anyway for business owners, but even more so when faced with successful growth. They will help you to work out what it is that you want to achieve, re-evaluate goals, perhaps plan for a different scenario such as an early exit or sale of your business. It’s important to get an independent perspective of your business to help you plan for the way ahead. It’s easy to get caught up with the power that success brings, and you don’t want to be making rash decisions which could end up proving costly in the long run
• Get a team around you – this is vital if you want to support this growth for the long term. But don’t be tempted to hire just for the sake of it – you need to remember that your employees are your best assets and so take your time, it will pay off for you if you have a loyal team who are true to your brand values. And this also goes for outsourcing – ensure that you have people around you that you can trust, your accountant being one of them – who have the skills and experience of dealing with a business such as yours
• Learn to relinquish control – I know, it’s your baby, but as your business grows you aren’t able to physically do everything. You are going to have to learn how to delegate – and not try and micromanage all aspects of your business. This is why it’s important to get the right team around you – you need to be able to trust them to do what they’re employed to do so that you can concentrate on the important aspects of running your business
• Analyse your business – this means getting rid of the aspects that are holding you back. This can be customers, clients, stock that’s not selling, expensive software that is no longer working, whatever it is, you don’t need to be weighed down by unnecessary things – you don’t have the time, and you need the money to invest in your growth. So now’s a great time to do this
• Don’t take success for granted – it’s great, but you must plan for the bad times too. It might be that your sales have gone through the roof because a celebrity was seen wearing your design, but next week that celebrity might be in the dog house and your sales may plummet. While you are riding on the wave, prepare for the calm, put some money aside, make shrewd investments, and don’t be tempted to blow it all. Your business and accountant will thank you if it does all falter in the future

So enjoy the fruits of your labours, but ensure that you make the most of your success so that you can continue to grow further without it being at the expense of anything else, including your health and work/life balance. If you want some advice and support on how to achieve then, then get in touch.