A. Guy Rigby writes:
There are around 4.5 million businesses in the UK, but only tens of thousands achieve any kind of scale. This is because most businesses are built in the image of their founders and never shake off the impediment of owner dependency. Not every business is scalable or suited to a high growth venture capital environment but, for those that are, it will pay to set aside some thinking time, suspending the daily grind to work ‘on’ the business rather than ‘in’ it.
There are a host of issues to consider: your vision and strategy, understanding the environment you work in, and assessing the suitability and viability of your business model. Only then will you be able to develop a sound business plan to fully exploit your opportunity.
Unless you are Superman, you are unlikely to have the time or the skills to build the business on your own. You will therefore need to bring in outsiders, perhaps as full-time members of your management team or even part time or as mentors. Whichever route you choose, or can afford, these extra resources will bring new perspectives to your business, adding knowledge, building capability and completing your data-set.
The resources you need will depend upon your own core skills and competencies. In order to create the ‘soup-to-nuts’ understanding, you will need to cover product or service origination, production, sales and marketing, IT, distribution, finance and day-to-day operational management. Skills or connectivity gaps in any of these areas may usefully be filled by experienced non-executives.
Finally, you will need to keep an eye on the exit. It’s very easy for investors to put money into your business, but how will they get it back?
Guy Rigby is director, head of entrepreneurs, at accountancy and business advisory firm Smith & Williamson. The entrepreneurial and growth business sector is one of its key areas of focus.
www.smith.williamson.co.uk