Create a solid plan
Creating a comprehensive business plan is an important step in
preparing for and managing growth.
“It gives you the groundwork to grow and the targets and metrics
to measure your efforts against,” Greber says.
He started by creating a plan that touches on every aspect of the
business, from marketing and sales to capital to operational needs. A
good business plan should address various forms of growth and
short- and long-term goals.
“Have realistic goals and stick with your core business,” Greber
says. “Sometimes businesses want to get into something similar, but
they get out of their core areas. Don’t start too big or deviate from
your core business. Start small, and leave those larger growth numbers for your out years.”
An important piece of building your growth plan is getting everyone
involved.
“We involve staff to get new ideas and buy-in,” Greber says.
“Eventually, the people have to implement the plan, so we involve
people from each of the departments so they can participate in the
planning process and offer their ideas. It’s not management’s plan or
the CEO’s plan; it’s our plan. It’s everybody’s plan.
“If people are part of the process, then they’re supporting it. You get
buy-in, commitment and dedication to the overall growth strategy.
The buy-in and feeling of true importance and value to the company
engages people and makes them more active and satisfied.”
Greber involved the company’s senior staff in the planning process,
along with a team of people from the company’s major departments.
The team reviewed and provided direct input and questions on the
plan before Greber and the board made the final decision.
Getting everyone involved also results in new ideas to help the
company. For example, ideas from employees helped EQM develop
a more sophisticated integrated electronic system for managing large
amounts of resources at multiple sites as well as improving various
key elements of the business infrastructure, particularly in accounting and contracts.
“We had so many vendors, invoices, subcontracts and purchase orders that it caused us to expand and refine those departments and
the tools of doing their jobs,” Greber says. “We made it more sophisticated, which makes us more poised and prepared for growth.”
Employee involvement also makes implementation of the plan
easier.
“Those individuals carry the message to their departments, and
then we carry it further to employees and outside business associates, mainly through our company newsletter,” Greber says. “When
you get down to the nuts and bolts of implementation, you’re talking
about individuals having specific responsibilities.”
He says you need to review the plan periodically and don’t be afraid
to make changes.
“Be sure to go back and make certain that you’re following it, and
if you’re not, modify it,” he says. “You can’t write a plan just for the
sake of writing one or putting it on the shelf and letting it collect
dust.”
One of the biggest challenges he faces is trying to balance the
steady, planned growth with the spikes caused by major events.
Dealing with sudden increases in growth means being prepared for
them when they happen. Shortfalls in staffing are made up with temporary workers, but Greber has invested in additional resources and
infrastructure needed for these events, even though it may mean
spending money on capacity that isn’t needed year-round.
“It’s being willing to make those decisions and financial commitments but not too much or too large or too fast, and then relying on
dedicated staff that will put in sometimes significant additional time
and effort to meet the project and customer needs,” he says.
