Category: Landing Pages – Scale Your Business

If you want your business to achieve high ambitious turnover growth of at least 20% year on year, you need a business scaling strategy that incorporates a strong vision and a solid business plan.

Helping your small business to grow, to achieve a sustained annual 20% turnover growth and scale up, will involve careful planning.

It will also most likely involve taking calculated risks.

You need to think about what you want to achieve. You won’t find that easy unless you know your target market and your customers thoroughly, have products and services they’re keen to buy and be aware of the expenses you’re likely to face.

That’s the case for all business models, including those for manufacturers, retailers (whether they’re brick and mortar, brick and click or eCommerce), distributors, and franchises.

Achieve The Revenue Growth

You also need to have a clear understanding of what’s achievable both in the short and long-term.

At some point, you’re likely to need to invest in the company to achieve the revenue growth and scale your business the way you want.

That might be to cover the cost of hiring of more team members, the training of your existing employees and their retention, or the development of new product lines or services to boost sales.

Like some companies, you might need additional funding to be able to hire in external experts such as the CFO Centre’s part-time CFOs to fill the personnel gaps within the company as it scales up.

You will also have to decide how you will fund the additional resources you need to sustain your growth.

Companies that enjoy strong growth are prepared to employ the right people and to raise the money they need.

Sometimes they have even personally guaranteed the loans they’ve taken out on the company’s behalf.

They’re taking well planned, well considered risks.

The more risk-averse often shy away from offering personal guarantees on loans or embarking on mergers and acquisitions that would help to fuel their rapid growth.

Invariably however you do need to borrow money to achieve growth.

Managing growth successfully

To manage your company’s growth, it’s critical that you refer often to your business plan and keep an eye on the business’ key metrics, benchmarks and timelines.

You need to make sure that people have actionable activities; things that they can do and which can be measured.

As well as having repeatable processes and measuring your progress on a day-to-day basis, it’s crucial to be able and willing to adapt and be flexible if things change.

KPIs

Besides monitoring KPIs for turnover, gross profit percentage and salaries, it’s also important to establish KPIs for your profit per product and customer profitability.

You need to know whether you’re doing more business with each of your customers than you were doing the previous year, for example. That’s more important than focusing on going out and winning new customers.

Equally important is being aware of your balance sheet.

Other important KPIs are those that relate to your customer conversion rates, your sales profitability, and your working capital

Pros and cons of inorganic growth

One of the fastest ways to scale your business is to merge with or acquire another business in your market. Or, in the case of retail or hotel/restaurant companies, open new branches in different locations. It could also involve forming a joint venture partnership.

You need to ensure there are alignment and support for the from all the company’s stakeholders. Including customers, senior management, non-executive directors, potential joint venture or merger partners. And your banks and other finance institutions, your accountants, and your immediate team.

The benefits of choosing the right target company for your merger or acquisition can mean your market share and assets increase.

Your new staff may have more expertise and skills than your existing employees.

The merger or acquisition may make it easier to obtain capital if or when you need it.

But this kind of inorganic growth can be problematic.

The purchase price for the acquisition can be prohibitive while restructuring charges can increase expenses.

It also takes time to benefit from the knowledge or technology your company has acquired through the merger or acquisition.

You may find you need to recruit more managers to cope with the increased workforce.

The business may move in a direction you never anticipated. Or the new company may grow too quickly which puts it at greater risk.

Often, the combination of organic and inorganic growth gives you the best outcome. Your company can diversify its revenue base without having to rely purely on current operations to grow your market share.

Three tips on scaling up your business

1. Be open minded about taking on investment. Scaling up your business will be hard work and you need to find a way to do it without running out of cash. 
2. Conduct market research to ensure people want to buy what you’re offering. It’s got to interest and excite them so much they’re willing to hand over cash for it.
3. Reward your employees and make sure they understand and are engaged with your vision for the business. You’ve got to bring them on the journey. 

Contact us now so we can book in a consultation meeting with one of our dedicated Regional Directors, to show how we can help you to have the best business scaling strategy.

To accelerate the growth of your company and organic growth doesn’t appeal, consider merging with or acquiring another company. In this article, we’ll go through the about your business tips for growth through acquisition.

Such a move can help business owners like you to grow your top line and profitability, says the FD Centre’s FD East of England North, Lynda Connon. 

A successful merger or acquisition can also give your company access to your target company’s technology, skillsets, markets, and target customers.

If the target company is in a different industry, the merger or acquisition can help to diversify and mitigate risk. 

