Small Business Growth
Small Business Growth Requires Certain Ingredients
There are many various components to think about when starting a new small business and it can be a real headache.
For example, what type of business model could you see yourself working with or in? What is your best working style? Who will you sell to and why will they buy from you anyway? What are your passions and how do they combine with a market need or demand? What are your core strengths? How will you differ from competition? Plus also remembering that business is always changing just as life does so we have to be prepared for that also. There is no doubt that it can be overwhelming to many.
And that’s why a whopping 80% of businesses fail in their first year – as they do not fully understand what is truly required in the first place to even start right let alone grow effectively.
Talking of change, we need to also understand that demands may change.
In our current time there are many unexpected changes which may occur forcing us to pivot our businesses. We may need to differentiate and diversify enough to move healthily forward and continue to grow.
So we have to be aware that – there are times when we may need to look at making some vital tweaks to stay relevant and stay in business. And so, in order to stay in business and survive we nee to be ahead of the game, so the very nature of this means that we are able to promote and deliver high quality goods/services whilst making sales no matter what is going on around us.
And the underlying principles are the same with all business in that – we need to see consistent growth in order to survive. Business is all about numbers. That’s the foundation, and once we clothe that in passion, buying, selling, brands, marketing and so on it becomes a thing.
But at it’s core it is about the numbers and how we understand buyer behavior.
We have to do what we have to do to stay in business and not end up in debt so, there are very important and fundamental areas to think about such as having the right systems in place, hiring experts in their roles who can contribute quickly and effectively.
Start with a solid Business plan and marketing plan as we will this need regardless of the ‘type’ of business we are in, or wish to be involved with. And this is necessary because, this plan will act as ‘your vision’ plus it will include many other elements such as SWOT analysis, Projected revenue, costs and tools and many others areas, so that your investors know exactly ‘what’ you are actually running day to day. And so, IF you do require funding you can generate sufficient capital by giving total CLARITY to your bank or another business lender.
But, even if you don’t need funding you still need a SOLID VISION to work with so you can measure your progress using various metrics and so your team all know what their role
is within this vision.
When the going gets tough (as it will) you will be able to maintain that vision and message whilst facing challenges which will happen and this is why I help my clients to discover their passions first of all as they will need it to see the tough times through.
The main thing here is that you will need to have a strong driving force as you will experience set backs yet will still be able to drive forward and meet challenges and be proactive.
EVERY PERSON in your team are responsible for growth and so, communication has to be clear and effective in order for you all to be progressing forward day to day.
So you have a strong market need, great products and the ability to know and nurture the customer, GREAT! This is just the beginning.
Now you need to build the momentum and energy daily whereby you all are passionate about this thing working and you will be working potentially very long hours. That’s why hiring the right people is VITAL. You want productive, eager, enthusiastic committed, positive players who are with you for the journey as it will push productivity forward, and as it does, everyone will feel a part of the vision and feel lifted which is so vital.
Small Business Growth Passions and questions to ask
Remember that , even before all of this is set up you will need to know and have established ‘What your core passions, skills, experiences could be, and other relevant areas’ which can help you position yourself as a market leader to grow your small business with reduced risk. You need to know your ultimate role.
You are building a bridge between YOU and the chosen area.
As you do this you can also look at ‘How you might be the primary solution’ by differentiating from the competition.
So be sure to look at ‘what your market and your competition looks like! Ensure you are UNIQUE and your brand and message is head and shoulders above the rest.
