Business mentor: The secret of growth is never stop searching

Q. When we started this business we grew like topsy but now things seem to have plateaued. Although I'm earning a comfortable living I can't help wondering if I could be doing much better. What's stopping me growing a really significant business?

A. Leith Oliver, lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management at the University of Auckland Business School and member of the academic team who deliver The ICEHOUSE Business Growth Programmes, replies:

Most businesses have a growth pattern that resembles an S curve. The business starts at the bottom of the S curve, where initial growth is slow. If the business goes well, it will enter a phase of rapid growth before plateauing at a point of steady demand with some incremental growth.

After the trials of getting started and managing the sometimes scary ride through rapid growth, the plateau stage is often a more comfortable place and it is easy to rest on your laurels.

However the competitive environment never sleeps and although cash flow and profits seem to be okay, this is not the time to be complacent.

You could see it as a rest station - a point to review and strengthen the business before you launch into a new S curve of further growth.

Now is the time to look for ways to improve efficiency by reviewing processes and systems. Often significant improvement in sales growth and profits can be found just by running the existing business better. However it could be that what you need to get the motivation back is a big idea that could double or treble the size of your business over a short time.

The opportunities to do this exist for many businesses, and it is sometimes just a matter of uncovering them. They could be in new products, new markets, new processes or even in new businesses.

Safer strategies involve staying with some known factors. For example you might consider launching a new product into an existing market, or taking an existing product into a new market. Riskier strategies involve new products in new markets.

Many New Zealand businesses have grown rapidly by expanding the number of business units in the group. These expansions are sometimes made by acquisitions, but many are done using more collaborative methods such as franchising, or joint ventures and other alliances. Of course there are always obstacles to overcome when you try to push the boundaries of your known territories and comfort zones.

It could be that the only limit to more growth is your own confidence to manage the issues that arise. The first job is to identify the issues.

If you have followed my earlier advice, you will have done an audit of the state of your business. If you are going to achieve substantial growth, tomorrow's business will look significantly different from today's. Can you visualise what the business will look like in five years from now?

If you can step forward to that point and look back, what obstacles had to be overcome before you could reach this ideal future state? These will be the issues that must be solved before you can grow. They could be about access to resources such as capital and skills - or more likely they will be about changes needed in management, organisation and leadership.

Whatever they are, there is help available to guide you through the unknown territory. Mentors and educators can help you to overcome these obstacles to growth - if you want to go there!

In the end it depends on your passion, vision and energy. Are you the right person to take the business on to greater heights? If not, perhaps you could hand the baton over to someone who is.

Visit www.businessclub.co.nz for information about the Chamber of Commerce free seminar Growth with Confidence being held in Tauranga, Hamilton, Auckland, and Whangarei over the next two weeks. The Business Club is available in 12 centres nationwide, and visits Auckland on June 26. There you will be able to pick up some worthwhile, free publications printed by Industry New Zealand, that will help you expand your business.

For more information about The ICEHOUSE Business Growth Programmes call 0800 ICEHOUSE (0800 423-468).

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