Are You Fit to Grow?

This is a growth environment for the remodeling market. Housing demand is great. Home appreciation is strong. Interest rates are still favorable, and unemployment is low. This adds up to a high level of consumer confidence.

Phones are ringing at most remodeling businesses, and many of those companies have backlogs of projects. These are “make hay” times, when remodelers are seeing double-digit, top-line growth. Yet there are significant risks, and these risks, if not addressed, could cause businesses to miss the returns that are out there, or even to fail. 

An important question you should ask yourself today is whether your business is positioned to grow. 

Fitness Test

If a business is not growing, it is dying. Yet growth without fitness is like taking a road trip in a vehicle with mechanical issues. The first step in this journey is to try to better understand what is considered “fit.” I take the reader through a business fitness checkup in my book How Fit Is Your Business? This is similar to going to the doctor and having your vitals checked. Once you better understand business fitness, you can determine whether you are fit to grow.

The following are a few of the criterion that you need to examine for business fitness:

1] Your product: Are your products and services predictable and sustainable?

2] Your processes: Do you have processes and systems documented? Are clients delighted? Can you generate the leads required for anticipated sales?

3] Your profitability: Do you know your numbers?

4] Your team: Do you have a stable, strong team? Are team members on board with your vision?

5] Your leadership: Is the company leadership aligned toward the same goals? 

6] Your positioning: Do you have a clear vision of where you want to go? Is the business well respected?

After you take some time to address these questions, you can then determine whether you are fit to grow. If some of these answers are “no,” then you know where to aim your spotlight. Try to engage other key team members in this dialogue. Many owners have clear and positive answers, but their team may not be aligned.

Making the Grade

Growth allows you to move your game to the next level and provides opportunities for your key team members to advance. The question is not, “Should you grow?” but rather, “Are you fit and ready to grow?”

After you determine your basic level of fitness, you should ask yourself, “Why grow?” There are many motivators and reasons for growth, but without a strong and clear “why,” your success might be compromised.