rowing your business takes a lot of time, sacrifice, tears and fears. And finally, one day the growth arrives. Suddenly, it's there in front of you. Everything you dreamed about begins to happen—your business is growing, exploding even, with no end in sight. It's real. And then it hits you: It's so real; it's almost bigger than you are. This beautiful growth is not just a dream come true, but also a monster that needs to be managed.

To maintain the same level of excellence, you will need to update the systems you have in place. Whatever processes and procedures you've used so far, you might need to revise them. You must maximize resources and, in some cases, you will have to hire and train new staff.

In an industry where there aren't many experienced people in the market, finding the right people can be difficult, and training them to maintain your service standards can prove costly and time consuming. At the same time, you cannot sacrifice quality and customer satisfaction to growth.

Ready...

It's an age-old riddle that applies to payments: What comes first, the chicken or the egg? Should you invest in infrastructure to prepare for the increased business and achieve your goals, or should you wait until the new business is at the door and then use the extra cash flow generated to adjust the structure?

The answer to this lies in the goals set for the company. What's the company's mission, and where do you want it to be two years from now? What about ten years from now? Basically, there are two options:

• Option A: Work to build a company that looks beautiful on paper, with strong financials and P&L, that is well packaged to be sold (short to medium term) or
• Option B: Your customers and reputation come first and you focus on building value and first class services to develop a name, brand and foundation for a solid enterprise (long term).

If your goal is gaining short-term profits and possibly a sale (Option A), then you would choose to increase your business and profits first, adjusting the bases as needed to support the work load in the best way possible, and get ready to sell the company at its peak.

With this comes the likelihood of increased customer dissatisfaction, higher attrition and a minimal (at best) investment in technology, systems and human resources. This is a risk.

However, if your goal is to build a solid company for the long-term (Option B), then you do the opposite of Option A, and you take even higher risks in the process. Whether it's with your own or outside capital, a big investment must be made. And it must be made before you reap the results of growth; it must be made in anticipation of growth.

You must plan well and develop systems, technologies and human resources before any dramatic sales increases take place. You cannot risk quality of service, and you must be sure that your processes stay under control.

All of this requires capital, and you need enough of it to finance this "preparation for growth" activity until self-generated cash flow can support the new business requirements. If the responsibility of steering the destiny of your company falls on your shoulders, here are some suggestions to help you in this process:

• Take time to set long term goals for you and your company. Life is a long journey; knowing your destination will make the ride much easier and more enjoyable. Though this chapter is an open book of changing ideas, it should nevertheless be the first one.

  Once you've set your course, all that's needed is to break down your plan in phases, and then in pieces. Think of it as a puzzle to be put together, but with all the pieces numbered in sequential order, so you know where to start and how to finish; you might call it a road map. This "map" boosts the odds of getting to your destination with easier learning curves and smoother peaks and valleys. Every year-end we get together with our management team to define where we want to be by the end of the next year and why. We revisit our Master Plan, discuss our needs, and make adjustments to accommodate market conditions and industry trends.

  It's a great brainstorming experience; it provides invaluable feedback and information as we dig down the ranks. Team members enjoy being included (thus enhancing their loyalty and commitment to the company), and their experience in the trenches of day-to-day operations can provide invaluable information.

• Dust off your Master Plan and check out the differences—if any—between your reality today and your dreams some years ago. What have you done so far? Do the strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats (S.W.O.T.) analysis and think hard, really hard. This will be time well spent.

Aim...

Knowledge is Power. Once you have the information you need, you are in control. You can, with some degree of accuracy, anticipate the worst possible scenarios and prepare to cope with them. This is the time to arm your troops, load your weapons and get ready to fire. Think about:

• Capital. Securing capital is the first step. Whether you are funded by your own cash flow or an external infusion, capital will make it possible to set up the structure needed to sustain growth. There are many ways to get capital, and for the purpose of this article, it's essential to know that under no circumstances can you execute a successful plan if you run out of fuel.

