Why many businesses don’t grow as much as they should

Many owners I meet have so much potential, but they throw it all away at the first sign of success. Rather than growing their business, they grow their lifestyle with profits. If you want to grow, here’s what you need to do.

Delay the luxury

If you’re considering buying that fancy new car or house, don’t. Wait till your business is much bigger and much more profitable. You can also rent luxury assets instead of owning them. Delayed gratification isn’t easy, so ask yourself: “In the next 10 years, where do I want my business to be?” Then, make that sacrifice and reinvest into your core business.

Make yourself replaceable

The worst thing that can happen is that you’re out in the field 24/7, and no one can take over what you do. I know how easy it is to fight one fire after another in business. I don’t care about how busy you are, how many fires you need to put out, how many jobs you need to run—you must set aside at least 15 minutes to record or write down processes. That’s how you will be able to train new employees and make sure they do things right.

Hire a CFO/accountant

Building a growing, profitable business is about knowing your numbers and improving them. To know your numbers, you need to ensure you’re accurately tracking what’s coming in and going out. That’s why it’s so helpful to have a chief financial officer or accountant. They help you keep track of how much you spend, what you can cut, and what taxes you can save on. If I had hired a CFO a decade ago, I would be much richer now. If you are OK with staying small, you don’t have to implement any of what I just said. But if you want to make a lot more money, ask yourself: “What am I willing to do to grow my business, even if I don’t like it?”