Sustainable Growth in Entrepreneurship

In entrepreneurship the most discussed thing is growth, and the least discussed is its bill. Every new job brings a new load: cash, team, quality control, customer expectations. The figure on the revenue sheet tells you none of that.

Three questions

Whether I am partnering in a business or investing in a venture, I ask myself the same three questions.

• Can this work be delivered at today's quality? If not, it isn't growth; it is a postponed complaint.
• Can the cash carry this growth? I have seen many companies profitable on paper with empty tills. Growth eats cash.
• Can the team lift this load? Work resting on one person's shoulders stops the day that person gets tired.

These questions kill the excitement, I know. Excitement is good fuel but a poor compass.

Learning to say no

An entrepreneur's hardest decision is saying no to an opportunity, especially when business is slow. But every job beyond your capacity risks the quality of that job and of the ones already in hand. Disappointing a customer is cheaper than delivering a project badly and burning your reference.

Entering a new field

Stepping into a different sector is tempting. I think the rule here is simple: don't try to do alone what you don't know. Either partner with someone who knows the work, or stand behind the team that knows it as capital. That is why I like angel investing. In a field I don't know, I learn beside people who know the work better than I do.

Growing fast isn't an achievement. Still delivering the same quality after you have grown is.

Sustainable growth sounds like a grand concept, but it is actually very boring: doing today's work right and building tomorrow's capacity in the meantime. I choose the boring option.