{"id":18554,"date":"2021-11-29T09:38:49","date_gmt":"2021-11-29T08:38:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.gymglish.com\/?p=18554"},"modified":"2022-04-19T11:02:51","modified_gmt":"2022-04-19T09:02:51","slug":"from-20-to-50-how-to-manage-growing-pains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.gymglish.com\/de\/2021\/11\/29\/from-20-to-50-how-to-manage-growing-pains","title":{"rendered":"From 20 to 50: How to manage growing pains"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If, like me, your business has undergone major growth in the past few years, then you know exactly how hard it is to come to grips with a meteoric rise to success. From the press to the personal assistants to the pomade that I now have to import in bulk from Thailand, things can change in a hurry.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

In my case, Gymglish recently made the transition from 20 employees to 50 over the course of about 2 years, and frankly this transition brought with it some growing pains. Here\u2019s how we dealt with those pains, the Gymglish<\/a> way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More employees = more bathrooms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s frankly no way around it. Believe me, I tried to convince my business partner that part of the charm of our humble start-up was our lone underground urinal, but for some reason she insisted that more facilities were needed. She threw out words like \u201cillegal\u201d, \u201cdecency\u201d and \u201cinhumane\u201d. More than once I heard the phrase \u201cyou\u2019re a monster, I can\u2019t believe I married you\u201d, so eventually I relented. We now have 7 functioning toilets including a half bath with shower in our Paris office, and I couldn\u2019t be happier. Sure, our toilet paper costs are through the roof, but that\u2019s to be expected. With great success and influence comes a bigger bathroom budget, and that\u2019s a price we\u2019re happy to pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

P.S. I\u2019m divorced now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional fire extinguishers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Remember when life was simple, and you only needed one fire extinguisher for your employees? Well, with more staff comes more regulations, and more regulations often mean more fire extinguishers. Jesus, do you know how much these things cost? They\u2019re like 30 bucks on Amazon. Now imagine that times 4. You don\u2019t need to be a math wizard to know that\u2019s about 700 bucks. It\u2019s like, can\u2019t you guys just not start fires? I suppose that this too is the cost of growing a business, though I just wish my employees didn\u2019t love starting fires so much. Maybe we should stop making so many lighters<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Middle management should do the dirty work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Being the boss of a company is not the carefree joyride that many people think it is. Sure, my salary is the biggest, and yes my office has multiple windows and a door that closes properly, but I still have problems like anyone else. There\u2019s a group of pigeons for example that just sit and stare at me, and it\u2019s upsetting and probably unsanitary. Anyhow, with a bigger company, communication has to change \u2013 I can\u2019t just yell at whoever I want from my huge office on the top floor \u2013 that\u2019s now a task delegated to middle managers. The beauty of this is that they\u2019re asked to carry out instructions from upper management that they can\u2019t change, and impose them on a group of people that no longer consider them peers. Not enough autonomy to make decisions, but enough responsibility to enforce company policy. Can you imagine how fun that must be for them? In any case \u2013 make your middle managers do the dirty work. Goodbye yelling at interns, hello yelling at middle management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ostrich technique<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve already established my policy on new employees at the company \u2013 I don\u2019t learn their names until they\u2019ve made it past their probationary period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without names, I\u2019m less likely to engage in wasteful human interactions like handshakes, smiles and hugs. I employ this strategy at least until these employees prove their value to the company, at which point I reluctantly learn a name or two. My solution is \u201cthe ostrich technique\u201d \u2013 Stick your head into the ground and pretend they don\u2019t exist. It\u2019s a win-win for me and them- I don\u2019t have to acknowledge the presence of other human beings, and they don\u2019t expect any sort of constructive criticism, feedback, input or human interaction from me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s it. 4 simple tips to manage the growing pains of a successful business. Your mileage may vary of course, but in my niche industry of online language learning<\/a>, these strategies are all you will need to navigate your meteoric rise. 
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Gymglish CEO Todd Fakerton<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is part of the Unofficial Gymglish Blog.<\/a><\/em>
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Learn more about Gymglish<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n


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