Growing your organisation - a plan for serious roll-out

 M a ny  startups begin  w i th  a "solopreneurs",  a n  entrepreneur performing  a l l   o f   t he  essential functions  o f   t h e  business. Businesses  th a t  provide services  t o   othe r  businesses  su c h   a s  business consulting  a n d  information technology support  ca n  establish  thems e lves   a n d   eve n  thrive,  t o  a point.   T he   tim e   c omes   howeve r ,   w hen   n o t   onl y   t he  volume   o f  work overloads  t h e  individual entrepreneur  bu t   t h e  need  f o r  capital  fo r  expansion forces change. 

  T hat  change puts   a n  entrepreneur  o n   a n  unfamiliar path. A road  t o  intense scrutiny  b y  outsiders   w ho  want  t o   s ee   mu c h   m o re   tha n  a business  a n d  sales  an d  makreting plan. 

 W h ile   th e  entrepreneur typically busies  thems e lves   w i th   H R  management, sales  an d  marketing  an d   o ften  production,  t h e   seri o us   si d e   o f   th e  company   t hat  needs attention  i s   t o  a certain extent ignored. Unusual   a nd  insecure agreements  a r e  reached  th a t  solve a problem initially  bu t   m a y  create a bigger problem  furth e r   d own   th e  road. 

Eventually,  th e  business growth meets   t he  bottlenecks  o f  limited capacity. Sales   a re  lost  beca u se   t he  workload dictates scheduling new projects  se v eral  months   f rom   n o w.   T he  entrepreneur works twelve-hour days, seven days   p er  week. Life  fo r   th e  family   o f   t h e  entrepreneur begins  t o   ta k e   i ts   o wn  course   w ithout   hi s   o r   h e r  involvement  o r  support. 

  T he  challenge faced  b y   s u ch  entrepreneurs  i s  multi-faceted  bu t  generally boils  d o wn   t o  a key issue.  A s   t he  creator  o f   t h e  business,  t h e  entrepreneur   h as  successfully relied  o n   hi s   o r   h er   o w n  expertise  a n d   th e  hard knocks   o f  early customer engagements  bef o re   t h e  product  w a s  polished.  Th e  entrepreneur built   t he  business  o n  personal sweat   a nd  dedication.  Th e  entrepreneur's personal reputation   i s   a s  important  a s   t h e  business reputation  a t   t h is  stage   a nd  disappointing customers   c an   c a use  irreparable damage. 

Future growth  a n d  sustainability requires  t h e  addition  o f  key resources  i n   t h e  business.  Some t imes,  advisers  an d  consultants  wi l l  offer advice  t o  "Learn  t o  let  i t   go .  Compromise  i s   t h e  natural consequence   o f  growth   a nd  relying   o n   othe r s   t o  perform  i n   y o ur  business." 

 Th e  entrepreneur   n ow  needs  t o  look   a t  a multi-faceted business consultancy -   o ne   w h ich  provides a solution  f o r   th e  over-taxed  an d   un d er  capitalised entrepreneur. Growth  i s   t h e  goal  bu t   t he  route   i s  far  fro m  clear. 

  T his   i s  a critical 'make-or-break' stage  fo r   man y  startup businesses.  Th e  business concept  h a s  demonstrated  i t s  viability  a n d  generated  sever a l  paying customers.  T h e  ability   t o  roll   o ut   a n d  scale   u p     t o  realize  th e  potential   o f   th e  business requires a new level   o f  planning   a nd   th e  addition  o f  resources   t o  perform  t h e  work.   T he  entrepreneur  i s   n o t  "letting go"  o f   a n ything.  Instead,   t hey   ar e  recruiting  a n d  trusting  othe r s   t o  execute  t h e  business, preserve  th e  brand   a nd   th e  core value proposition   t o  customers. 
 

One innovative company working in this area as business consultants is Dutch Oracle. The team at Dutch Oracle consists of talented and experienced individuals who have worked for many years in Business Developer consulting.

Their consulting opportunity – The MindShift program allows the entrepreneur to engage for a very low fee for a period of three months and witness first hand the changes that the team can influence in a short period of time.

“We see the engagement as an opportunity to get to know the team we are working alongside and influence some very key changes in significant areas that will impact their ability to expand. Far from being a big win for us, it will cover some costs but sets us up alongside the entrepreneur for a potential big win”.

For more information visit: http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/mindshift-consulting/