Growth

All businesses will have one or more metrics on which to measure their success. For many, this will be a metric based on growth, specifically top-line revenue. However, all business leaders recognise that whilst turnover provides a solid measurement of growth, profits are what truly defines whether a business is successful or not and the metric of bottom-line profits is a truer reflection on business success and growth.

This distinction in measuring success is key to the drafting and implementation of a strategic growth plan. Achieving materially significant and sustainable growth necessitates all elements of your business to be aligned and working with a singular purpose to achieve this objective.

Many businesses, even those that are long-established and successful, struggle to strategize their growth plans. For some, they start a new financial period by setting a percentile increase to a turnover figure as their growth objective. Others, it is the development and subsequent sale revenue generated from a new product or service. Others, it is the addition of a defined minimum number of new clients. All lead back to an increase in turnover. All are justifiable means to determine if growth and therefore success has been achieved at the end of a financial period. But unless this is thoroughly planned, with costings, timelines, milestones, and allocated resources, too often businesses will reach the end of the financial window and be disappointed that whilst they may have realised the growth objective of turnover, the metric of profit has not grown likewise. For others, they have not only achieved but surpassed the objectives. This in turn raises questions on the veracity of the process used to determine the objectives in the first place. Too conservative in determining objectives is as disruptive and destabilising to a business as being too optimistic. Why? All growth is dependent on resources being in situ to then deliver against. Bringing on new clients without the resources or capital to support them can cause significant financial, operational, and reputational damage to a business. But equally, putting in situ resources to support forecasted sales that never materialise exacerbates existing cost structures within a business, leading to erosion of profits. So how do you balance the two?

This Is Where ATO Assists

The starting point must always be in the creation of a strategic growth plan, one which asks and answers the question as to how your business will grow:

1. Organic (producing more of an existing product or service for an existing customer base)
2. Strategic (when organic growth has plateaued, growth is sought via expansion into new markets)
3. Partnership / Merger/ Acquisition 
4. Internal (specifically, reducing costs in proportion to the sales revenue generated)

How We Add Value

Not all will be relevant to your business at this time. Understanding which is relevant and which is not is the starting point of what will be a detailed and meticulous plan, one which roadmaps your business’ strategy for growth. This roadmap not only details where the business is heading, but establishes what is needed, what tactics will be utilised, how long it will take, and what the milestones en route will be.