When Growth is Your Goliath

by Angelo Trozzolo

Growth isn’t about reinventing your business every few days. It’s about thinking big and developing your ultimate market position.

“The size of the villain determines the size of the hero. Without Goliath, David is just some punk throwing rocks.”—comedian Billy Crystal.

In small business, fast growth is often the Goliath. But like Crystal says, without it, there’s just no point. You must embrace the challenge. As your business grows and the rocks get bigger, remember these five rules to manage fast growth more effectively:

Live your brand. Making the rapid-fire decisions that accompany fast growth can be difficult, even paralyzing, when you stop to contemplate their long-term im-pacts. The process can be easier, and the answer more evident, when you ask, “Does that decision support our brand?”

Good, bad or neutral, every company has a brand. Your brand is how your company is perceived in the marketplace, how key constituencies think of you. The question is: Are you guiding those perceptions? When you live your brand you are. Each decision you make, whether it’s deciding on office space or setting a dress code, should support your brand. If it doesn’t, rethink it. That kind of integrated ap-proach will amplify your brand and elevate your profile.

Grow into your market position. With fast growth, your position in the marketplace can change virtually overnight. But growth isn’t about reinventing your business every few days. It’s about thinking big and developing your ultimate market position—a position your business can grow into, not out of, and a position where perception supersedes reality. At the same time, don’t forget your past; it’s why you’re succeeding. Trozzolo Commun-ications Group started as a newsletter company. While we are now a fully integrated communications group, offering advertising, public relations and custom publishing, newsletters remain a significant part of our business.

Look beyond the numbers. Small business owners are, by definition, entrepreneurs. They take risks, risks that often result in fast growth.

Andrew Fischer was a risk-taker. He was an average Joe with one thing on his mind: money. A college student, Fischer was focused on paying tuition. So, the enterprising young man did something no one else had done. He auctioned his forehead as ad space on eBay.

If that sounds crazy, consider this: Fischer received 113 bids with the winning offer coming in at $37,375. The advertised product was literally “off the top of his head” for him and anyone who looked at him.

For you, risk-taking may not involve renting your forehead. But it could mean over-investing, looking beyond the numbers to potential such as hiring staff who make more money than you do, spending thousands of dollars for new equipment or accepting a prospect with a small budget. Whatever form, look to the future and ask yourself, “What kind of competitive advantage can this addition give my organization?” Look beyond the numbers to im-pact. The revenue will follow.

Acknowledge change. Change isn’t always negative, but positive change is not always looked at positively by everyone. Rapid growth, or positive change, can cause employees to question their places and purposes within the organization. You can avoid an atmosphere of uncertainty simply by acknowledging the change and frequently communicating with employees about it. Remember, your employees are relying on you to make the right move. Embrace change, and they are likely to do the same.

Leave your ego at the door. It’s not all about you. While confidence is key to success, a small business owner’s self-image can impede growth. There’s a difference between being proud of yourself and your business and letting your ego take control. When you are proud, you are prepared, persuasive and humble. When you are egotistical, you are unaware, unconvincing and disconnected.

Fast growth can lead to even bigger success. In other words, having a Goliath can be a good thing.

Angelo Trozzolo is senior vice president and chief operating officer of Trozzolo Communications Group. He can be reached at 816.842.2111 or via e-mail at angelo@trozzolo.com.