How Hard Could It Be?: The Four Pillars of Organic Growth
Revenue, head count, PR, and quality–if one gets ahead of the others, you’re screwed.
From: Inc. Magazine, | By: Joel Spolsky
When you build a company, you have to choose between two very different ways of growing. When my co-founder, Michael Pryor, and I started Fog Creek Software, we made a conscious decision to bootstrap. Our goal has always been to grow slowly, organically, steadily, and profitably. By contrast, a lot of the flashy companies you read about in magazines, especially high-tech companies, believe in the “big bang” model, with very fast growth fueled by lots and lots of outside investment.Bootstrapped companies start on somebody’s credit card. And in their early months and years, they do whatever it takes to break even, even if it means they have to take a few diversions along the way. It might be nice to build a giant ice cream company that will someday have millions in sales, but for now you’re going to have to settle for opening a little shop in Vermont, hope that it’s profitable, and, if it is, reinvest the profits to expand steadily.For the complete article go to Inc.com
Corra has always liked the idea of starting modestly and growing steadily. Corra agrees with the author of this article that you can avoid heavy debt loads by growing carefully and deliberately.
Whether you choose the flashier ” big bang” model or the more deliberate growth schedule, you also need to choose the right people who can help you grow. Different employees are best utilized in the two vastly different environments. Some employees can thrive on the pressure of rapid growth and modest debt load while others are more comfortable with the modest growth.
In any case, as part of your pre-employment screening program, you should consider education verifications and employment verifications.
Check them out before you hire.
