By Michael Walsh

When you're looking to grow your business, one of the key elements to consider is the value exchanged between you and your customers. Overlooking this balance risks everything you have worked so hard to achieve.

There are two absolutely fundamental components to any sustainable business:

-Your profit
-Your customer's value

If your customers don't see a value from what you provide, they will not buy…

If you are not making a profit from the transactions you make with your customers, you will not be in business long. When both sides of the equation are balanced, a viable business can exist.

These become critical factors when you try to grow. Quite often, one or the other of these components is taken for granted because they seem so obvious. If either piece is overlooked through the growth process, the business immediately becomes at risk. If one of those parts stays missing, you will lose your business.

When you want to grow, always check in on the value exchanged. In fact, checking these components may assist you in your growth plans.

Your Profit

Two questions to consider when looking at growth and your profit include the following:

-Where have I been most profitable up until this point in the business?
-How will I be delivering products and services as I grow? Will that be changing from my current situation? Is it more or less profitable than my circumstance today?

By using these questions as a starting point, you may be able to clarify for yourself where your strongest sources of profit are, and how to grow in a manner that protects and enhances your levels of profit.

The other half of this equation is the customer value.

Customer Value

Questions to consider regarding the value your customers experience might include:

-What specifically, is the value that my customers are receiving from my company now?
-How is that value provided to them? (i.e. the "personal touch" and am I the one who delivers it?)
-How will I track customer satisfaction as the company grows?

To assume or overlook how you will be maintaining or enhancing customer value can be very expensive. You can miss profit opportunities, but your customers will not wait long if you are no longer providing sufficient value.

It has been said that being an entrepreneur is the most honest profession in the world. It's not because you are inherently more altruistic… it's that your customers vote with their feet. If you are off, they go, and it usually happens within about 30 days. In a free market economy, the customers keep you honest!

Growth is the most dangerous time in a company's evolution. The core reason for this is that one or both sides of the value exchange can be threatened. By actively addressing and monitoring both of these key elements of business, you will reduce the risks of growth, and can enjoy a larger business that serves your goals and commitments in life.

Thanks for reading!