So ask:
- How can you be better or different than others? IT MIGHT BE EXPERIENCE/TEAM/CUSTOMER SERVICE/CHOICE
- How can you create healthy market share? WHAT % OF TOTAL SALES OVER INDUSTRY SALES IN SPECIFIC PERIOD
- Plus, what will give you the edge over others? IT MIGHT BE LOCATION/BRANDING/MARKETING/EXPERIENCE
- Then, how will you scale up your business? WHAT TECH/PARTNERS/PROCESSES/TOOLS/RESOURCES/SYSTEMS
- What will your potential costs be? IT WILL BE KNOWING ALL EXPENSES/UNEXPECTED COSTS/CASHFLOW/P&L
- How will you measure growth with what metrics? IT WILL BE SOFTWARE/TEAM ROLES/MEETINGS/SPREADSHEETS
- Would you like to run a 1 man business or perhaps a 100 person set up? MICRO BUSINESS/SMALL BUSINESS
- What will your strategic Objective be? STATEMENTS INDICATING CRITICAL TIMELY ORGANISATIONAL STRATEGY TYPICALLY EVERY 3-5 YEARS. YOUR OBJECTIVES WILL LINK YOUR MEASURES AND INITIATIVES
- What will your role as the leader founder look like? YOU MUST LEAD EFFECTIVELY AND FOR THE GOOD OF ALL
- How will you be accountable every day? YOU MUST HAVE STRUCTURE AND BE RESPONSIBLE
As you can see – there are many questions to ask and growing a small business demands huge planning and expertise.
Even before you begin your business you have a great deal to think about, so this is why sometimes it is far easier to work with an expert or a team keep you accountable and for you to keep them accountable. This way you all may bounce ideas off of each other and refine and focus what you might want to do as you move forward and create your structure.
One of the things many people tend to get wrong is – they start with products instead of looking at who their potential clients or customers might be and whether they even want what they think of offering. But, what I ALWAYS do with greater success is to help my client discover exactly who their ideal client/customer FIRST is, so that together we work back to developing the perfect product or service or business model to maximize potential and lower risk in order to grow a solid foundation.
With a great foundation you can expand activities and build networks to ensure you drive the growth in the right direction.
So what is a great Business network?
These are professional connections and links between businesses. Small Businesses need partners and connections through relationships and they need them often to create that important business development and growth. This is where a larger more established business may be of help in strengthening the positioning and market of the Smaller Businesses processes.
Therefore – it is wise to expand one’s network ‘when new’ to expand the reach and circle of influence and for reaping the rewards and benefits from such networking.
So in simple terms you will need to get out there and share what you do with the right people. Become visible.
Why does this help larger businesses though?
Large and more established businesses wish to engage with new Small businesses as they can also accomplish greater results from mutual aims and objectives in what they do, so remember to leverage all outlets to become more visible.
Linked In
Facebook Group or Fan-page
YouTube
Use professional networks where possible. Create a great reputation. Become valuable and recognized. Be attractive. Lead the field.
This way you will attract the right attention from these larger influential companies – as they see YOUR VALUE.
Try to help out where you can also! This has really helped me personally. An example might be that I offered Small Business Coaching in return for Tech help. I also offered it in order to JV with partners. I invited guests on my podcast and courses in order to ask them for help. When starting out this can be highly valuable to both parties.
Also get to business events, meet people. attend conferences, contact those who have already succeeded in your market sector. Ask questions and opinions and learn to accept feedback as you grow. Use surveys, polls and questionnaires to gather important information on who your ultimate client will be. Learn to listen well and determine what advice you need and what you can let go of. Look for particular areas of interest between you and the larger business to connect and look to gain experience from the more experienced.
Start a group on Linked in and gather businesses, companies, startups and link to them to build greater transparency.
By doing these things you can start connections, conversations, and communication through a variety of sources which will help you to create more partners.
More Small Business Growth TIPS:
Small Business Growth
1) Don’t wear many hats or try to do the role of 5 people you will burn out.
2) Hire the best. Ensure they share a passion for your vision.
3) Communicate effectively. – Lack of communication is what kills businesses every day.
4) Understand and listen openly to others ideas. – Try to be low in Ego and high in humility. – This will pay you back over time.
5) Maintain a strong vision and always encourage and praise others to also see that vision. – Lifting spirits and appreciation creates productivity and effectiveness.
6) Have dynamic and quick meetings. Keep energy high and let others be creative. – Don’t waste too much time having meetings for meetings sake.
7) Outsource where necessary – Even if your team are great they may not be able to do certain things and so it is easier just to outsource – so ensure you know who you can trust.
8) Have a cash flow system. This may be a lifeline as you move forward.
