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.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Welcome - Straight talk

Hi all.

Welcome to my blog on issues relevant to growing your business. This is a "straight-talk" site geared towards mid-sized ($3 - $100 million in revenue) service or manufacturing business owners as well as not-for-profit leaders about growth.

As a consultant I don't get paid to tell you how wonderful you are - on the contrary, my job involves listening and observing and then providing frank advise about the changes necessary to help you achieve realistic and aggressive growth goals. My company brochure asks the question: "Are you serious about growth? Really serious?" I ask this question because it takes more than lip service, passion, and a strong work ethic to grow a business. Those companies who consistently grow year after year do so with good planning and flawless execution. I plan to share my views about the particular traits of well run and high growth businesses. As you read these articles I ask you to compare these traits with your company or organization. How do you compare?

I hope you find this material interesting, educational - but most importantly, worth your time. More information can be found at my
website: AllegroConsultant.com

Have a great day.