Is your company set up for sustainable, scalable growth? Or is it headed straight toward a wall? It may be time to assess how far your company has come and the path it’s heading down—a fresh look at the foundation you’ve built up to this point can lead to strategic, valuable insights that can change the growth trajectory of your company for the better. Here is how to think about growth consulting as you consider ways that outside expertise can help your business.
What Is Growth Consulting?
Companies that could be characterized as business growth consulting firms guide companies on scaling and reaching their growth goals. Some growth consulting firms do not explicitly use this exact term to describe themselves but the services they provide support the sustainable growth of their clients.
When companies first start out, survival and gaining traction with product development or getting their product or service out to market is top of mind. Lower on the priority list tends to be everything else that’s also important for a long-lasting business—including establishing smooth-running financial operations and gaining an understanding of how the company is truly performing. However, if they do not have a strong financial foundation in place, fast-growing companies could be deluding themselves by relying on inaccurate financial reports and making misguided decisions as a result.
Growth Consultancy Firms Focus on Sustainable Growth
No one wants to take on more employees than they can handle or not hire enough people to meet demand. And of course no one wants to be unable to meet investor or customer expectations or burn out current employees. Running a company is always a balancing act, with a constant need to look out into the future and determine whether what’s being done today is setting up the company for greatness—or a flameout.
But have your current systems kept up with growth? Is it time for an upgrade of your financial processes and systems so you can access more reliable and timely data that you can use to make better informed, smarter decisions?
When you’re in the thick of doing your day job, consumed by all your company’s demands, it’s tough to know the right answers as you weigh various options. Doing nothing or making the wrong move can have serious consequences. We’ve seen it happen with companies that could not keep up with new orders coming in: waiting too long to bring in the right systems that can scale with growth can derail business operations. On the flip side, implementing a powerful ERP system too far in advance can take up serious company resources that are needed elsewhere.
During such times, another view is warranted, from growth consultancy service experts who have worked with hundreds of companies, at various stages of growth, who can advise you on how to bring more visibility around your business performance and ideas on achieving sustainable growth.
How Do You Achieve Business Growth?
Companies can follow a variety of approaches for achieving business growth, depending on where they are in their growth journey and their available resources. They range from relative small steps—a startup could expand their sales team to bring in more orders, for example—to large and more complicated options.
A strategic acquisition can quickly add an entirely new product line to the business and fresh talent. Or an acquisition could be made to specifically quash a competitor, and expand the company’s market share. With the help of a growth consultancy, a company could make itself more “investor ready” as it works toward filing an IPO or becoming a desirable target by a SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) for a fast route to the public markets, by fully adopting GAAP and undergoing its first financial statement audit.
The point is, whether it’s small moves or large ones, you want to know that the move you’re about to make is the right one at this time. A firm that provides growth consulting can help you get a clearer view of how to take your company to the next level.
What Does Growth Strategy Mean?
Every company has its own way of operating and its own goals, yet all companies generally follow a familiar growth pattern, or business lifecycle. Pushing through unique financial challenges as they start, grow, expand, and evolve, companies have many obstacles and opportunities to overcome and grab hold of as they advance to the next level of growth.
A growth strategy can entail sketching out potential scenarios for the company to achieve its growth goals, whether you’re pursuing a growth acquisition or an IPO in the next year. Expert financial planning and forecasting can help pave a path toward a particular exit strategy or expansion plan while also accounting for the unexpected. Trends shift. Opportunity knocks. Customer demand changes. Emerging risks become real risks (e.g., a year-long-plus pandemic). Consultants who can help your company grow can prepare you for likely situations, all the while ensuring that you have the information you need along every growth marker to make informed decisions.
As you look for ways to achieve sustainable, scalable growth, keep in mind that your company’s growth journey is unique. It’s helpful to pick up best practices and to learn what similar companies have done to set themselves up for successful growth, but you also want a plan that is tailored to your company. There is no such thing as an off-the-shelf growth solution. That’s why you will want to partner with finance experts who adapt their solutions and guidance to each and every client. Need a customized assessment of your growth plans or finance expertise? Let RoseRyan know how our consulting team can help.