Considering a diversification strategy like this is valuable if there is any doubt about your company’s prospects for long-term profitability.

The standard form of acquisition is when one company (the acquiring company) buys another company. 

It does this by either buying all the shares in the acquired company or by purchasing its assets. The shell company is then liquidated.

Types of Mergers

Likewise, there are several types of mergers, including

•         Horizontal merger (in which you merge with a company in your industry)
•         Vertical merger (in which your target company is at a different production stage or place in the value chain)
•         Product-extension merger (in which your target company sells different but related products in the same market)
•         Market-extension merger (in which your target company sells the same products as your own but in a separate market)
•         Conglomerate merger (in which your target company is in a different industry and has different products or services).

Growth through acquisition has many benefits, including the following:

•         To achieve a lower cost of capital
•         To improve your company’s performance and boost growth
•         To achieve higher revenues
•         To reduce expenses
•         To achieve economies of scale
•         To diversify your product or service offering in your existing markets or move into new markets
•         To increase market share and positioning
•         To achieve tax benefits
•         To diversify risk
•         To make a strategic realignment or change in technology
•         To obtain new technology, more efficient production, or patents, and licenses.

Dangers of mergers and acquisitions

As beneficial as mergers and acquisitions (M&As) may be, particularly in terms of achieving fast revenue growth, they are not for the faint-hearted. 

The merger or acquisition process can take anywhere from a few months to a few years. Depending on such factors as whether the target company is a public or private entity, the negotiations, legislation, and the involvement of financial institutions and other stakeholders.

“The actual transaction can be done very quickly if you’ve identified your target and if all parties are keen to go ahead and legals can be put in place,” says Connon. 

“But typically, a merger or an acquisition takes several months.”

But you also need to factor in the time that will be involved in the identification of suitable target companies as well as the post-acquisition integration.

The post-acquisition integration can take anywhere from six to 12 months, she explains. 

“So the actual transaction itself can be done very, very quickly. It’s the process of identifying the target and making sure it’s something that will work for your organisation as a combined entity and making it happen after you’ve done the deal.”

It’s estimated that of all M&As, 70% to 90% fail for various reasons. 

Many failures are due to a lack of strategic planning and incomplete due diligence, according to Connon. 

They also fail if there is a poor strategic fit between the two companies, a poorly managed integration or an overly optimistic projection of the target company.

The result is a failed growth strategy and a large number of lost opportunities.

Successful merger or acquisition strategy

So, how can you be sure of being in the 10% to 30% who achieve successful acquisitions or mergers?

Before even starting your search for target companies, it’s essential that you clarify your acquisition strategy and reason for merging with or acquiring a company, says Connon.

Most successful acquisitions happen when companies have identified and understood their own acquisition strategy, says Connon. 

They have clarified the company’s direction over the next two to five years, understand the market challenges for their core business, and know the gaps in their own portfolios and skillsets.

“They also take time to identify potential targets and to subtly review and understand the strengths and weaknesses of each of those target companies,” she adds. 

“Post-acquisition, the ones that tend to fail are the ones where acquiring companies haven’t taken the time to really understand their own strategy or market challenges and what they want from an acquisition. Often, it’s been done for emotional reasons rather than good, sound business reasons. Those companies will typically fail.”

To develop your acquisition strategy, you’ll need to be clear about what you hope to achieve. What is your business model? What do you want to do? Do you want to grow income, to improve profitability, to enhance cash flow? Where are the market challenges in your sector and can you address them all? If you can’t, do you need to make an acquisition? Do you need to merge?

If you conclude that a merger or acquisition is desirable and will be beneficial in the long-term, then you need to develop an “identikit” of what that potential company looks like. 

Every company you consider should be evaluated against the metrics you’ve decided upon.

“Don’t get distracted by personal judgement. If you stick to the metrics you’re looking for, you’re more likely to make a successful acquisition,” she adds.

Due diligence

You and your team of M&A experts need to carry out due diligence and investigate the target company’s business, people (particularly crucial personnel), records and key documents. 

The point of the due diligence process is to uncover any inherent risks in the target business. To question the value placed on the investment or acquisition price and to identify critical issues.

