Building Your Business With Small Business Growth Consulting
You started your business and have deftly guided it through the early stages. You established product-market fit. Your product generates meaningful revenues. And the company attracts talent.
But now the business has plateaued (and may even be in decline.) Growth has stalled, costs are rising, revenues are flat or falling, and competition is intensifying. Everything you try seems to fall short, your enthusiasm is flagging, and you’re out of ideas.
If this sounds like you, welcome to the club! Entrepreneurs find themselves in this situation more often than not. The specifics may differ among entrepreneurs, but the general arc is the same: the challenges are overwhelming, and you feel like you’ve taken the venture as far as you can.
But don’t despair, all is not lost. This is simply a sign your company requires a radical reassessment to determine strengths and weaknesses relative to where you are and where you want to go. It may, for example, be that pricing is sub-optimal, or the marketing unfocused, or payables/receivables are not being managed, and so on. A vigorous independent assessment will surface some of the deficiencies.
The assessment, however, should not be limited to the business; it should also include a personal review to see if you are what is getting in the way of the business. Do you use company funds for personal shopping? Do you follow through on your commitments? Are you casual about how you manage with your finances? Is it hard for you to remain focused? Oftentimes a company struggles because of the founder’s own idiosyncrasies.
Who’s best to do the assessment? Well, not you, for starters. You will have too many personal blind spots for the review to be meaningful. Instead, you will need an objective person or team that’s personally removed from you. This way they can observe and provide objective feedback.
Effectively, you need a business advisor. This is a mix of a business coach (personal guidance) and a business consultant (business guidance) that will provide an outside perspective for you and your business, helping you to address business and personal issues.
A good business advisor has the ability to diagnose specific and systemic issues in your business. After assessing the current situation and clarifying where you would like to take your business, an advisor will help plan and prioritize goals and strategies to get you there.
On the personal side, advisors act as your sounding board and the ultimate accountability partner. They provide support, guidance, and are there to keep you focused on the end results. They remind you of what is important, and they will motivate you to keep your commitments. In other words, they will spot your weaknesses and help you to cover them.
With a solid plan and renewed focus, your business just may be ready to thrive once again and small business growth consulting can accelerate the process.
Levo Business Advisors Consulting Services