Columnist

Navigating the messy middle of business growth

Usually, the hardest stage in business is not the start-up phase or the exit. 

It’s the stretch in between the messy middle, when opportunity begins to outpace capacity, when reputation strengthens, work increases and growth feels within reach. 

Yet alongside that progress sits hesitation. 

The team may not be large enough. Systems may still be evolving. The appetite for investment or debt funding may not be there. 

The question is no longer whether the business works; it is whether it is ready to become something bigger.

In business, growth is often treated as the ultimate marker of success.

When a business reaches a place where it could scale, the assumption is that it should. 

That assumption rarely comes with enough reflection.

Growing a business changes it. 

It alters how decisions are made, how people interact and how culture is experienced day to day. 

The closeness and clarity that exist in smaller teams don’t automatically survive expansion. 

Without intention, they slowly dilute. 

If growth is pursued without clarity of purpose, it can quickly begin to feel like the business is getting bigger but not better.

One of the hardest lessons for founders to learn is that growth introduces complexity, as well as capability. 

Every new hire, process and layer of structure solves one problem and creates another. 

This is why growing for growth’s sake rarely leads to long-term success.

Expansion needs to be in service of something, whether that’s impact, resilience, culture or sustainability. 

This phase also places pressure on leadership. 

When the business is small, founders can hold a lot together personally. 

As growth becomes possible, that reliance increases before systems catch up. 

The risk isn’t immediate burnout, but a gradual loss of headspace and perspective.

Without time to think clearly, decisions become reactive, and growth starts to feel heavy rather than exciting.

As businesses scale, the instinctive ways of working start to fray. 

The messy middle is the point where intention has to replace assumption. 

Leaders need to articulate what matters, what they want to protect and what they’re prepared to change. 

This isn’t about becoming corporate or rigid. It’s about being clear.

For business owners sitting in this phase, the most important step is to pause before you push forward. 

Ask yourself what problem growth is meant to solve, and whether that problem can be addressed in other ways first. 

Strengthening systems, clarifying roles or refining your offer may unlock more value than adding headcount.

And be deliberate about culture. 

Define what makes your business work now, and make sure those values are explicit before you invite new people in. 

Growth should reinforce your culture, not erode it.

Finally, recognise leadership capacity matters. 

Building space for reflection, support and shared responsibility isn’t a luxury; it’s what allows you to lead with clarity rather than exhaustion.

The messy middle isn’t a signal to rush.

It’s an invitation to be intentional. 

Businesses that navigate it well don’t just grow bigger – they grow better.

Jon Dudgeon is co-founder and chief executive of North Shields, Newcastle and London-based accountancy and business advisory firm Blu Sky

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region? Find out how Bdaily can help →