Every Growth Plan Overlooks This...

It’s Friday….we made it! I had a random individual ask me on LI the other day why I don’t touch on growth planning more. So, here we go!

Growth doesn’t happen by accident. It takes intentional planning and a clear understanding of where you want to go and how to get there. Too often, leaders jump at opportunities without running the numbers or thinking through the ripple effects. Smart growth is about balance: moving forward while protecting the health of your business.

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1. Define What Growth Means for You
Growth isn’t always about revenue. It might mean expanding into a new market, launching a new product or app, hiring key staff, or even improving profitability. Be clear on your version of growth before setting goals.

2. Map Out Cash Flow Needs
Every growth move has a cost. Hiring, expanding, or investing requires cash before you see returns. Build a cash flow projection (like a 13-week forecast) to ensure you can support the investment without straining operations.

3. Test the Market First
Before you scale, validate demand. Run a pilot program, test new services with a small group of customers, or launch in one region before expanding. Feedback at this stage saves costly mistakes later.

4. Strengthen Your Foundation
Growth exposes weaknesses. If your processes, systems, or team are already stretched, expansion will make it worse. Tighten operations, clean up receivables, and ensure your reporting is reliable before you grow.

5. Measure the Right Metrics
It’s not just about sales numbers. Track margins, customer acquisition cost, retention rates, and cash flow. Growth that isn’t profitable or sustainable creates more stress than success.

6. Plan for People
Growth usually requires more talent. Hiring too late creates bottlenecks; hiring too early strains finances. Identify key roles you’ll need and plan when to bring them on board. There’s a lot of people out there looking to get on board with a brand new business launch!

7. Stay Flexible
No plan survives unchanged. Build contingency plans and regularly review your assumptions. Adapt quickly if results don’t match projections.

When you approach growth with a plan, it stops being a gamble and becomes a strategy. The right preparation gives you the confidence to move forward knowing you’re not just chasing opportunity—you’re building a stronger, more sustainable business.

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I have a high focus helping other vets out there and want you all to succeed, so I created this Skool group below called the Profit Platoon. Would love to have you there!

Contact me if you’d like to network or partner together. I’d love to chat with you more about the services I offer on the side through Guernsey Consulting. If you do not know, I work full time in Treasury Management and do consulting on the side. Would love to chat or network with you about it.

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