BY MARK HAMSTRA
5 Steps for Creating
a Growth Vision
A successful growth vision needs to be flexible and
updated as market conditions change, experts say.
C
reating a practical strategy for growth is one of the most important things a small
company can do to help ensure its success for the long term. The process begins with
researching the market, and the growth vision often needs to be updated periodically
as data is gathered and market conditions evolve.
Entrepreneurs many times simply dive into their business without putting enough thought into how they will
manage the expansion of the enterprise, says Robby Riggs, cofounder of Sana Sano Consulting. One of the things that
makes entrepreneurs different in their DNA is that they have the courage and the risk profile to say, 'Hey, I'm going to
start on something, and whether it fails or not, I'm just going to run hard at it,'" he says.
That approach can work in the short term, says Vincent Biscaye, founder of New York-based Step Two Advisors,
but eventually those startups need to formulate a plan with a budget and a timetable, at the very least, in order to survive.
"In the long term, that lack of structure will come back and bite your business," he says.
Based on the level of leadership experience, the product type, and other factors, different companies will need to
approach their strategies for creating a growth vision differently. Cindy Hsiao, founder and strategy director at March
Brand, uses travel planning as an analogy. "If you are planning to go on a business trip, or a family trip, or a camping
trip, they are all going to be very different plans," she says.
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