Some people think of getting business advice from business consultants and coaches in the same way that they view a doctor; a professional they only see when they are sick. Doctors will identify the cause of the problem and prescribe a course of medication, to either tackle the source or minimise the impact of the symptoms in order to make patient’s life more comfortable. The treatment involves boosting the body’s natural system to return the person back to a healthy state.

There are similarities between the health of a human body and a business. Both are made up of a number of parts that define it, all of which need to function in peak condition to maintain good health. In essence, a business relies on the health of the administration, sales, accounting and fulfillment teams, which translates into the organisation’s ability to deliver the goods or services, based on the client’s expectation, at a desired level of customer service. However, one main difference is that the human body has the ability to heal itself of many ailments naturally without the need for intervention. The same cannot be said for a business. In fact, as the business grows, so too will any underlying illnesses, which, if left unchecked, will eventually require more intervention and some business advice to find a resolution.

Tweet: “Simple issues left unaddressed can cost you your business in the long run.” http://ctt.ec/f6usz @BizCoachRay

Is Business Growth the Answer?
Ignoring an underlying problem to focus purely on business growth can make the issue seemingly disappear for a while. For example, in order to grow, a business with an annual turnover of $300,000 may need to invest a few thousand dollars to implement a more efficient way to identify, pack and fulfill an order. However, if the business chooses to maintain its status quo and only adopt the new system once the turnover is $2,000,000, the cost of implementation may run to tens of thousands of dollars and incur a possible loss of productivity, which would impact the business more.  A wise man once said,

“It is cheaper to seek advice on an issue before you get into it than when you’re in the midst of it.”

My experience, working with a wide range of businesses, has shown me that sometimes an obvious and simple issue can be very expensive to fix if it is not treated early. The worst thing a business owner can do is to focus purely on business growth and ignore any issues, believing that they would resolve themselves with time and without business advice.

Invest in a business health check – what issues does your business face today?