PRO TIP: GOING BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD – YOUR WRITTEN BUSINESS PLAN, TO REVIEW YOUR SHORT- AND LONG-TERM GOALS WILL KEEP YOU FOCUSED AND GIVE YOU A GOOD IDEA OF WHAT’S NEEDED IMMEDIATELY AND, IN THE FUTURE, ALLOWING YOU TO PRIORITIZE PROJECTS IN ORDER TO HELP YOUR BUSINESS GROW AND ACHIEVE RESULTS FASTER.
THERE ARE 3 KEY THINGS YOU WILL WANT TO CONSIDER WHEN YOU’RE EXPLORING GROWTH CAPITAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR BUSINESS.
1. Time – How much time are you losing on tasks outside of what your business is set up to do? If you could evaluate the use of your time on things outside of what makes your business profitable, what would those activities include and how can you put people, processes, or technology in place to get time back to do the things your business needs to achieve results?
2. Cost – Similar to time, that old saying that “time is money” can ring true as you begin to assess the amount of time that takes you away from your primary goals. Beyond the soft costs, where does your business invest the most money? Equipment, Marketing, Staff? Understanding what performance metrics are important for educated decisions for future investment are good to put in place and revisited monthly, quarterly, and annually. Of course, the possibilities of growth capital appear when you review your costs and find gaps or the need to explore opportunities.
3. Quality– Quality matters. You and your employees all need to share the same amount of responsibility for service levels. Growth capital gives you the ability to invest now for the next phase of your plan whether that means a higher concentration on sales training and education programs, marketing materials, and quality assurance improvements that will lead to increased customer satisfaction and experience. If you are not able to concentrate on quality because of the misalignment of costs in your business that’s where this takes us full circle.
Whether you are expanding or restructuring operations, looking to reach a new market or finance an acquisition, growth capital allows you to make these strategic investments in your business.
SUMMARIZING 3 TAKE AWAYS:
- Identify the most challenging time constraints of people, processes, or technology.
- Have a solid understanding of performance and the costs associated to results.
- Quality improvements is a continuous cycle for successful businesses. Explore how your company can benefit from growth capital to achieve better customer relationships and experiences.
