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EVOLVE YOUR THINKING Landscape estimating specialist, Colm Kenny provides some sage advice for those thinking about the future of their business
“You need to be flexible, to seek out adaptive and evolving strategies, you need to build networks, invest in knowledge and seek out expert advice”
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e’ve spent the last few years looking behind us, wondering how we made so many mistakes and how we managed to overcome the challenges. Thankfully - at least in some respects - the challenges we face now relate to growth, expansion, investment and credit. The upswing has buoyed optimism, but it is tempered by caution. Those who survived the recession are finding themselves back in the black, but worried about getting their fingers burned, if not fried. Those who forged their businesses during the last decade may be doing just fine but are hamstrung by credit issues and cautious lenders. Fortune favours the brave, but it’s achieving sustainable fortune that everyone wants.
BALANCING RISK AND REWARD
Every company wants to grow its business, yet few know how to sustain it for the long term or look beyond the next year, let alone the next decade. A business plan may have been compiled with great care, insight and planning, but the pace of market change and shifting risks, most of which lie beyond the control of the owner, mean the traditional strategy doesn’t cut the mustard anymore. Many an office has a well intentioned business plan resting on a shelf gathering dust. It’s time to rethink how we plan for sustainable growth. As your business grows it is imperative that your plans, your strategy and your objectives grow to reflect and exploit changing conditions. For example, your focus is likely to change from winning new customers to constructing profitable relationships and maximising growth with existing customers. Existing business relationships often have greater potential for profit and provide reliable cash flow. Newer relationships may
Summer 2018 / www.horticultureconnected.ie / HORTICULTURECONNECTED
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