The Problem With Unplanned Growth

This article was written by Tim Berry of Entrepreneur.com

This is a true story, although the names and places have been changed. Everything ended up OK, but there was a lot of unnecessary stress -- all of which could have been easily prevented by just a minimum of business planning. This kind of problem happens all the time, and it's so easily preventable, it's a shame it happens at all. The lesson: Don't be a victim of unplanned growth.

The story takes place in a midsize university town on the West Coast, during the mid-1990s, as the Internet boom took off and most everybody in business and education was getting connected. The main players are Leslie and Terry, co-owners of a consulting business offering computer and network services, mostly to local businesses.

At the beginning of this story, Leslie and Terry had a small but comfortable office a few blocks off Main Street, near the university, and a comfortable business, averaging about $20,000 in sales per month with a few steady clients and not a lot of seasonal variations in sales. They had one employee who did the bookkeeping and general administration tasks, maintained office hours and made appointments. ...