Fast growth is a measure of your success – orders coming in, new staff or bigger premises are all indicative of a business plan going well.
However, you need the right systems and mindset in place in order to manage this growth effectively, and many businesses can end up one late payment away from disaster. Although it might be hard to imagine your order book struggling under the strain of too much business, it’s important to plan for expansion from your startup days.
Some owners of growing businesses might be thinking of taking on their first employee in the new year – but how do you know when it’s time to take the plunge? Where should you go for advice about hiring? And if you’re planning on expanding a team further, what implications will this have for your role at the top of the tree?
We’ve invited a panel of experts to offer practical advice on how to manage the growth of your business. They’ll be on hand during a live Q&A session to answer your questions on anything from cashflow to management styles.
To take part, post your questions in the comments section below, tweet us at @GdnSmallBiz or join us live between 1pm and 2.30pm on 11 December to chat directly with our panel.
Our panel
Helen Gibbons is the UK community education manager at Xero, responsible for generating content and making this available to a whole range of different education providers and institutions. Before this, she spent five years working for a training provider teaching in a classroom environment
Petra Wilton is director of policy and research at the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), an accredited professional institution for management based in the UK. CMI is dedicated to improving managers’ skills and growing the number of qualified managers
Timo Schmidt is the co-founder of Gousto, a recipe and ingredients home delivery service, which grew by 900% in 2013 and has received support from the Government’s Angel co-fund and Enterprise Investment Scheme. Schmidt is an ambassador for the Business is GREAT Britain campaign
Ashley Driver is an education specialist at Xero, helping users understand their accounting. He joined Xero in 2012 and spent a year and a half in the customer experience team. He is mAAT qualified and also taught AAT for three years part time in the adult education sector
David Swigciski is SME trading director at commercial insurer RSA, and is responsible for RSA’s e-trading platform for SME business insurance in the UK. Previously, he worked across a number of different parts of the business including engineering inspection, marine and construction, power, and engineering
Asi Sharabi is a former advertising executive and co-founder of Lost My Name, the personalised children’s book that secured a record investment on the BBC programme Dragons’ Den
Nigel Hudson is the marketing director from Utilitywise, an energy and water consultancy. Utilitywise started with three colleagues in 2006 and is now on the way to having 1,400 employees by 2016
Robert Rutherford is the chief executive officer of QuoStar, a consultancy specialising in business technology. Founded in 2005, it offers business improvement and technical consulting, and outsourcing and cloud services
Emma Watkinson is the founder and CEO of SilkFred, a fashion technology startup. The online retail platform supports over 100 independent fashion brands and emerging designers. Emma is also a supporter of the Business is GREAT Women in Enterprise Campaign
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