• Systems and technology. When combined with trained personnel and efficient procedures, technology gives you the ability to optimize resources and achieve levels of efficiency that will exceed your customers' expectations, while at the same time increasing your profit margins.

  In this area, feedback from your staff is critical. Because they are familiar with day-to-day operations, they can help you clearly define what systems are needed, how to use them, and how much time and energy they will help save.

  You can then use this information to determine what investments you should make, and whether you should make them via outsourcing or in-house development; it's important to find the right balance between the investment and application productivity.

• Human Resources. Hiring new people may be particularly time consuming and difficult, especially since there are not that many people with experience in this industry in the labor market. You must develop an extensive training program. This requires an important investment, and it's a difficult one to make given the risk of losing trained employees to a competitor.

  It may take a few months to get somebody up to speed to perform at an acceptable quality level, so the time needed to complete the cycle must be considered and included in your budget. In addition, you should absorb fully productive employees into the company family and culture; nothing beats the synergy of a good working environment.

  With adequate time, budget and training, you can turn overworked, frustrated employees into focused, productive workers who will remain committed to your company.

• Tracking. Growth is a wonderful thing to watch. And watch it you must. If you haven't set up control systems to follow the progress of your growth, you won't know if your plan has been derailed. And you won't be armed with the information you need to adjust accordingly.

You have worked hard to design your plan, boost your resources and get your systems into place. Now it's time to execute.

Your sales engines have been ready to go; now they must bring in the expected surge of business. As growth maintains its pace, the revenues increase, and your well-oiled machine can support a structure that has doubled or tripled.

Now a new chapter needs to be written.

I have a sign in my office that says, "Success is a journey, not a destination." It's true—success is hard to find, but even harder to keep. You have to work just as hard to maintain success as you do to find it in the first place. In my opinion, this requires staying "tuned in" to industry trends, the needs of your customers, and your own house.

This industry is constantly changing. To remain successful, you must always be aware of these changes—usually before they happen. If you are prepared, you can often make change work to your advantage.

At the very least, you can be prepared and positioned to manage change, rather than be managed by it. You can establish control systems that monitor industry trends, for instance. By knowing what's coming next, you can take steps to be prepared now.

Change can open doors for new and better relationships. To a large degree, it's the relationships you have with your clients and vendors that are at the heart of your business. Like any other relationship, they must be nurtured and maintained. That means always keeping your focus on your customers. Listen to them, hear them and respond to them. They, more than anything else, will determine your continued success.

Your relationships with your employees also need constant scrutiny. Whether you like it or not, your employees are your face to the world. If they are given the support they need to do their jobs well, and to learn and grow, your clients will benefit, and you will benefit.

Don't ever take success for granted. Establish control systems that help you stay close to your progress, measure it, and provide the feedback you need make proper adjustments. Keep one eye on the efficiency of your operations, and one eye on the future. Manage your profitability; without it, growth is irrelevant. Manage your operations; they are a reflection of who you are. Manage your future; it's perhaps one of the greatest challenges, but you can manage growth if you see it coming and do something about it.

Cynergy Data
Marcelo Paladini is CEO and Gustavo Ceballos is CFO of Cynergy Data. Cynergy Data is a merchant acquirer that provides a wide array of electronic payment processing services while continually striving to develop new solutions that meet the needs of its agents and merchants. In addition to offering credit, debit, EBT and gift card processing, along with check conversion and guarantee programs, the company offers its ISOs the ability to borrow money against its residuals, to have Web sites designed and developed, to provide merchants with free terminals and to benefit from state-of-the-art marketing, technology and business support. Founded in 1995 by Marcelo Paladini and John Martillo, Cynergy Data strives to be a new kind of acquirer with a unique mission: to constantly explore, understand and develop the products that ISOs and merchants need to be successful and to back it up with honest, reliable, supportive service.

For more information on Cynergy Data contact Nancy Drexler, Marketing Director, at nancyd@cynergydata.com.