This Week@Work, Pavlo facilitated a business battleplan with a room full of warriors, also known as business owners! The discussions about growth reiterated the same three big challenges to growth that he see’s over and over again, all over the world.
Understand them, and build a battleplan to overcome them.
In this article, first published in Business Leader, Pavlo looks to the white ant or termite to make a point about how inflation eats away at your business’s value.
The white ant, otherwise known as a termite, it’s a formidable little creature with an impressive set of jaws. They eat wood at a voracious rate and do so through the inside, not on top. Spotting them at work is only discovered when your foot lands on a floorboard and crashes through. It earned the term “white-anting”, analogous to how unforeseen forces unravel and disassemble efforts to create, build and sustain whatever it is you are doing.
White-anting aptly describes the corrosive impact of inflation on a business. Having last seen sustained inflation levels, in tandem with their ugly partner, rising interest rates, over 44 years ago, most of us would be far too young to remember the antidotes and counter strategies we can deploy across our business to sustain and, in fact, grow during such periods.
In this series titled ‘The inflation white ant‘, I’ll share six practical strategies to counter the corrosive effects of inflation on our companies and our state of mental well-being. I’ll draw the insights from companies I work with and share practical strategies and tactics to counter the value destruction inflation brings and the growth opportunities it opens.
It anchors you in the reality of the economy rather than a wait-and-see hopeful one. It also lets you see, feel and understand the changes inflation ushers into the economy, allowing for inspired and bold action.
The shock of our stubbornly high current inflation rate and the ongoing litany of dire economic news feeds uncertainty in decisions and actions. Yet, he who hesitates is lost, and the decision, no, the discipline of maintaining a growth mindset, yields inspired positive actions. It’s the difference between leading or following and stepping boldly into this economy on the front foot with the advantages that it brings.
Inflation erodes what you have at a compounded level. Hesitating to invest in growth today means the same investment will be more expensive tomorrow. Add to that the opportunity cost of hesitation or indecision.
I recently met a business owner considering investing in a new lathe. We ran the numbers, and the acquisition would collectively increase productivity by almost 7%. That increase lent itself to more competitive pricing, improved quality, and the opportunity to outbid competitors and grow market share. At that time, the media was filled with dire forecasts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, further driving energy and food costs. Doomsday Sayers weighed in heavily, accurately forecasting the inflationary prices we’d all have to bear. Hesitating, this business owner opted to wait for a more certain economic forecast.
March forward eight months, interest rates rose, and any possible debt funding dried up. The lathe’s price, including transport and commissioning, has increased by 15,8%.
They opted to invest in a new fleet of delivery trucks. The numbers showed us that the new fleet would increase productivity by an estimated 6% due to increased fuel efficiency, amongst other gains. It would also improve the company’s “green rating”, opening doors to EU-based clients that required such accreditations before accepting them as a new vendors. Nine months on, productivity improved by 4%, and they landed five new clients.
The differences between these two business owners are stark and lie in their mindsets. Both business owners live and breathe in the same economy. The growth mindset saw the future economy as an opportunity to act and grow in the face of the rising costs customers would face by getting ahead to improve productivity. As costs rose, he maintained pricing off the back of his reduced cost base. It earned him new clients, many at the cost of his competitors, that had to raise pricing. Literally ‘across the road’, the hesitation of the passive mindset lost the productivity gains that the investment would have ushered in time to meet the demand for improved pricing from customers under pressure.
A growth mindset is half what you need to thrive in an inflationary economy. The other half is a growth plan designed to capitalise on it.
This Week@Work, Pavlo presented a series of workshops with business owners looking for scale and growth, of course! One of the big discussion points was who should lead that growth. As the business owner you’re the biggest investor in your business and growth inherently carries risk.
You need to be the one driving growth as you have everything to lose or gain from it.
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.
This week@work Pavlo met with a frustrated, established business owner who is looking to sell his business in the next 5 years. As part of his exit strategy he ramped up revenues to appeal to a buyer, but his success has put him squarely in ‘No Man’s Land’: Too big for private buyers to afford and too small for listed entities to be interested in.
It’s another warning to start with the end in mind so you can build your business for the right buyer.
This Week@Work, Pavlo was reminded of the necessity to reset, rebuild, and reignite your business annually as a practice to ensure it’s relevant, optimised, and set for growth. Don’t get caught with your pants down because of comfort, complacency, boredom, or exhaustion. You’ve worked hard to create the value you have; be sure to vigilantly nurture it!
This Week@Work Pavlo went to play in the traffic, to make a point about actively hunting for business, rather than passively waiting for it to come to you.
Business Development is more than marketing or sales and it allows us to see the opportunities in the market, which you can’t see if you’re simply waiting for the phone to ring.
Join us for 55 minutes on 3rd November to understand how we would work with you and your team to achieve your business goals and ambitions.
Keep good company by engaging and developing relationships with established, growth-minded business owners through an online roundtable event that will enable –
Keep good company by engaging and developing relationships with established, growth-minded business owners through an online roundtable event that will enable –
Join us for 55 minutes on 3rd November to understand how we would work with you and your team to achieve your business goals and ambitions.
Keep good company by engaging and developing relationships with established, growth-minded business owners through an online roundtable event that will enable –