I wonder how many people clicked on this article because of the title. What if I was going to tell you NOT to grow your business – would you think I was crazy, or lazy or both? However, growth for growth sake has proven the downfall (or at the least, pitfall) of many a corporate giant – Starbucks being the most recent in the news, Google a close second.

Here in Kansas City it was national news when Big Business Starbucks closed its doors in our urban neighborhood, Westport, leaving the “Mom and Pop” store, Broadway Café, standing.  The pundits said it was a classic case of Starbucks ‘chasing the dollar they don’t have in lieu of keeping the dollar they do!’

You have to wade through music cds, ceramic mugs, even bagels to get your cup of coffee at Starbucks now.  Trying to be too many things to too many people hurt their bottom line. After all, how many people do you know go to Starbucks to buy music? Going for the added value deterred them from their core success.

That’s why when Synthesis expands I insist on MANAGED GROWTH. Whenever we offer a new service, it has to pass three tests:  One: does it hold to our core service – organization? Two: can we offer the service as consistently and reliably as we have our other services?  And Three:  are we willing to put in the time, effort and oversight that is always necessary when we offer a new service to others?  In other words, are we willing to do the work ourselves in a ‘soft opening’ until we know we can hire folks to do it in the same fashion, or most likely, better?

Procedures, structure, fair compensation, competitive pricing – all these roll into solid business growth. But quite often owners focus solely on the money.  I’ll make more money if I have people working for me! I’ll make more money if I offer more services!

Not necessarily – We hear stories all the time of people who hire people only to find they are frantically searching for work to keep their people busy!  It’s stressful, and often not that profitable.  Worse, if you neglect your core clients in your effort to capture new money, you could actually fall behind.

Grow your business? Why not?  However, do your homework; making sure the new service you are offering is still in line with what you are known for and good at.  Make sure each employee you hire works with you for at least two weeks and monitor them for a good six weeks to ensure the quality of service they provide meets or exceeds your own.

Take each step slowly, allowing the new goods or service to anchor into your business for three to six months. It takes that long to be sure your procedures are in place and your results are measurable.

Finally, soft open with core clients and get solid feedback. Your ‘great new idea’ could be a winner, or a tanker.  That’s not for you to decide, but your customers. Manage your growth and you will find the success will reflect in the bottom line.