Eight questions to prepare for as your business approaches 50 employees

For many entrepreneurs, a growing business is a successful business. But there is much more to consider than just growth as a measure of success. A quality company culture, happy and fulfilled employees, and transparent processes are all factors that contribute to a healthy business, and they all have the potential to be negatively impacted by the growth of your business. .

When your business is small, you have a greater ability to solve and prevent problems that may arise. As your business grows, this becomes less true. Below, a panel of leaders from the Young Entrepreneurs Council lists some common issues you're likely to encounter as your business approaches the 50-employee mark, and explains how and why you need to prepare for them.

1. Lose that personal connection

As your business grows, one problem you need to prepare for (and make plans to avoid) is the possibility of losing that personal bond within the team. The larger a company grows, the easier it is to lose that personal connection that helps employees feel valued and connected to the company's mission and enables management to effectively support their teams. So, as you hire more employees, it's important to continue to have one-on-one check-ins and team meetings, allowing time to discuss things other than project-related topics. Recognize employees' hard work, celebrate individual and team successes, and maintain an "open door" conversation policy that lets employees know they can always ask you for help. -Diana Goodwin, MarketBox

2. Information silos

When we hit the 50 employee mark, I noticed that our teams had unwittingly started creating silos of information, which is neither efficient nor practical for long-term growth. These silos meant that some groups were out of the loop, which caused confusion throughout the company. My solution was to encourage each team to document their processes and keep a running list of changes and updates. Everyone within the company can access these documents through the cloud. This sharing of information has led to exciting breakthroughs and allowed us to grow from 50 to 200 employees in just a few years. - John Brackett, Smash Balloon LLC

3. The inability to support a growing team

A growing team has growing needs. We learned this very early in our own business. The more people you bring to your team, the harder it becomes to support them and help them grow. It also becomes much more difficult to maintain the corporate culture as each person brings their own vibe and issues. So while it's always exciting to grow your business, make sure you're prepared for plenty of turbulence and make sure you have the capacity and resources to handle it. - Solomon Timothy, OneIMS

4. Botched process and culture

There are a few issues you need to be prepared for as your business grows. One of the meanings...