Be prepared

Taking the next step in your business can be a daunting task, so it’s important to make sure you’re prepared. Too many small businesses go in under-prepared at the start. Too little planning, too little capital to back them and too little prior experience in running a business. It’s about having the systems and processes in place, as well as having everything mapped out so you’re ready to make that step.

Most of the businesses that fail are expecting to build their dream into reality, much quicker than is possible and simply run out of cash. They have unrealistic expectations around the value of their idea coupled with misconceptions around funding, thinking investors will beat a path to their door. They rarely do.

You also have to be prepared for a lot of hard work. The difference between “most people” and those who succeed is that the ones who make it put the effort in.

Taking the next-step

A lot of small businesses seem to stumble when transitioning from being tiny/micro into being a genuine business. Initially the owners have complete visibility and are involved in all decisions (because they have to…), but as they scale up, add a few employees, maybe other locations, add more products to the mix, they have to delegate authority, make people accountable, put systems, policies and procedures in place. At the same time, they are trying to cope with more volume and waves of increasingly complex work.

Many businesses spend countless hours, wasting valuable money writing a strategic business plan that they don’t have the skills or experience to implement. Owners become overwhelmed – not only with the complexity, but by underestimating the effort required. Things either get poorly implemented, damage the rest of the business during the implementation, or get thrown into the ‘too-hard’ basket.

Two of the biggest obstacles small businesses face are having access to good people and access to capital. These are two of the most important factors to consider when taking the next step.

Finding the right people

You can’t do it on your own. Hiring people is absolutely essential. If you assemble the right people around you, advising and supporting you as you face the challenges of running your business, you might just beat the odds.

Do not underestimate the importance of this. From the very first person you hire, you have to be able to manage and monitor your employees. Hiring and keeping the best people is key to moving forward in your business.

Finding the right people however, does create a dilemma. Firstly, whether to address capacity or capability and secondly whether to try to create it internally or bring it in from outside. This has to be determined by what’s going to work for your business.

Some people say hire capacity for now and capability for the future, but this can be very inefficient. Doubling your capacity doesn’t address the skills / capability mix, you can just do twice as much of the same. When it comes down to it, investing in the right people is one of the most important things you’ll do as a business owner.

So, take your time, get it right and if you think you can’t afford it, the late Red Adiar, the world’s pre-eminent oil well firefighter said: “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.”