With a bit of planning and perseverance, you can achieve anything you set your mind to.
As an entrepreneur, you are likely always looking for ways to grow your business. However, growth planning can be difficult, and many hurdles often exist.
Sometimes, it can feel like you are constantly hitting roadblocks. This blog post will discuss the six most common hurdles entrepreneurs face when planning growth and how to overcome them.
But, before we get into that, let’s first understand what growth planning is.
Growth planning is the process of setting goals and strategies for business growth. It usually involves taking a close look at your current situation and determining where you want to be in the future. It also includes creating a plan of action to reach those goals. However, as we mentioned, many hurdles can often get in the way of a successful growth plan.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common ones.
1. Not Knowing Your Numbers
One of the most common hurdles entrepreneurs face when growth planning is not knowing their numbers, and this can make it difficult to set realistic goals and strategies.
2. Lack of Focus
Another common issue is a lack of focus. This can happen when you try to do too many things at once or don’t have a clear plan.
3. Not Having the Right Team
Another common hurdle is not having the right team in place. This can make it difficult to execute your growth plan and reach your goals.
4. Fear of Failure
Many entrepreneurs are afraid of Failure, which can make it difficult to take risks. However, growth often requires taking risks. Without taking risks, it’s unlikely that you’ll see any significant progress.
5. Lack of Motivation
Another common issue is a lack of motivation. This can happen when you do not see results or you’re not passionate about your business.
6. Not Being Organized
Not being organized is another common hurdle entrepreneurs face when planning growth. This can make it difficult to stay on track and reach your goals.
Now that we’ve looked at some of the most common hurdles entrepreneurs face when growth planning, let’s discuss how to overcome them. It’s a bit of a pipe dream to think that any business can just avoid challenges altogether, but what you can do is being aware of the most common ones and have a strategy for overcoming them. Overcome those, and you’ll be in a much better position to achieve your growth goals.
Here are some tips for overcoming the most common hurdles:
1. Know Your Numbers
As we mentioned, one of the most common hurdles entrepreneurs face when growth planning is not knowing their numbers. This can make it difficult to set realistic goals and strategies.
The best way to overcome this hurdle is to get a clear understanding of your numbers. This includes things like your sales, expenses, margins, and so on. Once you have a good understanding of your numbers, you’ll be in a much better position to set realistic goals and strategies.
2. Focus on One Thing at a Time
Another common issue is a lack of focus. This can happen when you try to do too many things at once or when you don’t have a clear plan. The best way to overcome this hurdle is to focus on one thing at a time. Choose one goal and create a plan of action to reach it. Once you’ve reached that goal, you can move on to the next one.
3. Build the Right Team
Another common hurdle is not having the right team in place. This can make it difficult to execute your growth plan and reach your goals. The best way to overcome this hurdle is to build the right team. This includes finding people who are passionate about your business and who have the skills and experience to help you reach your goals.
4. Embrace Failure
Many entrepreneurs are afraid of Failure, which can make it difficult to take risks. However, growth often requires taking risks. Without taking risks, it’s unlikely that you’ll see any significant progress. The best way to overcome this hurdle is to embrace Failure. This means that you need to be okay with making mistakes and learning from them.
5. Stay Motivated
Another common issue is a lack of motivation. This can happen when you do not see results or you’re not passionate about your business. The best way to overcome this hurdle is to stay motivated. This means finding ways to keep yourself inspired and focused on your goals.
6. Stay Organized
Not being organized is another common hurdle entrepreneurs face when planning growth. This can make it difficult to stay on track and reach your goals.
Building your ROAD MAP
The word “roadmap” gets thrown around a lot in business. But what is a roadmap, really? A roadmap is simply a document that outlines your plans for the future. It can be as simple or as complex as you need it to be. The important thing is that it provides a clear and concise picture of where you want to go and how you plan to get there. Creating a roadmap is an important part of growth planning because it allows you to track your progress and make adjustments as needed.
Here’s an overview of how to create a roadmap:
Define Your Destination—The first step is to define your destination. What is your ultimate goal?
Create a Plan—Once you know where you’re going, you need to create a plan of how to get there. What steps do you need to take to reach your goal?
Make Adjustments—As you progress, you’ll likely need to make adjustments to your plan. This is normal and to be expected.
Track Your Progress—Finally, you need to track your progress to make sure you’re on track. This will help you identify any problems and make necessary adjustments.
Now you know the basics of creating a roadmap and the common hurdles entrepreneurs face when growth planning. Use this information to create your own roadmap and overcome any obstacles you encounter along the way.
Still not sure where to start?
Consider working with a business coach or consultant to help you create your roadmap and reach your goals. As a certified partner with Pendleton Global, we use our unique business model—Business Waterwheel™ – to take businesses through organizational change and development.