Business Growth Framework - Mature Stage

This framework is the starting point for much of the work we do at Build Grow Last.

At the previous scaleup stage we have completed the process of building the business and it’s team to the size we targeted for it. now we need to hold it there. This can be counter intuitive after striving so long to make things bigger but it’s a vital stage to acknowledge our success and settle in to making that endure for the long term.

  • Founders need to take another step back.

  • You can think a little more about yourself now, scaling is hard, but it’s done.

  • Sometimes there are parts of the business that mature first. Acknowledge that and work to catch the other pillars up.

Marketing

You brand is established. Now the focus is on maintaining reputation, deepening customer relationships and exploring new markets or sectors. You’re not chasing, you’re reinforcing value.

  • What would it look like if we led our industry?

  • How do we scan for changes that we need to respond too?

  • What else would a brand like ours be expected to do?

There is a confidence to this position in the market. You will have folks that dislike the brand, but it’s not for them, so lean into who you are and lead.

Sales

You have the team, the processes, the tools, the resiliance that are needed in the sales organisation. Now’s the time to optimise margin, upsell new offers and reduce friction for the customer.

  • What partnerships could we make that bring extra customer value and increase our margin?

  • Which clients should we be developing? We have market position and respect now, let’s use it.

  • How is the market moving? We can be raising value while others are lowering process.

While we can’t be complacent, this is the time to make more considered long term pricing and sales decisions.

Operations

Drive towards efficiency and resilience. Refine, streamline and remove waste from processes. Mature businesses can be vulnerable to bloated, complex and poorly understood processes so don’t be afraid to remove what worked for scaling and put in place what’s needed with a multi-decade viewpoint.

  • The robust consistency of mature operations is a different challenge and skill set after scaling, look at the team and consider if you need to bring this in from outside.

  • Consider vertical integration. Looking across the supply chain can give you opportunities to simplify processes, lower costs and improve service

  • Bring operations and finance together, there are synergies that emerge at this stage that will smooth the running of the business.

Finances

Maintaining the financial health of the business requires a steady hand. At this stage you will have surrendered an amount of financial control to your team so running the business from the management reports and having a close relationship with your CFO will be part of your day to day.

  • Depending on you view of the next stage, consider long term enterprise value creation. This will have come up before but it’s time to get into the details.

  • Don’t forget about yourself and the other owners of the business. Your CFO will keep a close eye on the business but you’ll need an advisor to look after your personal financial interests and plans too.

Legal

You’ll start to conduct regular audits of the legal positions of the business at this point. One of the side effects of a successfully scaled business is that it attracts all sorts of attention and you need to prepare for this.

  • You likely have valuable IP in the business, protect it.

  • You have responsibilities to your customers, staff, regulation. Understand, delegate and prioritise them

  • Consider succession in the business, this is a legal process as well as a team one.

Compliance

You might want to bring this in house if you’ve had outside support. An in-house compliance team can stay closer to the business and ensure that we stay within regulations when we make changes.

  • Empower the compliance team to build systems, give them recognition across the business.

  • Use compliance and its benefits as a differentiator, bring in the marketing team to share this message.

R&D

This is our future proofing for the business. We’ve all seen businesses that leant to much on past glories and got disrupted. We have the opportunity to avoid that fate!

  • Scan the horizon as a matter of course, look for what (and who) is coming soon.

  • Don’t forget that R&D is experimentation, even though we’re a ‘grown up’ firm now, there’s still space to try and fail.

  • Connect with the operations team and look at how you can innovate within the sector, the next opportunity might be up the supply chain.

Leadership

You’re no longer leading the day to day. You’re setting culture and holding space for the vision. Your job is to ask the right questions and back the right people.

  • Remember what we stand for, don’t let new leaders derail that.

  • Stay present, have a schedule that keeps you around the business for some time each month.

  • Keep the message alive, the team joined for that and they need to see it’s still there.

Mindset

Congratulations, very few make it here. There’s a comfort, but there’s risk too.

  • Stay curious, boredom will frustrate you.

  • Enjoy the stability, but balance that with new projects.

  • Think about how you continue to grow, there may be things outside the business that need attention.