An Unexamined Consequence of Endless Business Growth

Picture this:

You are scaling and growing your company. You feel amazing that this business of yours is finally getting off the ground.

It is your baby right? Your business started off as a baby that needed your tender loving care 24/7. After a period of time, you started to get pretty consistent income.

Now your business is in the child stage. The business still needs your help but it is starting to find its place in the world.

Now that you are growing by leaps and bounds, the business is becoming an adult right?

Not so fast!! Here is what the endless focus on growth and scaling without an exit planning strategy does to your business:

1. You focus on getting bigger but bigger doesn't always mean you are getting more profitable.
2. With growth comes more employees, more compliance costs, more headaches if one misstep occurs, and more stress. Just ask any business when they are in the stage of "growing pains".
3. You grow and scale but then forget to ask yourself "at what point do I want to focus on my existing customers" instead of endlessly finding new ones since the cost to service existing customers is much less than the cost to acquire a new customer?

All of these pitfalls above are important to note but there is one nightmarish consequence many business owners forget about. And what is that one you may ask?

Drum roll... focusing on growing and scaling without an exit plan in mind makes you EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED to your business!

This can be devastating because if you become emotionally attached what happens?

Your ego controls your decision making. You can't let go when you need to. You become controlling. This then affects your relationships with your customers, employees, vendors and everyone in between.

What happens when you exert such control that your business cannot run without you being there all the time controlling every single outcome?

Collapse. That is why it is so critically important to understand your business is an asset. But it can become a liability overnight with its value plummeting to zero if one does not have a goal in mind.

How much do you want for your business if someone offered to buy it today? Are you prepared for such a monumental event? How much do you want your business to be worth?

#smallbusinessmatters #exitplanning