Episode 10: Adopting Disciplines and Systems to Meet the Demands of a Growing Business

PU_EP10_Quote2.jpg

Guest: Jeff Moore

Topic: Preeminence


THE NUGGETS

  • How to handle business growth

  • Creating predictability

  • Evaluating your business structure

  • Fireproof your business


 

EP10: Adopting Disciplines and Systems to Meet the Demands of a Growing Business

“If you haven’t adopted disciplines as you grow, your cash flow starts to dwindle.” - Jeff Moore (3:55-4:15)

Nic Peterson & Jeff Moore

Preeminence Unleashed




Business growth can lead to costly issues that can be easily avoided. When your business blows up, everything within it multiplies. Entrepreneurs must reinforce the relationships they’ve established with their customers, vendors, and employees. Without the right disciplines and systems, you will become overwhelmed as you attempt to adjust to growth.


“When you take your eye off the ball, you’re not in growth mode anymore. You’re in save-your-ass mode.” - Jeff Moore (4:44-4:51)

As you grow, your company is no longer the same business it once was. Failing to have systems in place negatively affects your bottom line, leaving you unable to hire the people you need to scale and operating from a place of desperation. Disciplines and systems create predictability for you and your customers.


Business owners who have grown from zero to a million are used to doing everything themselves. But when they hire someone else to help them reach the next level of growth, they still try to do it all alone. Their business is their baby, and it’s difficult to hand their baby off to others.


Structure Influences Behavior


Many entrepreneurs are spending money on things that aren’t critical to growth. For a company with a 10% profit margin, saving $100,000 in unnecessary expenses can be equivalent to doing another million dollars in sales. But you could also go out and acquire $1 million in new business without realizing you’ve lost $500,000 somewhere else.


The right business structure is essential to your operations. A bad hire can end up costing you ten times the cost of the employee. However, even a rockstar employee is destined to fail if there isn’t a system in place that supports them. Growing businesses need others. An entrepreneur alone is an entrepreneur at risk for lost time, unnecessary friction, and other common pitfalls. Business owners often become addicted to the adrenaline that comes with resurrecting their business after being on the brink of collapse. But in order to build a truly successful business, you need to have a fireproof system already in place.


“The person that gets over the initial hump is a different person than the one who got them there. You need those two people, but you can’t be both at once.” - Nic Peterson (11:38-11:57)


As a business owner, you don’t have to go it alone. You don’t have to be the hero swooping in to put out fires. Creating disciplines and systems around your work will help you transition into your next stage of growth. Your customers will be better served and you’ll achieve the work life that you want and need for ongoing success.


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