Good to Great: How to Scale With an Outsourced CFO

The words “business” and “slow down” don’t sound good together. In fact, if you hear that your business is slowing down, you might start to panic. The truth is, though, that sometimes a business needs to slow down in order to grow.

As counterintuitive as that sounds, it can make you stop and take a close look at how your business operates. Are you operating at a frenetic, reactive pace? Or do you slow down from time to time long enough to set and make goals and methodically reach them?

The following are six times your business should slow down:

 

1. Strategy Development

If your business doesn’t have a cohesive strategy, it makes good business sense to slow down. Carefully developing your strategy and working through its implementation at a reasonable, sustainable pace is recommended.

 

2. Employee Hiring

When you have a vacant position, especially a position that is crucial to your daily operations, it’s tempting to race through the hiring process and get that position filled as soon as possible.

Hiring too quickly, however, can be a big mistake. If you are patient and wait until you have found the person with the experience and skills necessary to do a great job, your business will have a much brighter future than if you rush the hiring process and end up with a less-than-ideal employee.

 

3. Customer Acquisition

Are you attracting the right kinds of customers for your business? The right kinds of customers are the ones who need your products and services, will come back for more, and will tell their friends and colleagues about you.

If your promotions are attracting people who come once for the good deal and then never come again, you may need to take more time with your marketing strategy.

 

4. Product Commercialisation

Getting your new products to market at warp speed can set you ahead of the competition, but if you’re too fast, you might be introducing products to the market that are fraught with problems. Subpar products can be extremely damaging to your branding, especially if you have built a following based on quality.

 

5. Time to Pivot

Businesses sometimes grow and thrive after they’ve taken the time to learn and do something new. If your business has been in a rut, you may need to reach out to new markets, introduce new products, or pitch new ideas to clients and investors. It takes time to do each of these things, but the results can be highly beneficial to the long-term health of your business.

 

6. Regrouping

If your business has been on a high-speed track for a long time, morale might be low, and your employees may have forgotten the mission of your organisation. At times like this, slow down, regroup, and assess your goals. Have you reached old goals? Is it time to set more? How is everyone doing? Have you recognised them for all the good work they’ve been doing? 

Slowing down at times like these can help your business to stay centred on its mission and prepare for growth and success in the future.

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