Asking yourself more questions
There are so many options for starting a Small business model these days as you may be familiar with so, explore first of all, start with your ideas, and take action on what you discover and move toward your goals. For example, you might want to run a franchise, a shop, or an already established bed and breakfast business or maybe an online membership site business? Or maybe an eCommerce store, or a Coaching or consulting business? Don’t just fall into a business to escape a job. You will want to understand entrepreneurship and how one thinks differently than an employed person.
Whatever you do decide to do, YOU DO NEED to conduct deep and thorough research upfront and commit to doing as much homework as you can, so as to reduce the risks you may find along the way.
Of course risk reduction at the beginning is very wise thing and no matter what you end up promoting, producing or delivering, and how you communicate your message you will want to start on the right foot and create growth and make an income as soon as you can so by mitigating risk where possible this will support your speed of growth.
This is when a business succeeds, when all the components work together and tweaks and changes are made as the small business grows. Nothing starts clean and polished, it all starts with that spark or idea and from there creation comes and the beauty and magic in a successful small business model will evolve. Some ideas never work and that’s life, but that’s also why we need to put in the effort right from the beginning to see whether something is worth our blood, sweat and tears or not.
How does that sound so far?
Are you excited or do you feel a bit overwhelmed by it all?
It’s natural to feel the fear of uncertainty and the idea of failure and so, we need to ensure we put in the right effort in the first place.
Oh by the way – I never had any of this help 14 years ago, I had to read tons and tons of material just to start understanding how small business growth really works. I studied the likes of Sir Richard Branson, T Harv Eker, Dr Joe Vitale, Rich Schefren, Mike Filsame, Frank Kern, Napoleon Hill, Tim Ferris, The e-Myth, Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Brendon Burchard, Robert Kiyosaki, Eben Pagen, Sonia Riccotti, and many many others ‘just’ to grasp how becoming a self sustained ethical empire builder really worked.
Thanks to my education I now know what to avoid and what to focus on but, what I have taken from it the most is the ‘help’ I have been able to share and have given. Truly, when I help individuals to change their lives, businesses and roles it gives me such highs and satisfaction that I am in heaven. I am just that kind of guy who loves to give and see immense progress.
Maybe it’s because I was once a college dropout, and I was a struggling, broke, depressed, angry and lost young guy who was ready to throw it all away? BUT I DIDN’T! I REFUSED TO QUIT ON MY DREAMS. And so I advice you to do the same.
So you have your Aim now and know your strategies and are ready to roll out! So now you have to ask yourself HOW AM I GOING TO MARKET IT anyway? You see, let’s say you have your little Artisan bread shop in Hackney, AWESOME! But, you need to create a pre-launch exposure, offline and online marketing, publicity, advertising methods and get help from as many people as you can to get the ball rolling – EVEN BEFORE YOU OPEN THE DOOR. The build up is often the greatest moment as timing is everything.
So, never underestimate the timing or work required. Hopefully this list of SOLID tips will help you on your road.
Now onto My Top 11 Tips To Starting A Thriving Successful Small Business Growth Brand ‘The Right Way’
Ready? Great!
Small Business Growth
1) DISCOVER WHO YOU REALLY ARE AND WORK WITH THAT. WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPIEST, WHAT COULD YOU BE VERY GOOD AT, WHAT SKILLS DO OTHERS SAY YOU HAVE THE MOST AND WHAT EXPERIENCES IN LIFE GOOD AND BAD CAN YOU SHARE AND BRING TO THE TABLE TO TELL YOUR STORY AND GROW YOUR BRAND?
2) IS THERE A MARKET FOR YOUR IDEAS? WHO ELSE COULD BE DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING? IF NO-ONE ELSE IS DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING THEN HOW MUCH RISK COULD INVOLVED IN DOING IT? IF OTHERS ARE IN THE BUSINESS AREA YOU LOVE HOW CAN YOU BE BETTER?
3) WHAT TYPE OF BUSINESS WOULD SUIT YOU THE MOST? WHY? WHAT WILL THAT DO FOR YOU? HOW WILL YOU FEEL ABOUT RUNNING AN OPERATION OF THIS NATURE DAY IN DAY OUT? REMEMBER YOUR ROLE NEEDS TO BE ALIGNED WITH YOUR VALUES.
