The inevitable challenges you will face as your business grows

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The lure of business growth is strong, and for many entrepreneurs, it’s a dream from the start. In fact, many professionals view expansion as a key indicator of success. But increasing the size of your organization inevitably comes with growing pains. From managing a larger team to navigating complex market dynamics, there are countless obstacles that are hard to avoid along the way.

Growing pains are a necessary part of the process, and by being proactive and informed, you can anticipate these challenges before they arise and consider innovative ways to overcome them. And that process begins with recognizing the need for operational change.

Related: Is your business experiencing growing pains? Here’s how to thrive through them

Communication and other skills you need will change

When you first start a business, it’s easy to communicate and run because your team is right next door. You can catch errors quickly. but when you start to grow, suddenly, everything becomes more scattered. Marketing, support, development and sales can be in totally different parts of the building or even in a completely separate building. Suddenly, it’s harder to get a clear idea of ​​what’s really going on within your own organization.

As this change occurs, it becomes critical to collect data from all corners of your business. Otherwise, you won’t have a deep understanding of the day-to-day operations of your business and what your people may need from you. But it’s not just about data; you also need specific processes that hold everyone accountable and provide clear direction.

Adjusting to these new ways of communicating and operating can be uncomfortable. Not everyone will be able to keep up, and there may be some people who won’t stick with you. Alright. But your job as a leader is to help shape the attitude of the company as a whole and to let your team understand that these adjustments are necessary for success.

Part of that maturity is being able to discern whether you need to incorporate new skill sets to achieve business objectives. There must be a willingness to take stock of what you were doing, admit that those approaches no longer work, and explore possible ways to evolve, and you must do it quickly.

Get ready to tip some hats.

Small business leaders are often jacks of all trades. You are used to answering every phone call and responding to customer emails because, in the beginning, the success of your business depended solely on you. One of the hallmarks of entrepreneurship he’s wearing a lot of hats to make something work.

The game changes when the expansion begins. There comes a point where logistically you can’t handle everything on your own. At that point, you need to decide if you can hire someone from the inside to fill a role, or if you need to hire outside talent.

Remember, not everyone with you is necessarily ready to lead or grow. Even if you can promote someone from within, you may still need guidance and support as you take on new responsibilities. On the other hand, outsourcing comes with a different set of challenges: You have to trust that they will be able to do the job well and fit in with the rest of the team. One of the biggest growing pains you will have to deal with is the transition to the mentality of needing hire other people and have faith that your business will not collapse if you hand over responsibilities.

Related: 5 Tips for Expanding Your Small Business (The Right Way)

Closed-loop learning and development doesn’t stop

Most growing businesses understand the importance of moving quickly to stay on top of innovative technology that can help them achieve ahead of the competition. This was certainly the case at Vagaro, where we not only had to look at what competitors were doing and what options were already out there, but we also had to develop our own software. We are constantly researching and adjusting to improve.

But the same concept of research and development applies to all of their products. In order to create something that is different and unique, you have to constantly look at what is available. At first, you don’t have a marketing team to do that. You have to trust yourself to identify and develop a product that sets your business apart.

Once your business starts to gain traction and your sales increase, now you need a sales department. You start to need people who can provide customer support. Hiring people becomes more difficult because you have to set clear expectations and teach them how to do things the way you have been doing them.

There is a real need to balance your expectations and training with a healthy dose of humility: you have to accept that you don’t know everything and remember that you are recruiting new people because they have new ideas and skills. This is one of the reasons I intentionally made the decision to let my team manage what they can on their own and allow them some room to experiment and sometimes fail. I know I need to share what I’ve tried and be clear about the costs I’m willing to accept so they can make some mistakes.

This growing pain of always having to research, adjust and hire does not end. But that’s part of what makes building a business exciting. You will always have a new problem to solve, and the achievements and improvements resulting from the healthy pressure to find answers and solutions will keep you excited.

Related: How to Address the 5 Challenges Every Growing Business Faces

Many professionals who talk about growing a business focus on all the good things that happen, and that’s inspiring. But the best entrepreneurs know there will also be some bumps along the way. Rather than shy away from their growing pains, they realistically anticipate them and work proactively to manage them well, such as seeking advice from mentors or building strong feedback infrastructures. Seek the same kind of perseverance and preparation in your own business, because it is during discomfort that you will learn to thrive rather than survive.