This Week@Work Pavlo had the honour of learning about some of the UK’s best Scale Up businesses as he is a judge for the Business Leader Scale UP awards.
It’s clear which businesses are getting it right and what they are doing right. Watch to see what makes a business genuinely scalable.
This Week@Work a discussion around acquisitions as a strategy to accelerate growth gave Pavlo an opportunity to explore this idea in more detail. Several types of growth make up your business growth recipe if you intend to grow revenue, profit as well as capital value that can be realised.
Accelerated growth is one of these, and has a number of elements to it but an acquisition of a business may not be the path to achieving it.
This Week@Work Pavlo might sound Dramatic but he is Daring you to think Differently about how you Do business today.
Design your business now for the outcome you Desire, rather than being forced to Do it, when you get hit by one of the 6Ds. Watch to see what he means.
This Week@Work Pavlo met with a business owner who is deeply frustrated because his business has outgrown the ‘chassis’ or business model that it was originally built on.
As our business’s grow, we’ll all face this, we can’t stop running the business to rebuild the chassis, we have to build while we fly.
Building a brand is a process that takes time, effort, and a clear understanding of what you want your brand to represent. It all starts with your first engagement in the market, whether through a product or a person. This initial engagement ignites the first transaction, which provides you with valuable insights into the market and helps you learn about yourself in relation to what you are doing.
As you continue to engage with customers, pay attention to those who come back for more and whom you enjoy serving. Double down on them as an affinity for the customers that matter is as important as an affinity for the product. Take the time to understand the values of the customers you enjoy serving and what matters most to them beyond transactions. Building relationships and getting the voice of the customer can help you tailor your brand to meet their needs.
Your brand’s personality should match the values of the customers you enjoy serving. This alignment of values and value helps build trust, which is crucial in establishing a brand. Define the experience you want your customers, employees, suppliers, and the media to have in relation to this brand personality. Avoid the trap of trying to be everything to everyone, as this leads to a lack of focus and can dilute your brand.
Craft an experience that can be reliably, predictably, and consistently delivered without you. Unless you create a relatable and repeatable experience that can scale, you cannot grow, and you cannot build momentum behind the brand.
Recruit a team that transcends the functional activity you are trying to fill. Look for people who match the activities of the job that needs to be done, and then focus on values. An excellent team can help you scale your brand and provide the experience you want your customers to have. And then invest in your brand. If it’s a secret, and nobody knows about it, where is its value? Make sure people know about your brand by investing in marketing, advertising, and other promotional efforts.
Finally, it’s essential to live and lead your brand. You are the custodian of your brand, and it’s up to you to ensure that your team understands the values and personality that your brand represents. As you live your brand, you’ll attract the right customers, employees, and suppliers, which will help you continue to grow and build momentum behind your brand.
Building a brand is a journey, but by focusing on your customers, their values, and creating a consistent experience, you can build a brand that lasts. It’s up to you to invest in your brand, recruit the right team, and live and lead your brand to success..
For the radio show click here.
When it comes to business growth, it’s important to shift our focus away from revenue and profit as mere indicators of success. Rather, revenue and profit should be seen as crucial triggers and indicators of change in a business’s development lifecycle. This is especially true if your goal is to build an asset, not just a job.
So, what are the criteria for building an asset? First and foremost, leadership plays a pivotal role in this regard. You need to understand what you want to achieve, why it matters, and how you can direct your resources to make it happen.
But how do you position growth within this framework? One way is to ask yourself the following questions: When should you pursue growth? Why is growth important to your business? What kind of business are you in? Let’s explore these questions in more detail.
Positioning Growth: When, Why, and What
Figuring out what business you’re in is essential for understanding how to grow. Take the example of Jack the Baker. Is he in the business of selling croissants or or providing a solution for fresh baked goods 356 days a year? Once you’ve determined the answer to this question, you can start to focus on the right kind of growth.
In this phase, revenue growth matters most, not profit
For businesses that are just starting out or looking to establish themselves, revenue growth should be the primary focus. It’s a crucial indicator of demand for your product or service and can help you build a solid foundation for profitability down the road.
Organic Growth: When, Why, and What
Organic growth is all about creating time to focus on growth without getting bogged down in daily operational activities. The goal is to achieve steady-state revenue growth that matches profit growth and tracks with it over time.
Accelerated Growth: When, Why, and What
Accelerated growth is all about dominating your positioning within a well-defined segment. This requires a strong understanding of your target market and a focus on profitability within that segment.
Next Level Growth: When, Why, and What?
Next level growth is all about de-risking your business by scaling profitability. It’s not just about profit quantum; it’s about ensuring that profitability is sustainable and that you’re not relying on one-time windfalls to achieve growth.
Capital Growth: When, Why, and What?
Capital growth is all about raising capital or looking to exit through a sale. It requires a focus on both profit volume (as a risk indicator) and profitability (as a growth indicator) to ensure that you’re building a strong, sustainable asset that’s attractive to investors.
When it comes to growth, it’s essential to understand the triggers and indicators that drive change in your business. Revenue and profit are crucial indicators of change, but they should be seen in the context of building a sustainable, scalable, and profitable asset. By positioning growth in this way, you can achieve long-term success and build a business that lasts.