«Why Am I Not Growing?» — What Prevents Businesses From Growing

Gardeners know that plants need care. They also know that even if a bush looks healthy on the outside, it might not bloom. The same applies to business management: a company may appear successful, with a great team, regular training, and modern software, but… without growth. How do you understand what is holding your business back and what to do to make it flourish fully? Let’s explore in this article.

How to Recognize that Your Company is Stagnating

At some point in managing a company, a leader might ask, «Why is there no growth?» The marketing department seems to be doing its job, sales are good, customers are loyal, but something still feels off. Is this just a phase, or is it stagnation?

A bottleneck in business is referred to as a «bottleneck.» The term originates from physics: if you want to pour water quickly from a bottle, the liquid will flow slowly due to the narrow neck. The narrower the neck, the longer it takes to pour the water.

Such points in business are called bottlenecks because the process is limited by capacity. The bottleneck is the very factor that prevents the company from growing. Moreover, bottlenecks can appear in different areas: sales, marketing, production, and so on.

If you’re unsure whether your business is stagnating, don’t worry. Here are markers of company «stagnation»:

• Reduced Turnover: If you’ve noticed that despite putting in the same effort and maintaining your work processes, you’re generating less revenue, it’s worth considering the possible causes.
• Slow Customer Growth: You see that over six months to a year, the number of new customers is lower than it was last year or even a few months ago.
• Lack of Repeat Orders: Customers make a purchase once and do not return.
• Decreased Customer Satisfaction: There are more complaints and negative feedback, your company and products receive more negative reviews, and customers are increasingly dissatisfied with your products and services.
• Employee Turnover: Often, the team sees one side of the company, while management sees another. If your employees are resigning one after another, your company may have stopped growing.

Reasons Hindering Business Growth

A business, like a plant, can have its growth stunted by one or more factors. Let’s explore the possible reasons in more detail.

• Poor Team Management: Teamwork is a complex mechanism that directly impacts company results. A leader should know what to expect from employees, but it’s important to remember that an employee is not just a debtor. Their life isn’t limited to the walls of the company. Appreciate your employees, resolve conflicts, prevent burnout, and your mechanism will run smoothly.
• Ineffective Delegation: Another common reason hindering business growth is the inability of leaders to delegate effectively. The more a leader takes on, the less the company grows. In this case, burnout may begin.
• Refusal to Leave the Comfort Zone: If a leader is unwilling to take the business out of its comfort zone, growth is unlikely. It’s like a video game: to reach the next level, you need to battle the boss. If you don’t go to fight, there won’t be any victories.
• Lack of Goals and Strategy: Process is good. Process for the sake of process is bad. There must be a strategy. The leader should have at least a rough idea of where the company is headed, what will happen to it over time, and what goals they want to achieve. Without this, the business won’t flourish.

**»In my opinion, the main obstacle to company growth is the owners’ lack of interest in the business itself. I’m not saying the owner must be involved in operations and directly influence every decision—no. This is about the lack of focus and presence of the owner in the business.

Another additional barrier to company growth is the absence of systematic work planning: clients are noted in a diary, project agreements are verbal, employees receive non-documented tasks verbally, money is counted based on income/expenses without considering additional and operational costs, and there’s no financial planning.»**

How to Move Forward and Start Growing

Order is for fools, geniuses rule over chaos.

Yes, but no. In reality, chaos cannot be managed. The most important thing is that once you identify the cause, you must devote the lion’s share of resources to solving it. This is crucial—most people do everything in small doses, but it’s better to approach problems comprehensively. The sooner you define the goal and begin fixing processes, the faster your business will bloom.

I personally encountered the problem of a lack of goals and strategy in my work: the business was built chaotically and without a system. After realizing that we were stagnant, it took a tremendous effort to systematize processes. This allowed us to achieve a significant increase in revenue and gradual company growth. I believe that systematic work and the owners’ involvement made it possible to achieve these results.

What Can Be Done to Break Out of Stagnation

• Review Your Branding: A logo and branding are the face of the company. Rebranding can help not only strengthen relationships with loyal customers but also attract a new audience.
• Work with the Team: As mentioned earlier, the success of projects largely depends on how engaged the team is in the results. It’s crucial to improve the workplace atmosphere: send managers to training that interests them, upgrade the coffee machine, or simply organize an impromptu team outing.
• Talk to Customers: Offer them a short survey about the pros and cons of your company from their perspective, and don’t forget to reward them with bonuses or gifts for their time. Sometimes what’s obvious to employees isn’t obvious to customers, and vice versa.
• Update Loyalty Program Terms: Regular customers bring companies approximately 60-80% more profit than new ones. It’s important not only to attract a new audience but also to retain the old one (especially since it’s cheaper). Loyalty programs with bonuses, gifts, and discount systems for purchases or services help with this.