Your M&A team should ask questions and request documentation about the following areas:

•         Corporate information, including the company structure, shareholders or option holders and directors
•         Business and assets, including your business plan, assets and contracts with both customers and suppliers
•         Finance including details of all company borrowings and loan agreements, cash flow statement, business reports, plus all tax liabilities and VAT returns
•         Human Resources including details of contracts for directors and employees
•         IP and IT, including information about IPs, owned or used by the target company and the software and equipment that are used
•         Pension plans that are in place for directors and employees
•         Litigation including details of any disputes or legal proceedings the company is involved with now or in the future along with licenses or regulatory agreements it has
•         Property including information of real estate that’s owned or leased by the target business
•         Insurance policy details along with recent or future claims
•         Health and safety policies that are in place
•         Data protection, including information about how sensitive data is stored and protected and reassurance the target company is compliant with data protection laws

Post-acquisition or merger

You should use your original strategy to measure its success, whether that’s income growth of 25% or improved profits of 2%.

“That would be the target by which you’d measure your combined entity. You’d go back to those numbers and see what have you’ve achieved compared with what you set out to achieve.”

Make sure to Contact us now so we can book in a consultation meeting with one of our dedicated Regional Directors. This is to show how we can help you to know more about growth through acquisition.

If you want to grow your business, you’ll need to use key business expansion strategies, preferably one that involves the least amount of risk and effort.

Depending on the demand for your products and services, your competition, the size of your market and market conditions, you could use one of the following growth strategies to expand your existing business:

• Increase your market penetration by selling more of your products or services to your existing customers.
• Expand your market by moving into new areas, territories or countries.
• Increase the range of products or services you offer to new and existing customers.
• Diversify your existing products or services to attract different customers. 
• Use new channels to sell your products or services such as through an online shop, direct mail catalogues, joint venture partners or affiliate partners.
• Acquire or merge with another company (to increase market penetration, market expansion, product diversification, and market share). You could buy or merge with a competitor, a supplier or a distributor to achieve your growth objectives.

Most of these can be achieved through organic business growth. The exception is the acquisition of or merger with another company. Merging or acquiring other companies can be riskier than relying on organic growth but if successful can help your company to achieve rapid growth.  

Obstacles to growth

Sadly, only a third of small businesses survive more than 10 years, according to the US Small Business Administration (SBA). They fail for a number of reasons, including:

 

•  A lack of planning

 

Too many small business owners create a business plan to get start-up funding then never refer to it again. By comparison, the owners of growing, thriving companies develop strategies to achieve the objectives they’ve detailed in their business plan, according to Paul Vennard, Regional Director of the FD Centre. 

They then use their business plan as a benchmark by which they can measure progress towards their goals on a monthly, weekly and even, a day to day basis. 

For instance, they can see how close they are to achieve a percentage increase in profit margins. 

They can also use the business plan to develop systems and processes that will help make the company more efficient and more likely to survive and achieve its long term objectives.

 

• Lack of skilled people

 

To expand your business you need people with the right skills and knowledge to deliver your products and services, says Vennard.

But a 2018 global talent shortage survey by the Manpower Group showed that 45% of companies struggle to find people with the right skills to fill open positions. Those unfulfilled roles pose a threat to a company’s productivity, efficiency, and future growth.

 

• Lack of expert advice

 

Businesses can fail to achieve their growth projections simply because their owners and management team didn’t have access to people with expertise. Quite often, business owners are not even aware they can get help from people who have experience in growing companies. For instance, the FD Centre offers part-time Finance Directors who have all had big business experience. They can guide SME owners and help them overcome obstacles to growth.

 

• Inadequate risk management

 

Poor risk management, that is a failure to identify, assess and control the internal and external threats to the company’s capital and earnings, can result in workplace accidents, failed projects, computer security breaches, loss of contracts, higher costs, legal action and, in the very worst cases, closure.

 

• Poor financial management

 

Quite often the CEOs of small companies lack sophisticated financial knowledge. Poor financial management can lead to inadequate controls, high overheads, and overly optimistic financial forecasts. Some business owners can be unaware of the impact that rapid growth can have on cash flow and come unstuck. 

 

• Little market research and poor marketing efforts

 

Inadequate market research can have disastrous consequences for any company. Your company could expend time and energy trying to sell to an audience that is not interested or can’t afford to buy your products or services, for instance.

Similarly, your company could miss opportunities such as joint ventures or expansion possibilities. It could also overlook threats such as new market entrants or changing consumer tastes.  

You need to have realistic expectations of your marketing’s reach and likely sales conversion ratio. 

Even when your market research is adequate, your company still needs strong marketing to ensure your target audience is aware of your products and services. You need to have the capacity to send the right message to the right people at the right time.

Lack of funding

Your company’s growth might plateau due to a lack of growth funding. This is particularly the case if your company is past the start-up phase, and if you don’t have further assets to borrow against.