Growing a business is both exciting and a real challenge.
Most small business owners think that growth will solve their problems. But the truth is that growth often brings a new set of problems that can slow things down, strain resources, and make running the business even more complicated.
The good news is that, with a little planning and guidance, you can remove most growth barriers before they become major set-backs.
Here are some common roadblocks that can block small business growth and some practical tips to help you get around them.
1. Thinking You Have to Do Everything Yourself
When you’re a startup, it’s easy to wear every hat and get everything done. But as your business grows, it’s just not possible to keep up any more. You’ll burn out, miss out on opportunities, and before you know it, your business will start to slow down.
The problem is that when the owner does everything, the business gets stuck and can’t scale. Bottlenecks form, employees wait for approvals, and the poor owner quickly becomes overwhelmed.
What You Can Do:
Delegate tasks to your most trusted team members.
- Document your processes so everyone is on the same page
- Give your employees the autonomy to make decisions within clear boundaries.
- Make the transition from working in the business to actually leading it.
2. Irregular Cash Flow
Just because your business is making money doesn’t mean that you can afford to finance growth. If cash flow is tight, you may find it difficult to pay expenses. Customers who pay late, rising expenses, and unexpected costs can cause difficulties in paying the bills.
What You Can Do:
- Keep an eye on your cash flow, not just your profit and loss statement.
- Keep your invoicing and collection process simple
- Try to build up some cash reserves whenever you can.
- Get a handle on your future cash needs before you make any major investments.
3. No Clear Plan for Growth
Many businesses grow because an opportunity comes along, not because they have a strategic plan But without a strategy, you’re just firing in the dark and hoping for the best. It’s stressful, confusing for employees, and can weaken your competitive edge. Growth without direction leads to frustration and disappointment, rather than actual success.
What You Can Do:
Write a growth strategy that includes:
- Your ideal customers
- What you do better than anyone else (your competitive advantages)
- How much revenue you want to bring in
- Your key priorities
- Measurable milestones
With a clear plan, you can determine if an opportunity is worth your time and make a real difference to your business.
4. Hiring Challenges
As your business starts to grow and expand, it gets tougher to find people who are the right fit and keep them on your team. A bad hire can actually slow down your growth and start costing you money.
What You Can Do:
- Find people with the right mix of skills and a good cultural fit.
- Develop an onboarding process that helps your new hires succeed.
- Invest in your top performers by talking to them, recognizing them, and giving them growth opportunities.
5. Operational Inefficiencies
When your business used to be small, those manual tasks and outdated software were just fine. But as you start to grow, things start to fall apart. Repetitive tasks, communication breakdowns, and inconsistent procedures just cost you money.
What You Can Do:
Review your operations regularly to identify opportunities for improvement.
- Automate as many repetitive tasks as you can.
- Get your procedures streamlined and working smoothly.
- Make sure people are communicating clearly and consistently.
You’d be surprised at just how much of an improvement you can make by just tackling a few of these issues.
6. Weak Financial Reporting
The majority of owners only look at their financial statements at tax time. But if you don’t track your finances regularly, you won’t have the information you need to make good decisions.
What You Can Do:
- Review key financial metrics on a monthly basis.
- Track your profitability, cash flow, gross margins, and operational performance.
You’ll start to see what’s going wrong and be able to take action to put things right.
7. Losing Focus on the Customer
As a business grows, internal demands often take focus away from the customer relationship. Response times are slower, the quality of service is inconsistent, and customers leave.
What You Can Do:
Make every growth decision with the customer in mind.
- Get feedback on a regular basis
- Measure customer satisfaction
- Give employees the power to fix problems quickly.
If you keep focusing on the customer and treating them well, they’ll stick with you and help you grow.
8. Inconsistent Marketing
Many small business owners turn their marketing on and off like a light switch, but that’s not how it works. Consistent marketing builds trust and credibility over time, while inconsistent marketing creates confusion.
What You Can Do:
Today’s buyers usually research a company long before they make contact. Create a marketing plan that supports your long-term business goals.
- Make your website more customer-friendly.
- Get your business visible in local search results.
- Get customers to review your business
- Be active on the social media where your customers are
- Stay in touch with prospects and existing customers through email marketing
You don’t have to do everything at once, but you do need to be consistent with your marketing efforts. A steady, well-thought-out approach will give you more qualified leads, help build a stronger brand, and create a healthier pipeline that’ll help your business keep on growing in the long run.
9. Poor Internal Communication
As a business gets bigger, communication gets harder. What used to work for a small team just isn’t going to work anymore. When you hire new people and start to have more specialized roles, communications can get messy.
Poor communication can lead to misunderstandings, duplicated effort, missed deadlines, and inconsistent customer experience. It doesn’t take long for productivity to start to suffer when employees are all out of sync on company goals and expectations.
What You Can Do:
Hold regular team meetings, have one-on-ones with your team members, and document any process that needs to be followed.
- Get clear about who is doing what and make sure everyone knows their role and responsibilities
- Make sure everyone feels free to speak up and share any concerns they have
- Make sure the whole team understands the company’s priorities.
Good communication ensures your team is on the same page and working toward the same goals.
10. Fear of Change
As your business grows, it becomes necessary to adopt new technologies, approaches, markets, and methods. Although change can often be uncomfortable, it is essential to remain viable and competitive in a market dominated by fast-moving competitors. If you do not move forward, you will be left behind.
Companies that do not adapt to the changing world fall behind the competition.
What You Should Do:
Remove emotion from the equation.
- Carefully consider your options.
- Seek consensus among your employees.
- Execute changes in small, manageable increments to ease everybody into the new normal.
Staying progressive and adaptable will ensure that you remain relevant and prepared for what the future has in store.
Growth Takes Hard Work
One of the many myths small business owners have is the idea that hard work will lead to growth.
The truth is, small business growth needs proper planning, financial management, efficient operations, and most importantly, the ability to adapt to different levels of growth.
As you grow your business, it’s totally normal to have some growing pains. The important thing is being able to recognize these obstacles and having a strategy to overcome them so they don’t hinder future growth.
Turning Growing Pains Into Growth Opportunities
At some point, every growing business is going to run into some growing pains. The companies that continue to grow are the ones that recognize and overcome their obstacles. Whether you think your business has hit a growth wall or you simply want to plan for the next level of growth, we can help you develop a strategy for continued success.
Growth requires more than just hard work and dedication. Sometimes, you need an extra hand to develop a strategy that takes into account your future goals. We encourage you to reach out and let us help you develop a strategy for growth.
Debra Murphy is a marketing coach and consultant helping small businesses navigate the complex maze of online marketing. Experienced across all traditional marketing channels, Debra specializes in organic search and content marketing to help small businesses gain visibility and generate inbound leads. She is also a certified coach in the 90 Day Year® Peak Performance System. Debra regularly writes about small business marketing on her Masterful Marketing blog.
