While I believe that our economy is starting to show signs of recovery, I know that many economists believe that the recovery will be slow and gradual. Consequently, I know that many business owners are eager to accept any and all business that they can get, consistent with the old adage, “beggars can’t be choosers.” However, pursuing all business that is available is not necessarily a wise move. Growth has its own set of challenges, and prospective clients who compromise or complicate a business or aren’t consistent with a company’s long-term strategic goals may not be worth pursuing.
Recently, this has become an issue for some small businesses that may be able to achieve a significant, but temporary, increase in business as a result of government stimulus spending. To accommodate that growth a business must be able to ramp up, but then also successfully ramp down when that stimulus money is no longer available (unless there are replacement clients). That is often easier said than done.
In the September 3, 2009 issue of The Wall Street Journal, there is an article that describes some of the challenges and concerns about ramping up a business to meet temporary demand. The article is worth reading (follow the link). It is written by Michael Sanserino, and is titled, “Stimulus Holds Peril for Firms: Burst of Government Spending Complicates Planning.”
