Introduction
Today I was stuck in traffic on the M18 motorway, sitting there thinking about how this situation mirrors some common challenges I see in businesses.
I made little progress, and it was frustrating. Therefore what I want to ask you today is:
- What’s holding you back in your business?
- Are you stuck, just like this traffic?
- What’s preventing your growth and progress?
Bandwidth for Your Business
For those of you who don't know, the M18 is a two-lane motorway. And when you are stuck due to a lane closure, it’s one of those moments where everything feels like it's grinding to a halt.
I’d been in the car for over an hour, only covering about 3 miles. Typical Monday morning traffic, rain, poor drivers swerving between lanes, and a crash or hold-up ahead that I couldn't see when I was dictating this blog to my phone.
It got me thinking about the businesses I’ve worked with. Just like this traffic jam, they’re stalled, with no room to grow or move forward.
The congestion is like poor bandwidth in your business.
The analogy is simple: just as the M18 has too many cars and too few lanes, many businesses don’t have enough resources or systems to expand and grow at the speed they need.
So, let’s break this down:
Do you have enough cash to expand?
If you don’t have enough capital in the business to push growth, you're like a car on the motorway running out of fuel, it’s going nowhere.
Think of it this way: if your business can’t fund its growth opportunities, you're stuck in the slow lane.
Example: A client of mine had an impressive product offering but couldn’t expand because they hadn’t planned for the cash flow needed to support a larger sales force. When they increased investment in marketing and product development, it helped increase sales, but it was only sustainable once their capital reserves allowed for it.
Do you have the right people to expand?
People are your lanes. If you don’t have enough people or the right people, you’ll always be stuck in the same spot.
It’s essential to have the right talent to support your business growth. Scaling requires more than just hiring; it’s about building the right team and systems.
Example: A SaaS company I worked with recently grew too quickly without the right customer support staff in place. They had the demand, but couldn’t handle the volume. As a result, their customer satisfaction dropped, and so did their retention. Churn became the 'word' of every board meeting for months. After restructuring and hiring dedicated customer support teams, and from my recommendation, re-wrote their customer success processes, and upgraded to intercom linked to HubSpot their pain eased, the churn started to reduce and they could plan to scale with confidence.
Do you have the right systems and processes in place?
In business, your systems and processes are the equivalent of connecting intersections of the lanes.
Are your processes streamlined enough to support growth? Too many businesses try to scale with outdated or inefficient processes.
Just like having more lanes would help traffic flow better, optimizing your internal systems helps your business run efficiently.
Example: I worked with a tech startup that had a fantastic product, but their customer onboarding was manual and slow. As demand grew, they couldn’t keep up. They invested in automation tools too early without understanding the customer needs and how to get them to time to value faster, with a revised process map of their customer journey, understanding what made the 'aha' moment for their users - added to simplified automation on the core areas, onboarding improved, and they saw a massive reduction in their time to onboard new customers, which freed up resources to drive further growth.
Marketing & Sales: Are Your Lanes Wide Enough?
If you don’t have the bandwidth to reach your audience and convert them effectively, you’re not going to grow.
Is your marketing strategy wide enough to capture the attention of your ideal clients? Can your sales team manage the volume and close deals efficiently?
Example: Consider a business that runs digital ads but doesn’t have a well-defined lead capture strategy. Their ads get clicks, but the lack of a solid funnel means they’re just wasting resources. By integrating automated lead nurturing systems and refining their messaging, they were able to reduce ad spend and increase conversions.
Governance and Legal Compliance: Managing the Obstacles
Much like the unexpected crash ahead on the motorway, the unforeseen legal and regulatory obstacles can slow down your progress. Ask if you are up to date on your business compliance.
If your governance and legal requirements are out of line, it’s like having debris blocking the road. It’ll stop your business from accelerating.
Example: A client had a software product that was close to expanding internationally, but their data protection compliance wasn’t up to date. They couldn’t move forward with scaling into new regions until they made the necessary changes. This delay ultimately resulted in lost opportunity, slowing down their growth plans.
Conclusion
So, think about the bandwidth in your business.
- Are you in the slow lane because you don’t have enough resources, people, or systems?
- Are you stagnating due to a lack of strategy or cash flow?
Take a step back, get your business on a whiteboard (digital or manual) or a flipchart, and map out where you need to widen those lanes to accelerate your growth.
Take time for a strategic review, just like clearing up that traffic on the M18.
And let’s be clear: bandwidth is everything. It’s about having enough capacity to handle both the volume and speed of growth you’re aiming for.
Always here to help you start, grow, and thrive. Let me know how I can support your next big move.
