Growing Your Business

by Diane M. Calabrese | Published December 2025

 

 

Business as a garden works well as metaphors go.

Just a few seconds of reflection, and we see the seeding, weeding, pruning, transplanting, watering, and feeding required to grow a business. If the metaphor helps, fine.

Yet instead of analogizing about elements of business growth, why not take a direct approach? Heed the suggestions of experts, such as those that follow.

“Unless a company is able to adapt, plan, and grow as the market demands—relative to the market your company is involved in—it will be difficult to sustain, let alone grow, your company,” says Ken Yoshitake, president and CEO of J.S. O’will Inc. in Federal Way, WA.

“It’s essential to ‘listen to your customers,’” says Yoshitake, “but not deviating from your company’s values and principles” is equally important.

In responding to trends or economic perturbations, one question must be answered before taking action, explains Yoshitake: “Does it make financial sense?”

Someone, of course, must be tracking trends and changes. “It’s critical that your company have the right personnel to even pursue potential business growth,” says Yoshitake.

“If you can’t sustain your business, you can’t grow it,” says Yoshitake. “That being said, in order to grow, you also have to plan for growth; and even though at the time of planning you might not be ready for growth or expansion, at least you’re planning ahead proactively. I think that’s important.”

As an aside, we wonder how many new business owners have gardened or, even better, farmed. The vagaries of the environment—drought, hail, wind, etc.—have a way of reinforcing the point that planning and flexibility are essential to growth. And even then, things can go awry.

“The biggest misconception is that business growth just ‘happens’ if you have a good product or service,” says Kerry Siggins, CEO of StoneAge in Durango, CO. “Many people believe that growth is a straight-line trajectory driven by luck, timing, or simply working harder.”

That’s not so. “In reality, sustainable growth is a deliberate choice,” explains Siggins. “It requires discipline, strategic planning, the right people in the right seats, and a relentless focus on execution.”

Siggins emphasizes that growth is not just about adding revenue. “It is about scaling your systems, culture, and leadership capacity to match. Without those elements, rapid growth can actually destroy a company.”

So, what should a business owner consider when evaluating whether to pursue growth? “First, alignment with your purpose and strategy,” says Siggins. “Growth for growth’s sake is dangerous.”

Again, it’s alignment with the company’s vision and values that serves as the guide. “If the growth path pulls you away from who you are or what you are building, it can erode trust, culture, and customer loyalty,” explains Siggins.

The second consideration is capacity. “Do you have the right people, systems, and financial resources in place to support growth?” says Siggins. “Many companies chase opportunities without considering whether their infrastructure can handle it.”

Effective leaders understand that their company’s “scaling capacity” is “as crucial as pursing the next market opportunity,” says Siggins. Scaling capacity encompasses “talent, capital, and operations.”

Should owners think more about sustaining a business than growing it? “It is not either/or, it is both,” says Siggins.

“Growth without sustainability leads to burnout, instability, and short-lived success,” explains Siggins. “Sustainability without growth leads to stagnation and missed opportunities.”

To build a business that can “grow and endure,” says Siggins, “resilience” must be built into the business model. Such a model incorporates “taking care of your people and continually innovating.”

 

Hard Numbers

“Today, sustaining a business gets harder each year,” says Roy G. Chappell, CEO of Chappell Supply and Equipment in Oklahoma City, OK. “We now have tariffs that need to be factored into the pricing of our products, or they will put you out of business.”

Pricing must be a match for the quality of product and/or service. “To sustain a business, you must hire the best qualified employees you can find,” says Chappell.

Hiring the best requires paying well. Once service technicians are onboard, “work with them so they know more about equipment than other service people,” says Chappell. “Have a training class weekly to keep them educated and motivated about their job.”

The ongoing training sends a signal to employees that “you want them to be the best,” explains Chappell. It all adds up to a team of individuals who are the best they can be.

How does an owner get a good start with employees by making good hiring decisions? The way to hire top-quality service technicians is to evaluate prospective employees with care when they visit for their first interview, says Chappell.

It’s important that an interviewee arrive on time, dressed in clean clothes and clean shoes, says Chappell. He asks, “When they leave, how fast does the person walk back to their vehicle? We want to see them walk with authority.”

Also look at the vehicle the interviewee is driving. The truck or car should be clean, says Chappell. “It may be an older car, but if they take care of it, they will take care of a company vehicle and tools.”

Naturally, good employees must be matched with a prudent owner. And here’s where the owner must be capable of the self-assessment that enables strategic approaches.

“As a new business owner on the block, the first thing the owner wants is to have the lowest price in their market area,” says Chappell. “That is the biggest mistake a new business owner can make. Parts prices should be in the middle of the price range for your area.”

Similarly, assess the compensation for per-hour labor in the area served by the company. “You want to be 10 percent higher than anyone else, but you want to be sure your service technicians know more than your competitor’s technicians.”

Chappell explains that customers will pay a little more for a service or product if they have confidence in it that it will work.

“We have all heard stories about getting a big service bill, then getting the unit in the field 100 miles away only to find out it does not work,” says Chappell. “Your service department is what makes a company grow, so hire the best and train them on what they need to know about your products.”

 

It’s Not Easy

“The biggest misconception is that business growth is easy, inevitable, or the result of a single lucky break,” says Robert Dahlstrom, CEO of Apellix based in Jacksonville, FL. “Reaching the growth stage is exceptionally hard and requires immense sacrifice, focus, and years of dedicated work.”

Like all our experts here, Dahlstrom speaks from experience. He started his company, which focuses on working drones, including autonomous pressure washer and automated spray-painting solutions, in his garage in 2013.

There doubtless will be “obstacles, setbacks, and uncertainty,” says Dahlstrom, and the company leaders and team members “must be prepared to make tough decisions.”

Dahlstrom explains that success isn’t guaranteed even with a transformational, industry-changing product. “Introducing a new technology that changes the way an industry operates involves re-educating markets, overcoming resistance, and proving consistent, reliable results.”

It may not be easy but can be—and is—done. “Persistence and relentless focus are essential,” says Dahlstrom. “Sustainable growth comes from day-in and day-out effort: refining your solution, listening carefully to customer feedback, and not losing sight of your long-term goals even when short-term results are disappointing.”

The catalyst for a business provides a spark. An owner must take it from there. “It’s not the one big idea that creates a thriving business—it’s the willingness to keep pushing, learning, and adapting no matter how challenging the journey,” says Dahlstrom.

Know the “why” that undergirds everything that’s being done, says Dahlstrom. And make sure team members know it too. “Clarity of purpose” is essential.

A broad and deep understanding of the “why” that permeates the team at a company builds on authenticity. “Growth fueled by a strong, authentic ‘why’ is more sustainable and attracts loyal supporters,” says Dahlstrom.

Clear purpose and market fit—two musts—have to be supported by value. “This means validating that the product or service you offer meets real needs and solves important problems for your target customers,” says Dahlstrom.

Customers respond and return to companies that improve their lives and enhance their businesses. “While growth is enticing and often necessary, businesses that focus only on expansion risk the foundations that keep them strong: customer service, operational excellence, financial discipline, and team engagement.”

Things happen. For every toll nature takes on a garden or farm, there is an equivalent less-than-welcome toll taken on a business by the unpredictable forces in the sphere of commerce and industry.

Prepare to the extent possible.

“Beyond innovation and hard work, reaching the growth stage often demands building a team and corporate structure that is a foundation for scalable processes, and actively cultivating resilience within your organization,” says Dahlstrom. “These elements—often overlooked—can make the difference between staying small and achieving meaningful, sustained expansion.”