Everyone wants to run a big booming business, dominate the industry and see their name on the cover of Forbes. But most businesses, not just in the trade sector, start from humble beginnings - think tech giants such as Amazon whose founders built the business from the ground up – starting with a bit of spare change, and working out of a quiet corner in their garage.
While you might have been fortunate enough to start your business from a small office space, as opposed to a garage, chances are you’ve found yourself with the same big ideas.
So what happens when your small team starts to expand? No doubt you’ve found yourself in limbo – you’re neither Apple nor a lemonade stand – so how do you establish where you sit on the scale of small to big business?
First, it’s important to differentiate between the two.
“When you’re small, there’s only a few of you, overheads are very low, you probably work from home, you can all talk to each other all the time, systems aren’t as necessary because you’re all there, helping each other out,” says Small Fish’ Jon Dale.
“You can cope, you can manage the workload and the stress load, and the number of things you need to think about.”
Meanwhile, according to Dale, big businesses require a more systematic approach, with a higher level of staff. Dale also emphasises the importance of having a a number of well-oiled machines operating:
Marketing machine
Sales machine
Operations machine
Back office machine
The people running those machines
You overseeing
In that transition period from start-up to big player, there’s a stressful period where you don’t quite have the systems in place to manage the change in workload.
“In between, when those machines aren’t quite built, but it’s too big, and there’s too much going on for you to be holding it all in your head, it’s a bit hard to work,” Dale continues.
“So that transition from small to big goes through a difficult patch at the period of stress and work and pressure when you really need to push on through to the beautiful other side and it’s hard work.”
When any business expands, you’re ultimately going to face a period of growth that’s hard to keep up with. However, maintaining momentum will help you shift from ambitious start-up to booming business.
Looking to start your own business? Head to Qualify Me! to see how a tradesman coach like Dale can give you the keys to success.
