Level 12 · Part 1
Are you ready to grow?
Growth multiplies what you already have, good and bad. Prove the basics first.
If your costs are unclear, your quality varies or your customers leave, growing makes each of these bigger. Look for signs that the basics are solid.
- Customers come back and ask for more than you can supply.
- You know your cost per unit and your margin (Levels 1 and 10).
- Quality is the same from batch to batch, and you keep records (Levels 4 and 5).
- You are paid on time, and cash does not run short between cycles (Level 10).
- You can step away for a few days and the work continues.
Signs you should wait
Be careful if complaints are rising, if you are always short of cash, if you cannot say what each product earns, or if the business stops when you are away. Fix these first.
Exercise 12.1 · My readiness check
- Answer the five signs above with a yes, partly or no, and a reason.
- Mark the two weakest signs and write what you will do about them.
- Write the one thing that makes you want to grow, and whether customers are really asking for it.
Background reading for this part:
- Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) — International Labour Organization (ILO)
- Developing Sustainable Food Value Chains: Guiding Principles — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2014