Growing your business can seem a daunting task, but if you have some strategies to work with, it can be a lot easier.

When we last left off, we talked about the possibility of your hiring an accountant, or bookkeeper, to help in growing your business. Here are some tips…

How do you know when your business is at this stage?

Aneta Pazeski, Director – SME Centre, CPA Australia, says the point at which a business decides to employ an in-house accountant will differ depending on many variables including the size of the business, the rate of growth and the strategic goals.

“There are no set criteria as to when a business should employ an in-house accountant,” she says.  “It largely depends on how the owner wants to grow the business and the rate at which they want it to grow.”

“It’s time to bring in an in-house accountant when the business owner realizes it’s impossible for them to manage the daily processes of driving the business effectively as well as managing the finances.”

When you need someone who can do more than just assist with the finances, Pazeski recommends a CPA qualified accountant who is knowledgeable in broader strategic business issues such as decision making, leadership and corporate governance.

“They are also valuable in the area of costing and pricing to improve profitability,” she adds.

Where can I get the relevant information?

For a business owner, doing strategic work assumes that they are comfortable with ‘the business of business’.  That is, that they are across the underlying principles of running a successful business that can grow and is not dependent on the owner.  While this is the preferred status, it’s not always the case.

So where can I get this information?

You have a number of avenues, each with its own benefits.

• Books – the business sections in bookshops are full of information for small business owners, although not always helpful in showing you how to implement the advice.
• Business Courses – local Business Enterprise Centres are a good starting point.
• Mentoring – find someone who has proved themselves as an expert in running a successful business and ask them to mentor you.
• Business coaching – the most effective. Seek out a style of coaching that will help you look at your business as an integrated set of systems; one that has a structured program and is not solely reliant on the personal experience of the coach.

Key partners and suppliers – who are they?

Depending on the business, they could be your taxation accountant, business adviser, bank manager, solicitor, wholesaler, distributor or stock and materials supplier. The operative word here is ‘partner’.  Your strategic work must include developing, building and maintaining these relationships.  While your staff will also be involved with some of them, your responsibility is to maintain them at the highest level.

This list of potential key partners is as varied as the list of small business categories.

Expertise comes in many forms from many experts who have the skills you don’t.

• Accountants and bookkeepers
• Tax advice
• Legal advice
• Sales skills
• Marketing
• Advertising
• Copywriting
• Market research
• Design
• Engineering
• Graphic design
• Web design

Your exit strategy

How many people, when they plan what their business is to become, incorporate their own exit strategy?  The exception is, true entrepreneurs who create a business in order to increase its value and sell it.  They are very clear about the purpose of creating and developing a business.   What is your exit strategy? What do you want your business to do for you?  If you have read this far, it’s a given that you want to build the business.  And then what?  Do you want to sell it? Do you want to bring in an investor? Franchise? Bring in a management team so you can stand back and still enjoy the rewards? Pass it on to the next generation?  Or do you expect to retire and shut it down when you do so?

Whatever you decide – excluding the last option – your strategic planning must incorporate it. Being clear about your exit strategy will help clarify every step you take as you create a business that can handle and revel in healthy, controlled growth.

Until next time…

P.S. Learn more about working ON your business with my FREE eBook! Get it HERE!