Tuesday, August 26, 2008

How to Grow Your Business in a Challenging Economy

I attended a seminar with this title - curious as to what the speaker would say here that is any different than how one advises a business owner on growing a business in a "normal" economy (if there is such a thing). Well, as it turned out the seminar was more of a sales pitch for a couple of company's services, and as such, a complete waste of my time. I should have known this - by the title alone.

The fact of the matter is the economy has no bearing whatsoever on the processes used to consistently grow a company. It may affect the strength of the growth but not "how" growth is achieved. A challenging economy will also magnify the impact of not following fundamental business processes when planning for growth. Incorrectly assessing your company's strengths and weaknesses or the opportunities and threats in a good economy can hurt you - but in a tougher setting can bring you down to your knees. That is why it is always wise to have someone challenge your assumptions and make certain you don't drink your own bathwater when creating your strategy for growth.

Good economy or bad the fundamentals of achieving growth remain the same. It starts with a sound plan.

Does your company have a written strategic plan? My informal poll says the answer is most likely "no". Ugh!

More on this topic later.

More information can be found at my
website: AllegroConsultant.com

Have a great day.