Organic growth: challenging but worth it

January 3, 2020

Boeing airplane flying in blue skyThere’s no doubt that growing your firm within a new market is far from easy. However, despite inherent risks, organic growth is often necessary to support the long-term success of a firm. By thinking ahead and planning strategically, associated challenges can be overcome—and the potential benefits make it all worth it.

Jon Faucher’s recent Zweig Letter Article leverages Mead & Hunt’s experience growing our aviation services in the Pacific southwest to illuminate the challenges and benefits that come with organic growth. Through this experience, we’ve found several key strategies for overcoming these challenges:

  1. Find a niche to get your foot in the door. Submitting on a project providing a niche service can be a great way to gain a foothold in a market before you have a strong local presence.
  2. Local presence is a plus. Clients work with people they know and trust, and a lot of that comes from living and working in the same areas.
  3. Build your relationships. You don’t want your firm to be an unknown entity that clients need to take a risk on. Building the relationship makes you a safer bet.
  4. Time it right. Look at the markets you’re moving into and watch for key changes that could affect business.
  5. Hire strategically. It can feel very risky to hire more people for a potentially unsteady workload, but it’s necessary if you want to continue to grow.
  6. Differentiate your firm. Technical prowess, while important, is not enough. Find what sets your firm apart and lean into that.

Following these strategies helped us find success growing in a new market. With the right strategies, dedication, and hard work, your firm can do the same.