When a business is quite small, control always feels easy to deal with - it might even lull you into a bit of a false sense of security. After all, you always know who’s at work and in the building, who’s doing what, where things are, and so on. And yes, a lot of it does live in your head, but what hard does that do? You know, and that’s the important thing.
Well, the harm is that as your business grows, that kind of informal control starts to go wrong, especially when you’ve got more people, more locations, and generally more moving parts. All of that means a lot more chances for things to go wrong, and that’s when having proper systems in place starts to matter in a much wider way. With that in mind, keep reading to find out more.
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Growth Brings More Complexity
Every new hire, every new supplier, every new process… they all add yet another layer to how your business runs, and what used to be easy to oversee becomes much harder to keep track of. After all, you can’t be everywhere at once, and you can’t rely on memory or trust alone anymore.
Now remember that control doesn’t mean micromanaging - that would be disastrous. What it actually means is having a clear idea and view of what’s happening so you can step in when needed, and otherwise just keep an eye on things from a distance.
You Start To Rely On Systems Instead Of People
In a small team, things often tend to run on relationships - you trust people to do their jobs, and you can very quickly check in if something doesn’t feel right or the outcomes aren’t what you were expecting, for example. But as the business gets bigger, that’s going to be much less practical, and you’re going to need systems that work even when you’re not there (especially when you’re not there, in fact).
You’re not using those systems to replace people, which is something some business owners do tend to worry about, you’re using them to lend some support to your team and to ensure that things are going in the way you want them to. Those systems you’re relying on now should make it easier for everyone to know what’s expected and what’s happening.
Security Stops Being A Side Issue
When you’ve only got one office or workshop or retail store, or whatever, security is very simple, isn’t it? You lock the door, give keys to a few people who need them, and that’s that. But as you add staff, sites, and equipment, access becomes more complicated, so who should be allowed there and when? And how do you keep track of it all?
You could invest in physical security access control to solve all those problems for you because that’s going to give you a way to manage who can enter certain areas and when, without having to share keys or guess at what’s actually happening.
Mistakes Get More Expensive
As a business grows, the cost of small mistakes is definitely going to go up. A lost key, an unlocked door, or someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time can lead to much bigger problems than it would have when everything was a lot smaller.
When you’re more in control, it’ll help to reduce those risks massively. Of course, it’s not going to eliminate them completely, but it will make them much easier to spot and manage before they turn into something really serious.
Clients Expect You To Be Professional
Larger clients often want to know that you’ve got proper processes in place, and they care about how you protect their data, their goods, and their people. If you’re able to show that you take control of things seriously, that’s going to really build trust, which is exactly what you want.
On top of that, it’s also going to help you win work that smaller, less organised businesses might not be able to take on, and that could be exactly what’s needed. It could even be the thing that takes your business to the next level.
Clear Boundaries Make Work Easier
Control is about safety, but it’s also about clarity - when access, roles, and responsibilities are all clear, people feel a lot more confident in what they’re doing, and they know where they should be and what they’re responsible for.
That’s going to massively reduce any confusion, which saves time and energy in every area of the business - where that leads is down to you, but ideally it’ll lead to success.
You Can’t Scale Chaos
Some businesses will grow even if they do have messy systems in place, but that doesn’t last forever, and eventually, the lack of control is going to catch up, and it won’t be pretty - things will get lost, deadlines will be missed, and people are going to get hugely frustrated.
If you put proper controls in place, that’s going to give your business a stable footing to work from and grow from, and even if it means things take longer, they’ll stay around for longer once they’re there as well.
It Helps You Sleep At Night
One of the biggest benefits of control is peace of mind because you’ll know that your premises, staff, and assets are protected, and that’s going to allow you to really switch off when you get home, and not worry about things that really should be taken care of already. So by the time you get to bed, you should be able to get a proper night’s sleep, rather than tossing and turning and worrying about things you’ve got the power to get sorted much earlier on.
Final Thoughts
As your business grows, control becomes less about being in charge and more about just being prepared, and if you’ve got systems in place that do that, your growth is going to be more successful and more sustainable. And you’ll be able to focus on moving the business forward with confidence.
