1. They tell you
In many circumstances, high-growth businesses will make the fact that they’re in a growth phase public. Taking a look at their company website or reading interviews will give you some clues, and may give you some ideas for your own firm’s positioning – and the stage at which you can expect to see such growth levels.
2. They seek investment
If a business is on the lookout for investment, then it’s likely that they’ve assessed the level of demand for their products and services and graded it high enough to have a realistic chance of selling off equity or shares. If this is a position in which your firm finds itself, then it’s worth ensuring that your company balance sheet is in a good state. It’s also worth making sure that you have an adequate collaborative data-sharing system in place so that any future investment pitch deck can be easily created and reveal one version of the truth.
3. They’re hiring
Firms that are on a growth trajectory often need to hire more staff in order to ensure that they have enough personnel to meet their new needs. In order to emulate this, it could be worth looking at your own staffing structure. Are there any clear gaps? In order to do this effectively, this will usually require some cross-departmental work: finance may need to provide updated and forecasted data on remuneration packages to the C-Suite, while HR could ensure that previous employee feedback information is shared properly before hiring begins. A non-siloed data-sharing system that is accessible to all departments will help here.
4. They plan well
Planning is key to ensuring high growth. That’s because all of these other hallmarks – such as attracting investment or strategically hiring new staff – come from thorough research into the company’s position, and excellent forward-thinking. An ad hoc, trial-and-error approach may work for a new start-up, but not for a high-growth firm!
5. They take risks
In a competitive marketplace, it’s hard to grow as a business without a risk-taking strategy being in place. It’s definitely the case that the most successful high-growth businesses are often the ones that take the most risks. It’s worth assessing how much cash reserves your firm has in this regard: if it has a lot, then it could be useful to explore strategically investing this cash in potential growth areas to be sure that you’re making the most of what you have available to you.
Growing a business to new heights is something that most entrepreneurs and finance leaders dream about doing from time to time. There are some specific ways in which it can be transformed from a dream into a reality. Whether it’s risk-taking, good planning or simply hiring new staff, there are many ways to get this done.
How can you get your finance function in the best possible position before a period of growth? Learn how we can assist.