07 Mar Why Businesses Stop Growing—and How To Get Out of a Plateau

At some point or another, most entrepreneurs experience a business plateau. Plateaus can look different for each individual business, but in general, they’re characterized by lack of progress in some way. This might mean stagnating (or declining) sales, lackluster customer satisfaction, slow business growth, or just a feeling of being stuck. 

Hitting a plateau is normal. However, getting out of one by jump-starting business growth can take some effort and creative thinking. Here, we’ll run through a few examples of reasons why plateaus happen, and how to increase business growth when you experience one. 

What Causes Plateaus?

Business plateaus occur when something is broken, or when the systems you have in place are no longer meeting your needs. This can happen for a number of reasons. For example:

• your business plan is outdated or unsustainable
• your pricing strategy needs work
• you’ve become complacent
• you’re focusing on the wrong thing (wrong product, wrong market, etc.)
• your marketing campaign isn’t performing
• you don’t have the help/staff you need

What To Do When Business Is Slow?

Hitting a plateau can be alarming, but for entrepreneurs who can respond appropriately and effectively to what isn’t working, they can be opportunities for growth. The right way to get your business out of its plateau will depend on the unique situation and challenges you’re facing. However, the following steps are a great starting point:

• Figure out the sticking point. The first step is to identify the factor that is holding you back. Having an outside perspective can be critical to accurately diagnosing the problem. If you’re not already working with a mentor or peer group, consider doing so.

• Explore other markets. If your current market is exhausted, it may be time to get creative about expanding. This might mean finding a new audience, or identifying a new use for an existing product or service.

• Find the right people. If your business is still a one-man (or -woman) show, or is still composed of a skeleton crew, it may be time to invest in more employees. Alternatively, if the issue isn’t the quantity of people, but rather the quality, then you’ll need to think critically about what skill sets are missing from your business and how you can fill that need.

• Look around you. It’s tempting to hyper-focus on your business when things aren’t going well. However, you might actually be better served by taking a step back. Talk to other people in your industry, or scope out competitors. Are they having the same problems? What are they doing that you’re not, and how can you learn from them?

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