Many professional services businesses have experienced significant growth in the last 18 months due to the increased needs of their clients and the sudden rise of new clientele, usually due to their competitors’ being unable to meet their customers’ demands in a satisfactory way. 

On one hand, experiencing a burst of organic business growth can give you the confidence that you’re doing things right and fill you and your team with a renewed sense of purpose, especially when your customers are happy with your services. 

On the other hand, letting this growth get out of control, without any proper plans or structure in place, can lead to major frustrations and cause more stress as your business expands.

In my 20 years of experience in the industry, I’ve encountered many professional practices that weren’t structured to maximise business growth and opportunities. This lack of structure has business owners feeling like they hit a roadblock, leaving them frustrated, exhausted and stressed as they try (and fail) to overcome those obstacles. Because they haven’t established the right systems, these business owners are constantly draining their energy by putting out day to day fires like client and staffing issues.  

It can be difficult to realise that you’re in this situation unless an objective third party gives you their perspective on the matter. This is why it’s crucial for business leaders to consider getting business coaching as it allows you to obtain invaluable advice on how to overcome any roadblocks that stand in your way.

The first step to overcoming these roadblocks is understanding the different stages of business growth. Getting a clear picture of your business journey will prepare you for the challenges associated with each growth stage, so that you can navigate a clear path for yourself and your staff. 

The four stages of business growth

We’ve identified four stages of growth that successful businesses will travel through in their journey. The transition from one stage to the next can often feel challenging, almost like you’re hitting a roadblock or brick wall of some sort. This is normal, and that “plateau” in growth indicates that you are learning a new skill or developing a proficiency in new areas outside of your expertise.

These are the four stages of growth you can expect to experience:

1. Start up stage – There is a huge focus on generating sales, design and delivery of your product or service and balancing cash flow in this stage. Once you’ve reached the end of this stage, you will reach full capacity and you will definitely need more staff to sustain your growth.
2. Build stage – This is the time to hire more staff and increase your efforts in marketing, sales and distribution. It’s important to lay the foundations of your business infrastructure as well as your internal processes and systems. This is usually a great growth stage to be in, as you will start to get regular clientele who will often refer your business to others. It’s still important to focus on increasing your sales and improving your products and services, but there’s often a lack of investment because there’s still a lot of cash flow fluctuations, mostly from increased expenditure and staffing.
3. Scale stage – It’s important to prioritise scalability in your business once you’ve plateaued in the build stage. This is where your business undertakes significant (and often) rapid expansion. You will see a lot of new staff members coming into the business, which can lead to communication, cultural and functional challenges as new roles and teams take shape. Some business owners might struggle during this period as their time management skills are tested. Your workload can spiral out of control as the business grows, especially if you can’t delegate tasks. Old systems and processes might become outdated as the organisation expands, which is why it’s important to invest in restructuring across the staff, internal processes and overall systems. 
4. Leverage stage – At this point, your business should be more functionally structured and planned. Because things are operating smoothly, you will be able to focus on strategic planning and implementation for further growth. This will allow you to build a high performing management team, so it’s important to hone your leadership skills, and develop succession planning as the business continues to grow.  

Signs that you are hitting a major roadblock

Each growth stage will have different intensities and sizes of roadblocks, so it’s important to recognise problems as soon as they emerge. 

In the earlier stages of business growth, you might feel pressure in some of the decisions you need to make, but it’s highly likely you’ll be driven by mostly positive emotions: Excitement, anticipation and confidence. In comparison, the emotions you might feel during the build and leverage stages might be more negative, intense and potentially damaging to you and your business if the issues are left unchecked. This is the major roadblock that most business owners struggle with for large periods of time. 

When negative emotions start to encroach on the entirety of your business and increase in their intensity, then that’s a sign that you’re starting to hit this major roadblock.

A few indicators of this major roadblock include:

• Staff don’t follow procedures and processes
• Communication deteriorates
• Lack of clear vision and purpose
• Systems are no longer functional
• Increased turnover of talented staff 

The pileup of these issues can understandably increase your stress levels since you are left to make tough calls across the business, especially when it feels like no one else is taking responsibility for the multiple spot fires that pop up each day. 

You might find that you’re working harder and longer to compensate for your lengthening to-do list. This will inevitably impact your customer service, leading your best clients to complain about their experience before they eventually jump ship. Wages might start spiralling out of your control, since the decreased productivity has caused cash flow issues. 

The business you once loved, could turn into something you start to loathe and resent, especially since there’s no clear solution or path to escape. Congratulations, you have officially hit a major roadblock.

What are the main causes of roadblocks?

There are different issues that can occur when you’re hitting a roadblock. What’s important is addressing the root cause of those problems so that they don’t turn into the reason that your business fails. 

In any case, there are common patterns that I’ve noticed in the last 20 years of working with professional business. 

Based on my experience, you can resolve major causes of roadblocks if you address the following:

1. Prioritise future business growth – Some business owners would rather take income out in the moment for personal gain instead of business growth. This is the difference between having an equity mindset (what every business leader should have), versus an income mindset (what the typical employee might have).
2. Understand your strengths and limitations – It’s good to hit the ground running with your business, but sometimes this is at the detriment of your personal development. By understanding your strengths and your limitations, you figure out what you can improve on and what kind of support you will need from your team.
3. Invest in business coaching – Some business owners think they can do everything, so the build stage is often a rude awakening for them. It’s important to find a business coach who understands you and can teach you management and leadership skills. Building a great team starts with you, not with your staff.
4. Set a clear vision – Failing to establish a clear vision, purpose and culture within your business can cause issues amongst your team, especially if strong personalities clash with each other. 
5. Ensure you have a growth strategy – Entering the build or leverage stage without a structured growth and capacity plan will leave you unprepared for the challenges that you will face in these stages.
6. Hire staff and give them clear roles and expectations – You will definitely need more staff as your business grows, but if the functional structure within your organisation is unclear, and the roles and responsibilities aren’t properly established, it will be challenging to manage your staff as it grows.
7. Be discerning about hires – Hiring too fast and firing too slowly can both negatively impact your business. It’s better to wait for the right candidate than hire someone who doesn’t really fit commercially or culturally. Being indecisive about someone’s termination can also cause issues, causing more bottlenecks and decreased productivity in the team.
8. Automate tasks – Tasks that can and should be automated will definitely streamline your processes. Failing to invest in key technologies and systems will lead to more inefficiencies and leave your team bogged down with time-consuming administrative tasks. 

How can you break through roadblocks?

Navigating business roadblocks is all about acquiring key skills your business needs at the right time. It’s important to work at least six to 12 months ahead of your current business growth, so that you’re well-equipped with the skills you need once you enter a new stage of development. 

There are many ways you can obtain the necessary skills to overcome these roadblocks. There are a lot of books, online courses and workshops that focus on giving you the knowledge needed to recognise roadblocks and prepare for them. 

Partnering with a business coach or advisor who has real industry experience is one of the most tried and true methods to smash through these obstacles. It’s important to have someone who can keep you accountable to your goals and give you objective advice on what you’re currently going through. A credible business coach or advisor will have the necessary business skills and strategies to help you drive those skills throughout your business. 

If you’re going through challenging roadblocks in your business right now, book a call and we’ll guide you in overcoming those obstacles so that you can keep taking your business to the next level.