Every business suffers its growing pains; just as with positive growth in any area, there’s bound to be a few bumps along the road as things change and expand. What’s important to know is that this is a completely normal and natural process.

To help you suss things out and navigate these sometimes bumpy roads, take a look at this little list of the most common business-orientated growing pains along with some tips on how to handle them:

• Feeling the Financial Crunch: Growing a business often means extra expenses and investments. Take your expenses and profit margin seriously – you’ll have to determine whether these are heading in the right direction and if not, you’ll need to make some important changes. Financial help is available from an array of great business finance support schemes; check out this list of grants & funds over at SmallBusiness.com
• Lack of Clarity on People’s New Role within the Business: As a business grows, so do employees’ roles and responsibilities. These changes need to be made somewhat official to avoid any issues. If someone is unable to pinpoint your role within the business then this creates an opportunity for others within the department to do whatever they want/like doing and pass off outstanding tasks because they are not “their responsibility”. To avoid this, your organization needs to lay out specific role responsibilities and create some kind of job description that employees can regularly refer back to.
• Changing Goals: As a business grows and changes, so does its objectives and strategy. It becomes difficult to drive the company down a direct route if the changing goals haven’t been communicated to all the right people. Writing your goals down allows for a shared vision between all the people involved in the business venture.
• Keeping Everyone Motivated: This is often a tricky one – if your business has been up and running for a number of years it is sometimes hard to keep employees motivated and inspired. A sociable office environment, team-building days and the opportunity for regular breaks during the day to ensure a refreshed and inspired team.
• Nail the Hiring Process: Growing a business means hiring new talent, so recognising the exact type of person you’re looking for is key. This is your opportunity to bring a new lease of life into the business, whether it’s at a managerial level or an assistant’s role – innovation sparks from all levels of a business, so be sure to put adequate time and effort into finding the right employees.

What’s your experience with business growing pains? Comment below with any hints or tips to help the business growth process run smoothly and hassle-free.