SHARON HADARY: The only statistically significant predictor of whether a business owner will be successful in obtaining expansion capital is not the size of the business, the time in business or the industry—it is the owner’s goal for growth.
This is one of the most compelling findings from my 20-plus years of conducting research with women business owners. Although the original research was conducted with women business owners, my experience is that the finding applies to all entrepreneurial enterprises.
What does this mean for the business owners who aspire to lead high-growth businesses?
1. Think big from the beginning.
If you start out with a big vision you make decisions differently from the beginning. The way you talk about your business to employees, customers, vendors and financial institutions is different. Establish an infrastructure with growth in mind and from the beginning, collect the performance and financial information that banks want to seed when you are ready to apply for expansion capital.
2. Focus on where you want to be, not where you are today.
Develop a growth-oriented business plan. Continually imagine the possibilities and potential. Keep updating your business plan to position you to respond to new opportunities.
3. Be agile.
Stay alert to new patters. Continually evaluate the match between your business operations and the reality of a fast-paced, technology-driven world. Be alert to shift with the your industry and be willing to change your operations or apply your business’ strengths in a new industry
4. Continually evaluate internal infrastructure and operations.
While fast growth is very good, growing faster than your infrastructure is problematic. Be willing to pause growth while the company re-engineers its systems, policies, and procedures to accommodate and facilitate future growth.
5. When you achieve your goals, ratchet up your expectations.
When you achieve your goals, establish even more challenging goals. Go beyond sustaining growth; aim to increase it by double digits.
Leading the fast-growing company into the future is much like rotating a kaleidoscope. Every time you rotate it—even slightly—the glass bits come together in new, and often, unexpected patterns. Keeps rotating the view to discover possibilities—a small tweak or a business transformation—and you will find yourself confidently leading a vibrant, growing, and profitable enterprise.
Sharon Hadary (@hadaryco) is the founding and former executive director of the Center for Women’s Business Research, an adjunct professor in the doctorate of management program at the University of Maryland University College.
via The One Factor That Predicts an Entrepreneur’s Success – The Experts – WSJ.