Like the hare in the famous fable, it can be tempting to start a business running, especially when you’ve got competitors on all sides. After all, what better way to succeed than leaving them in the dust with supercharged processes that make you grow better, bigger, faster?
Unfortunately, while speedy business growth can help with short-term profits, it rarely holds lasting power. Instead, you may find that while you’re burning yourself and your budget out hard and fast, your tortoise competitors are able to preserve their resources and energy for the moment you crash and burn. Then, before you know it, they’ll be ahead of you with a business that holds way more long-term potential.
It’s frustrating, we know, but slow and steady truly does win the business race. To prove why, we’re going to look at just a few of the undeniable benefits you’ll feel by approaching business growth in this more measured way.
Audience matters, and should especially be built with lifetime value in mind to ensure ultimate returns. Unfortunately, when you’re the hare at the front of the line, you’ll be moving so fast that you’re going to struggle to build these lasting relationships. Instead, you’ll rely on one-time sales which, while lucrative at the time, will quickly run out. By taking this slower, and building long-term loyalty efforts like a social media following and a blog readership, you can ensure a steady accumulation of lifetime customers who are way more likely to feel invested enough to return and even help you with much-coveted word of mouth marketing.
It’s not unusual for businesses to jump right in and invest in expensive equipment and factory setups the moment they’re approved for a business loan. The trouble is that, when your company’s just starting out, you’re unlikely to need production on such a large scale. By instead starting production in your home office and slowly scaling up to factory spaces, packing machines, and platform scales as your demand and profits allow, you can far better make sure that you’re only spending/producing what you need. This is crucial for keeping upfront expenses low and can help you to avoid the escalating debts that too often cripple companies that fail to take this crucial step.
Business on the backfoot can also provide you with an opportunity to build generally stronger foundations from which to grow your business. The ability to develop products with early consumers in mind, and even to slowly build up a team of individuals who are passionate and pumped about your company, can certainly reduce the risks of business failure. If, however, you jump right in with half-formed ideas of a bad business product and a makeshift team put together at the last minute, then don’t be surprised if your business house quickly crumbles.
It can feel frustrating moving at a tortoise’s pace when your big business dreams are calling, but you’ll never realistically reach those imagined heights if you rush and run yourself down too quickly.