4) WHAT RESEARCH HAVE YOU DONE? WHAT CAN YOU DO? WHAT POTENTIAL CHALLENGES DO YOU SEE APPROACHING YOU? HOW CAN YOU DEAL WITH PROBLEMS AND CREATE SOLUTIONS TO DEAL WITH THEM? HOW WILL YOU WORK ON A DAILY BASIS AND BE PRODUCTIVE? WILL THIS REQUIRE EMPLOYEES, STAFF, OUTSOURCING OR OTHER MEANS OF WORK SHARING?
5) HOW WILL YOU KNOW YOUR STRENGTHS MOST? AND, HOW WILL YOU BE ABLE TO TRANSLATE THESE STRENGTHS INTO CONNECTING WITH YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER? ALSO HOW WILL YOU LET GO OF YOUR WEAKER ARES WHERE YOU MIGHT NEED TO OUTSOURCE?
6) WHAT CAN YOU REALLY SEE YOURSELF ENJOYING SELLING, PROMOTING, SHARING? WHY? WHAT WILL THIS DO FOR YOU?
7) WHAT IS YOUR CORE MESSAGE REALLY? WHAT IS IT THAT YOU REALLY WANT TO SHOUT OUT IF THERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN THINK OF?
8) HOW WILL YOU DELIVER YOUR UNIQUE MESSAGE WITH ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND COMMUNICATE THIS TO YOUR BUYERS, CUSTOMERS ETC?
9) HOW WILL YOU HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE FOR YOUR DAILY GOALS? HOW WILL YOU ENSURE YOU ARE WORKING CERTAIN HOURS AND ON THE MOST IMPORTANT TASKS? AND HOW WILL YOU ENSURE THAT YOUR TEAM (if you have one) WORKS AS EFFECTIVELY AS YOU WHILST KEEPING THEM HAPPY AND AS EQUALS?
10) WHAT TOOLS AND RESOURCES DO YOU HAVE TO MONITOR, TEST, TWEAK AND GROW YOUR SMALL BUSINESS AND HOW DO YOU KEEP ACCOUNT OF THE COSTS AND TIMESCALES NEEDED FOR THESE AREAS? HOW WILL YOU SET TASKS FOR YOURSELF FOR REACHING GOALS AND PLANNING EVERY DAY? ARE THESE REALISTIC? HOW WILL YOU KNOW YOUR NUMBERS AND HOW TO SCALE UP YOUR ENTERPRISE? HOW WILL YOU KNOW YOUR EXPENSES AND KEEP ACCOUNT OF WHAT IS COMING IN VERSUS WHAT IS GOING OUT?
This may all sound like alot of work or just too complicated to you – but these areas are vital to your starting out.
HOT TIP: My suggestion would be to start subscribing to others in your niche market. And other markets, Read journals, magazines, articles, forum posts and blog posts to get more familiar with your core market as these people are ‘already’ looking for your type of audience. MASTER YOUR CRAFT!
Master your craft but most importantly MASTER YOURSELF
Personal development is at the top of my list. And I know it helps because prior to that I struggled.
I know from past experiences. Don’t make the same mistakes, as just missing a part of the process will cause you alot of problems (or challenges) heartache, stress, and you may eventually quit based on your emotional reactions to these mishaps happening. A great friend of mine once said to me ‘Greg, you are an emotional guy, which is great if you have awareness of EQ, BUT, if you don’t have understanding of EQ you are done for’!
So I say ‘What the hell is EQ anyways (in an emotional response) and he said ‘exactly the opposite of your reaction then’. He went on to tell me that, when I master my mind and emotions I get to master a business as I will have to deal with issues without emotion and leave the emotion for ‘ideas and passions’.
He said, ‘take out the emotion when there is shit going on and look at the exact issue’. Since then I have saved my hair, my stress, my income, and my sanity and I can highly recommend you do this. It is a million dollar piece of wisdom let me tell you. So, now you know a little about small business growth, but this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Your buddy In your Small Business Growth
Finally, remember what I said before which is ALL TEAM MEMBERS are a part of your Small Business growth and vision, so ensure they all are aware of this.
All The Very Best
Greg
Small Business Growth Blogger Greg De Tisi