Today I want to talk about a wrong perception business owners usually have.

People think...

Business growth = Sales growth.

That's NOT TRUE!

In 2014, before I quit my corporate job, I was a Sales professional in this multi-billion Dollar Organisation.

After quitting, I took charge of our Distribution business which was started by my father.

I thought

Business Growth = Sales growth (My 1st Mindset)

So, with this mindset, within the first year,

I Doubled the sales.

In the second year,

I grew the sales by 50%

By the third year,

I had difficulty growing the business.

Why?

Back then, it was for two main reasons:

1. Cash Flow
​
Because my business operated in a credit-based market.

I did not have enough funds to keep growing my business

Why?

Because my business was in a negative cash flow cycle.

The more I grew sales, the more the imbalance between Cash inFlow and Cash OutFlow.

I struggled to sustain my business growth.

There was a point in time when I had to plead with one of my clients to lend me money as an advance as I needed funds to manage my business.

I am glad he supported me.

But making such mistakes helped me identify a crucial mistake in business, and I promised myself I would never be in such a situation ever again.

My definition of Business Growth changed.

My 2nd Definition of Business growth.

Business growth = Sales Growth + Positive Cash Flow

By now, I realised cash is actually the king of business.

If I don't have cash in the bank, I can't run my business.

Hence having funds at our disposal was crucial in growing the business.

I created an array of Cash Flow Management tools that helped me see my cash flow scenario and take actions in advance 
...while learning and understanding how to take external support to manage my cash flow. ( Bill Discounting, Factoring, Subsidy, LC & More)

Again my business started growing.

But it didn't last long!

​... to be continued.