You’ve got good cash flow, your products are selling, and you’re on good terms with suppliers. So, why has your business growth plateaued? There may be some lesser-known reasons your business is not growing. Here are five surprising issues that could be at fault:
- Accessibility
You need more employees to grow, but it’s not as simple as advertising jobs and filling positions anymore. There is a global shortage of employees, which has encouraged many employers to offer better pay, benefits, and opportunities to employees to ensure they stay onboard.
These changes also help attract more candidates to the workplace. In addition, employers must cultivate an inclusive workplace to ensure that the business is accessible, opening up job positions to talent pools that may have previously been missed.
- Denial
Have you ever seen those episodes of Shark Tank or Dragons Den where an entrepreneur has spent their life savings on a product over the years, and it just hasn’t ever taken off? Many businesses can fall into the same trap. The numbers and feedback show things are going south, but denial happens, and action isn’t taken to adapt and correct course.
When was the last time you stopped, took an honest look at your business, and considered alternative reasons that it might not be growing as it should? The best thing you can do is be honest with yourself. This will give you the perspective you need to find a new direction and improve your future prospects.
- Fear
Seeing as 70% of new businesses fail by their 10th year, there’s every reason to be cautious. Problems arise, however, when you become so fearful that you end up not taking any risks. Do this, and your business may never really grow.
The tough truth of the matter is that risk is unavoidable in the business world. Sometimes, you just have to take a leap. Be brave – you have to go into the unknown a little to discover bigger and better opportunities for your business.
- Poor Communication
Poor communication is a major business killer, and (no big surprise here) it can also stunt business growth. It impacts customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, ideas sharing, troubleshooting, health, and safety – the list is endless.
Interestingly, statistics suggest that communication has also become worse since the pandemic, as businesses aren’t adapting too well to remote/flexible working practices.
If your business is struggling to grow, the following signs suggest that it may be a communication issue:
- Lack of consistency in customer outcomes;
- Low staff productivity;
- Low staff morale;
- Negative customer feedback.
Should these signs be present in your business, it’s crucial to adapt your systems to promote better communication (including top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top systems).
- Toxicity
Toxic work environments can arise from a passive-aggressive manager, a culture of office gossip, a bad habit of replying rudely to customer feedback online, or even microaggressions between departments.
Whatever the cause, toxicity is a drain on morale, productivity, staff retention, and (you guessed it) business growth. If you watch programs like Undercover Boss, you’ll see how easy it is for toxicity to go on under the radar. Once you start looking, however, it could become abundantly clear why you’re struggling with growth.
Your business can and will grow if you are willing to do the work to find out what’s going wrong. By considering the above possibilities and exploring other avenues of potential restriction, you can break through and make the changes you need to go from strength to strength.
