From your experience, what are some of the most common mistakes made when a business begins to grow?

I think the most common mistake a business organization will make is not planning for growth. As a business grows it changes: changes affecting resources, people, equipment, space. So I think it's critical that an organization properly plan for changes it will encounter as it grows. It's important to note that what works well for an organization as it's getting started in its early years may not necessarily translate to what's going to work well for that organization as it gets larger. It's also been my experience that the larger the organization is, the more difficult it is to keep everybody doing a good job of communicating with each other and staying on the same page.

My last point would be that a very important mistake an organization can make as it grows is not having good control of cash flow. As you grow, your inventories may need to be increased, your accounts receivable may increase, so both of those items are going to require increased amounts of cash funding. That's another important thing to keep in mind.