Taking a small business to the next level. An interesting concept. What exactly does that mean? "The next level" indisputably means something different to individual companies, but the core principals will most likely be the same. And what holds small business owners back from doing this? What may come as a surprise some is that money resources are not the only - or even the foremost - issue for these companies.

Leadership is the key. It's imperative that owners and strategic leaders are able to 'let go' and delegate. One of the most difficult things for a business owner or leader to do is to empower other people to make decisions; to provide them with clear expectations and then to let go. Owners and leaders often have a strong sense that they can 'do it better' and faster than it will take to train someone else to do it. Sometimes they simply feel that everything will fall apart without them doing it. Learning how to empower others is the key to sustainable growth.

The actions and the person who can get a business to one level may not be (and often is not) the same action or person who can move that company to a higher level. To illustrate this point, consider the people an organization hires that are perfect for them when the company is generating $1M in revenue. Those individuals may not be the right people for the organization as they approach the $5M revenue-generating point. It's sad to acknowledge that companies can outgrow their key leader, but it is true nonetheless. Businesses owners and leaders need to be willing to look at their staff regularly and determine if they have the right people to move the company forward. Often, the actions that have taken them to one level in sales will not be the same actions they need to take in order to get to the next level. They may need to change how they market, who they market to, who they see as their ideal client, the level of service they supply and/or many other actions.

Another of the biggest challenges small businesses face is the act of growing too fast. They may even be just growing steadily, but the leaders are ignoring the need for a more integrated and effective infrastructure. Business needs change as a company grows. Let's face it. If you are building a simple one story house you need a totally different foundation than you would if you wanted to build a sky scraper. The same concept applies to business. You need to look at your systems, processes, procedures, technology and all related infrastructure. You need to evaluate these things and change them as necessary while your business is growing. Far too often we see businesses facing a huge growth in sales without the infrastructure in place that's necessary to support the growth. As soon as growth gets beyond infrastructure, these companies begin to experience other problems. Their customer service is lacking, internal communication amongst staff suffers and they can't manage basic tasks, like delivery, that have grown out of control.

So the main challenges for a small business moving to the next level are:

1. Refusal of business owners to let go of the technical aspect of their work. Many owners are too closely involved in actual day-to-day work and production. A business cannot grow when the "person at the helm" continues to wear so many hats.

Solution: Let the professionals you hire do what they are paid to do.

2. A lack of strong infrastructure to support the growth of the business.

Solution: Put the right foundation, systems, processes and technology in place.

The key to long term success is looking at everything, and finding lessons you can glean from what you see. Successes, and what might be perceived as failures, all have lessons attached if we are willing to look for them. To grow a business, one has to continually have a beginners mind. Always be willing to think innovatively, find new ways of perceiving what you see, and always look for lesson that comes with what you have already tried.