Growing a business is not for the faint-hearted.

Let’s talk honestly about growing a business....phew! Not the pitch-deck version. Not the Instagram highlight reel. The real one. You know that one, that starts with moonlighting.

When you build from scratch, very few businesses start with perfect structures, full teams, and polished systems. You start with belief (hope my dear), grit, and people willing to stretch beyond job descriptions.

That’s not dysfunction. That’s early-stage reality.

Stage One: Everyone Does Everything

In the early days of our business, I AM AN ENTREPRENEUR, we didn’t have departments. We had people.

People bringing their own laptops to work
People juggling multiple roles in the business
People learning while delivering
People stayed late because the work had to be done

Look, the reality is, you don’t start with systems. You start with commitment and trust.

This is an important lesson for entrepreneurs: If you’re waiting for perfect conditions before you start, you will delay your own growth. Every solid business begins with imperfect execution and committed people.

Stage Two: From Survival to Structure

Growth arrives quietly and demands discipline.

At some point:

Excel stops coping with your needs
WhatsApp becomes a risk
“We’ll remember” becomes dangerous
One person holding too much information becomes a bottleneck

This is where many businesses stall because structure costs money before it saves money. But structure is not bureaucracy. Structure is protection.

HR moves must move from a spreadsheet to a professional system
Roles must become clearer, even if still stretched
Processes have to replace memory
Accountability must replace goodwill

This is a critical stage where businesses either mature or remain permanently fragile.

Optimising Technology: Working Smarter Before Working Bigger

One of the biggest myths in business is that technology is for “later.” Later, when there’s more money. Later, when the team is bigger. Later, when things are calmer.

The truth? Technology is how you survive the chaos before you scale the calm.

In the beginning, technology looks basic:

Shared inboxes
Free online tools
Manual trackers
People acting as the system

That’s normal. But growth requires intentional optimisation, not just harder work. Optimising technology doesn’t mean expensive systems (especially now with so much tech tools available in the market). Optimising technology today means choosing tools that:

Reduce duplication
Save time
Create visibility
Protect institutional memory

If one person leaves and the business struggles to function, the issue isn’t people, it’s systems. The right systems help you:

Track work without chasing people
Manage clients without chaos
See your numbers clearly
Support HR without breaking spreadsheets

Particularly in South Africa, where margins are tight and resources are limited, technology is often the difference between burnout and sustainability. Honestly, if your best people are doing admin work, that technology could be doing better; you are wasting talent. Systems should carry the load so people can think, solve, and lead.

Cash Flow Is Oxygen, Not a Bonus

Let’s be very frank. A business can appear busy, successful, and profitable, yet still die from poor cash flow. What we call perceived liquidity!

Cash flow is not an admin issue. It is a leadership responsibility.

You must know:

What’s coming in
What’s going out
What you can afford to commit to
When growth needs to pause

Without it, even good businesses panic. No cash flow. No resilience. No room for mistakes. When you hear "Cash is King" in business, BELIEVE IT WITH ALL YOU HAVE!

Excellence Is the Growth Strategy

Before systems are strong, people are the system. The team matters more than the tools in the early stages.

These are the people:

Who stays until late to deliver to a client
Who understand that while they’re paid for one role, they contribute beyond it
Who grow with the business, not just inside it

When you're growing a small business, you don’t just need skills. You need alignment, resilience, and shared ownership from the people. You need the right seats on the bus, otherwise, the bus ride becomes a wasted trip.

Hear me clearly: excellence isn’t perfection. It’s delivery, even when things are manual, slow, and uncomfortable.

A Note to Entrepreneurs Just Starting

If you’re currently:

Moonlighting
Wearing multiple hats
Operating with limited or no systems
Working longer hours than you’d like

You are not failing. You are building. And the goal is not to stay here forever. The goal is to move through this stage intentionally as you upgrade people, processes, and systems as the business grows.

Final Business Doctor Reflection

Every sustainable business you admire once: