Anyone serious about creating a business legacy in Louisiana, Mississippi or Texas has to be thinking about growth. Growth is the benchmark by which success is measured these days. But how is that achieved?
Experienced business people will likely agree that there is no one way to make it happen. The typical route one follows will vary depending on your given situation. If you are just starting out, straightforward expansion might be considered. It’s organic. It seems logical.
Other common growth options would have to include franchising your business, licensing your product or creating partnerships with allied businesses. If you’re solidly situated in your niche, maybe it’s time to diversify into a complementary product line or service or expand into other markets. All these methods require solid planning.
Mergers or acquisitions rise to the top as one of the methods of growth popular today. But experts say this path to success is not as easy as simply buying up the competition. There are likely to be nuances related to financing or corporate structure and compliance that have to be addressed. That can be done with a skilled attorney’s help. In addition, there is the significant challenge of integrating the two entities.
Those who have been through it can attest that most mergers fail. The reason is usually that the parties involved didn’t attend well enough to the details. It takes more than just signing papers and running down checklists. Communication is critical.
That includes communication between technology systems. But perhaps more important is communication at the human level. Real people inside and outside of the company are going to be affected by the changes being undertaken. If the myriad emotions that will be generated aren’t anticipated and met with a positive response, fight or flight could be the reaction.
Regardless of the path to growth your business takes, never lose sight of the human element.