Why do Businesses Stop Growing? (Newmarket)

Back in 1965, Bob Dylan wrote the song “Its alright Ma, I’m only bleeding” – the lyrics of which have morphed into the oft repeated business cliche “If your business is not growing, it’s dying”.

Although overused, this statement is generally true.  We live in a finite world where growth is necessary for survival – but also a world where we cannot all grow.  Generally one business’ growth comes at the expense of another business.  Your clients and customers have only so much to spend, so they will collectively spend it with you or with your competitors.   Typically businesses grow until they reach a constraint that the directors cannot or will not move past.  And then they decline with their share of the market eroded to businesses that are not hampered by the same constraints.  Maybe quickly – or maybe over many years.

So why is it that some businesses grow from strength to strength while other seemingly similar businesses are in terminal decline?  How can you identify the constraints that are facing you or your business?  What are these constraints?  How can you manage and move past these constraint?  What happens if you just can’t?  What is the experience of other business owners?

For those business owners with an eye to the future who are concerned about these questions, the 20 March Business Owners Forum will be a must-attend event.

This event will be held at the BNZ Partners facility at 330 Broadway, Newmarket, Auckland at 5:30pm on Wednesday 20 March 2013 – and will run through to 7:30pm on the night.

Here are our panelists for this event:

Fraser Hurrell.   Fraser is a Chartered Accountant and a director of Elevate CA Limited.  He meets with many business owners every year, and the question of growth is high on the agenda of most of these meetings.  Fraser will share some of the insights from his cleints’ experiences – and some of the themes around what tends to go right or wrong with their best laid plans.

Michael Masterson.  Michael has served as CEO of some high growth companies such as SalesForce NZ – and one or two who possibly shouldn’t be named at the opposite end of the growth continuum.  He knows the critical ingredients for growth – and the factors that contribute to a downward spiral.  Michael’s informative and entertaining story will strike a chord with business owners.

Grant Hewson.  Grant has a history in the grow-or-die FMCG industry in both New Zealand and Australia including Unilever, SC Johnson Wax, Lion Nathan and Baxter Healthcare.  Grant is now owner of Accomplish, which as an accounting software provider operates in a highly competitive environment where to stop growing means to fast lose market share. 

As always for Business Owners Forum events, this session will be free of charge and completely free of sales pitches from the supporters or the panelists.  And there will be pizza, beer and wine to lubricate quality discussion.

Business Owners Forums are held monthly on the third Wednesday or Thursday of the month – alternating between North Harbour  and Whangarei venues – and from March 2013 also in Newmarket.

If you’d like to attend this event, email Fraser Hurrell before the end of 18 March.  And if you’d like to be included on the invite list for future events, just add your contact details in the box to the right.