According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey, the greatest obstacle to a company’s growth is the company’s inability to manage fast growth. Being unprepared for growth can flat line your revenue potential and reveal underlying problems that may prove irreparable. Thus, a smart strategy for growth not only sets goals but assesses fundamental issues and considers potential weak spots.

Think you’re ready for the next stage of growth? First, review these four reasons your business may not be ready.

Questionable Team

Employees make up the workforce that executes business goals and objectives. Think of employees as the engine of your business train. When the engine is faulty, your desire for growth is dead on arrival; your business isn’t going to make any progress until you fix it.

Growing businesses fly on the wings of high-performance teams. Building a high-performance team begins by creating an employee-friendly environment and camaraderie among employees.

Weak Systems

Growing a business isn’t all about offering the best products or services. The greatest of products or services may fail in the absence of a well-structured system to accommodate increased demand that comes with growth.

Standardized systems create uniformity and automation, allowing for consistency and quality. They make room for targeted communication among employees and simplify complex procedures for easy execution of tasks. With the right systems and procedures in place, your company can cater to more customers.

Insufficient Demand

Without demand, it’s only a matter of time before a business shuts down. So, demand is one of the key factors to consider as you assess a new business idea and as you consider your options for growth. A business in demand is likely to do well as consumers will readily pay for your services.

Inability to Meet Set Targets

How well do you do in meeting business targets? One way to ascertain the strength of a business is in its ability to meet targets within a stipulated timeframe. It shows that the business has the right human, technical and financial capacities for growth.

If you are struggling with ticking the boxes of outstanding business targets, you still have some homework to do. Make your priority to determine reasons for underperformance and how to overcome them. Until this is taken care of, any attempts at expansion could threaten the existence of your business.

Growing your business should always be a part of the big picture. However, good timing and preparation are always necessary.

Chris Odogwu is a freelance writer experienced in working with organizations around the world. He uses his expertise in branding to capture the core values and unique features of businesses.