Six approaches to deal with risks in business growth

For business owners who are feeling tired of inconsistent growth…
You’re not alone. Every entrepreneur faces challenges on their path to success, and while you can do very little about the external drivers of business growth, there are plenty of levers where you DO have control…

Diversify Your Revenue Streams

Over-dependence on one product, service or customer can expose your business to risk. It goes without saying that timing is key. Diversify too early and you will run the risk of chasing two rabbits and catching none.

Build a Quality Team

Invest in hiring and training the right people, provide them with the resources and tools they need to succeed and let them get on with the job. Working towards a business which operates without you is critical for a successful scale-up and exit.

Strategic Partnerships

Find the right people to partner with – and drive inorganic growth in your business. Identify your bottlenecks and biggest obstacles to achieving your ideal business outcomes. Then bring in the people who can bridge these gaps and remove any obstacles.

Know Your Audience

Be relentless in providing your customer with what they want – even if they don’t know they want it until you offer it. This includes analysing trends, monitoring feedback, and keeping an eye on your competitors.

Contingency Planning

Pandemics, wars, climate crises, recessions… none of them are black swan events. Managing risks by having a risk register and a simple contingency plan that gets updated on a quarterly basis mitigates some degree of business risk and could include building up cash reserves, diversifying suppliers, or creating a more flexible workforce.

Innovate

Standing still is dangerous for any business. Be open to change and encourage your team to think creatively and take regular, calculated risks. Some will pay off and some won’t. Making small ‘investment bets’ which don’t risk the farm, will reduce your chances of your business becoming obsolete – or you having to take much larger risks, further down the line.

Take a closer look at GrowthSprint.