A simple way to see if your business is doing well or not is to look at how much it’s grown since its inception. If you’ve grown a lot, and are continuing to grow, then you might be doing well. Similarly, if you’re growing quicker than your rivals, then you’re definitely on the right track.
But, what if the opposite is happening and your rivals are outgrowing you? What are the causes of your slow business growth? This article looks at four reasons that could answer this question:
Complicated Applications
One of the reasons your business growth is slowing down could be because of the software your company is using. We’ve already written an entire post on using business software, so feel free to check that out if you want to learn more. While using software is an excellent way of speeding up your productivity levels, it can also have the opposite effect. The key is ensuring you’re using the right software, and your employees are all okay with it.
Most problems occur when you or an employee has issues with some type of software. Either it’s stopped working, or they can’t figure out how to do something. Every time this happens, your business slows down as time is spent figuring out how to solve the issues. If this is happening day after day, then the lost time soon adds up and your growth stutters.
The first way you can fix this is by ensuring you have the best business software for your company. Most importantly, make sure the software is easy for you and your staff to use. Your business may get along better with a piece of software that another company doesn’t like. Don’t go by what other people think is good, go by what you think is good. There’s also the option to use an online database to create your own web applications that your business can use. Some companies find this is very beneficial as it makes life much easier for their employees. You can use online databases to function as one application instead of using multiple things to carry out the same functions.
Lack Of Proper Goals
A simple cause of slow business growth is not having any proper goals. When you start a business, you should write out a proper and detailed business plan. This plan is there to help you visualize your success and give you a path to follow. A huge part of your business plan will revolve around setting specific goals. This includes setting goals for both the short and long term.
Now, this is the part where you can do something that slows your business growth down. You either set unrealistic goals, or you don’t set any clear goals at all. Without proper, realistic, goals you will always struggle to grow your business quickly. Goals are there to give you something to reach for, something to try and accomplish. If you don’t have them, then there’s a severe lack of motivation in your business as you’re not really aiming to achieve anything.
Similarly, unrealistic aims are just as bad as they get you dreaming of goals that aren’t attainable. What happens? You end up overextending and pushing your business too far which causes lots of problems and stunts your growth. The solution? Stop setting unrealistic targets and set proper goals that you know your business has a chance of achieving.
Lone Wolf Mentality
A lot of business owners end up with a lone wolf mentality. What does this mean? It means they become determined to do everything on their own. They keep their business separate from everything else, the only people involved are their employees. The reasoning behind this is simple and easy to understand. When you start a business, you become very attached to it as it’s yours. You created it from nothing, you almost feel like it’s your job to make something out of it. So, you don’t want to involve other companies or create partnerships because you want to make it on your own.
This is the wrong thing to do, as it severely holds back your business. You’ll be amazed at how much you can achieve when you open your doors and look to collaborate with others. The main issue is that business owners think that by collaborating with a business, they’re fraternizing with the enemy.
This isn’t the case, there are plenty of businesses out there that are willing to do business with you and will be no threat to your success. The trick is working alongside companies that relate to your business, but aren’t direct rivals. You help each other out, and both your businesses grow much quicker than before. Collaborating with others can open new windows of opportunity for your business and bring in loads of new customers, increasing your sales.
Bad Decision Making
Ultimately, the reason for your slow growth can be traced back to bad decision making. There are so many decisions a business owner has to make throughout their career. Some are big, some are small, all will end up affecting your business in some way or another.
The biggest problem a lot of owners have is that they’re not good at making tough decisions. They’re not good at recognizing when problems exist and making moves to eradicate them. For example, you could have an employee that’s holding everyone back because they’re working slow. They may be loyal to you, but they’re just not good enough for your business. It’s a hard decision, but you need to get rid of them and bring in someone better.
Another example is failing to change areas of your business model because you’re too stubborn. Never let stubbornness influence your decisions, as it will only lead to bad decisions being made. Sometimes, all it takes is for you to take some time out and work on your decision-making skills to help your business move in the right direction.
If your business is suffering from a lack of growth, perhaps it’s down to one of these four things? If so, make sure you take all the necessary actions to grow your business once more.
