I get asked this question many times by small business owners who have their head in their hands and are at their wits end in terms of feeling overwhelmed, being trapped and they have lost their mojo.
This status isn’t sustainable.
“I have a great product/ service but I’m just not getting the growth I need.”
There is a simple top-level answer. They often do have a great product or service – what they don’t have is a great business to capitalise on it.
Let me explain…
You can have a great product or service, but you have to have the infrastructure, plan and capability to grow a business with it.
Systems and processes run the business. People run the processes.
When I peel back the surface…
- The systems are in the owners head and nobody is following them consistently or at all
- Many systems aren’t developed enough to deliver great service levels and profitability
- The owner cannot find people who care as much and therefore doesn’t let go
- There isn’t enough cash to invest in sales and marketing so leads dry up, revenue drops and so the spiral continues
- Too much time is spent re-doing work, re-visiting site and repairing what shouldn’t have been broken in the first place
- There’s no clarity on the numbers and they are just winging it
- The week is filled with knee jerking and reactive tactics
…amongst others!
A great product or service will only take you so far.
You have to have a (business) plan clarifying the vision, purpose and values. You have to have the systems that run the business (sales, marketing, operations, finance and talent). You have to have a value aligned team to run the systems to help you scale your business and really exploit the opportunity you face.
Then and only then, will your business grow.
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