Patrick Hardin, in the September 2009 issue of the Harvard Business Review, drew a cartoon showing “the boss” at his desk looking at a partially full glass and saying to his employee (standing there also looking at the glass),
“The glass is neither half empty nor half full, Hargrove. The glass is too small.”
That’s the way those who will thrive despite this economic re-set are thinking. How do I get a bigger glass and still keep it half full? With so many business shrinking or going out of business, there should be room for enterprising entrepreneurs to pick up market share. None of this is easy however.
In the present economy, it is difficult to get the investment cash to grow the business. And it is very easy to grow the business too quickly and thereby draining the cash necessary to fund operations. Organic growth is almost always a slow process.
So how will you ensure steady organic growth? Will you simply try and pick up the clients your competitors abandon? Will you try to make the glass a bit bigger by offering new services or products? How will you fund the growth?