Moving Up: How to Anticipate Changes to Your Small Business

Rachelle Wilber

February 23, 2017

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When you start your business, you probably have high hopes that it will grow and be successful. However, there are many problems that your company may need to solve as it grows. You may be able to anticipate and solve some of them in your business plan or before they happen. What are some ways that you can anticipate changes to your growing business and manage them in a proactive manner?

Will You Need New Sources of Funding?

At first, it you may have been able to get by with a personal loan from a friend or a small credit card balance to fund operations. Unfortunately, a few hundred dollars may not be enough to pay an employee or buy new equipment to fulfill a large order. Therefore, you may need to look into finding additional funding or new sources that can meet your funding needs. If you find yourself struggling to get a business loan, you may consider refinancing your mortgage or selling assets to raise thousands of dollars quickly. Factoring your accounts receivable may allow you to get paid immediately for services rendered instead of waiting 30 to 90 days for payment. This may provide you with revenue when you need it, which may allow you to avoid cash crunches in the future.

Do You Need to Update Company Policies?

When you are the only person working for your company, it may be unnecessary to have policies against harassment or bullying in the workplace. However, as your workforce grows, it may be necessary to create such policies to avoid a lawsuit. It may also be a good idea to hire an individual to work as an HR department head or consultant within your company.

Will You Need More Space?

It is possible that your company will need more space to operate efficiently. At some point, you may want to have your employees working under one roof as it may make it easier for employees to communicate and managers to supervise. Having everyone work at a central office location may also reduce liability concerns as everyone will be working in a controlled and standardized environment. Employers should be aware that if a worker gets hurt while performing job duties at home, it could be labeled as a workers' compensation case. Smaller companies in Utah may want to look at warehousing and coworking in Salt Lake City to meet their business needs. In fact, coworking opportunities may be beneficial to small companies no matter where they are located.

Do You Need to Upgrade Your Technology?

As your business grows, it will need to become more efficient to retain current productivity levels. This may mean installing new VoIP phone systems that allow you to make calls from your computer or hold meetings via webcam. Your company may also want to look into how it can use a tablet or smartphone to make sales from wherever the customer happens to be. Installing new servers may make it easier to keep corporate data secure. If employee or customer records were to leak to the public those individuals could sue for damages. If a product design were to fall into the hands of a competitor, it could ruin a competitive advantage that is has and eat away at your market share.

As your business grows, it will need to change and adapt to think more like an established company. This may mean drawing up official company policies or finding a bank or lender to finance its growth. It may also mean keeping an eye on security to ensure that nothing gets in the way of the company's continued success.