Growth: Awesome, and Messy, at the Same Time
Table of Contents
- The Importance of Growth in Business
- Challenges and Realities of Business Growth
- Reimagining Business Plans and Priorities
- The Messiness of Growth
- Incremental Changes: The Key to Growth
- The Mindset of a Leader in Driving Growth
- The Reality of Overnight Success
- The Subjectivity of Growth
- Seeking Help for Growth Struggles
- Key Takeaways
- ABOUT BOOST’S CEO, STEPHANIE ALEXANDER
“If you aren’t growing, you are dying” is a common refrain for many businesspeople. We all look at growth as an absolute must, and in most cases, it is. But damn is it hard. And messy.
You’ve started your company with the best of intentions. You have big dreams, and you’ve worked hard to come up with business plans and budgets to achieve them. Then life gets in the way and reality takes hold. The government contract award gets pushed, the key employee takes another position, the BD person doesn’t work out, your main customer changes positions, and that person you hired in the beginning was not the right person for the next level.
Before long, you’re reimagining that business plan and your priorities. You’re spending long hours sitting in offsite strategic planning sessions and hiring a consultant for government contracts. All of which keep you up at night worried about the next thing.
Well, newsflash: growth is messy. It is not linear. It is filled with side steps, detours, and good or bad timing. Growth does not follow the latest management fad.
In reality, growth is a series of incremental changes that are so miniscule they can feel like you aren’t moving forward. Yet when you look at where you came from, you are light years ahead.
Growth is in your mindset as a leader and the ability to shift and change with the environment. It is in deciding when to double down on your initiative or your folks and when to cut it loose.
Ask any successful CEO about their “overnight success” and they will point to thousands of hours behind the scenes, building it. They will point to numerous bad calls, bad timing, and bad actors. We often remember our failures way more than our successes, but that means we learned.
Growth is such an objective measure, yet also so very subjective. What is considered growth for one company may not be anywhere close to another. We can measure growth by top line revenue and bottom-line profits, yet there is so much more to the journey than the numbers. How does one account for the lessons learned, the hard work invested, and the battle scars?
If you are a GovCon business owner struggling with your own growth and any of the above resonates with you, please reach out. Our government contracts consultants thrive on helping clients grow and bringing order to the chaos.
Key Takeaways:
Growth is essential for businesses, and it requires constant effort and adaptation.
Business growth is not a linear process but involves setbacks, detours, and timing.
Incremental changes, even if seemingly small, can lead to significant progress in the long run.
A leader’s mindset and ability to adapt to the environment are crucial for driving growth.
Success stories often involve countless hours of hard work, learning from failures, and making tough decisions.
Growth is subjective, and each company’s definition and path to growth may vary.
Measuring growth goes beyond financial numbers and encompasses lessons learned and the effort invested.
Seeking assistance and guidance can help overcome challenges and bring order to the growth journey.
ABOUT BOOST’S CEO, STEPHANIE ALEXANDER
Stephanie Alexander has been serving GovCons since 2002. With over 15 years of experience in the industry, Stephanie has a wealth of knowledge and expertise when it comes to navigating the complex world of government contracting.
Prior to starting BOOST LLC, Stephanie worked for a number of large and small government contracting firms, where she gained valuable experience in all aspects of the business, from bidding on contracts to managing employees and subcontractors. It was during this time that she identified a need for a company that could provide government contractors with the support and guidance they need to succeed in a highly competitive market, specifically in the realm of managed GovCon accounting.
