10 Ways to Grow Your Small Business

Are you looking to be more successful? Here are ten ways to grow your small business.

1. Know yourself. Do a SLOT analysis. What are your strengths, your limitations, opportunities, and threats? Examine and understand each. In every strength, there is a limitation and in every limitation there is a strength (e.g. you are small so lack financial clout; the advantage is by necessity you will be more creative). The better you know yourself the more successful you will be. By knowing yourself you not only know your areas of opportunity, you know what areas to avoid.

2. Set goals. This sounds almost too simple but many people and businesses do not set goals. Goals can keep you focused on where you want to go and how you need to get there. Set specific measurable goals with timelines and track progress towards them. Set goals in areas that you know you can win (if you did the SLOT in step 1, you will know those areas).

3. Grow within profitability. Often, companies who set goals grow their expenses in anticipation of sales only to find the sales do not materialize at the level they thought. Sell first then add overheads.

4. Sell more to your existing customers. Look at what they buy from other sources that you might be able to sell them. You already have the relationship with your customers. You are already spending the time to service them so your incremental cost is quite low.

5. Sell to more customers. You obviously have something worth buying or you would have no customers. What other customers might use this service? Ask your existing customers for referrals. Sell in a larger geographic area. Take the knowledge and systems you have to broader areas.

6. Develop yourself! What are you currently doing to help yourself be a better entrepreneur? Read appropriate books, attend conferences specific to your industry, and hire a coach.

7. Create a change culture in your company. People need to be told that things change. Without change, we would not grow. There is an expression, “If you do what you always have done, you will get what you have always got.” The Jim Estill variation on this is, “If you do what you have always done (even if it was successful), you will go bankrupt.” Set a goal to do something new every month.

8. In business, speed wins. As Thomas Edison said, “Good things come to those who hustle while they wait.” Companies and people with a high sense of urgency win. If you do not have this in your company then create it. Set deadlines. Set goals. Do it now. This can be one area that small business can beat big business.

9. Focus on learning. People and companies that learn, win. This ties into point 7. You need to be a life-long learner. Spend part of your time on learning. Develop a habit of constant learning.

10. Invest your time wisely. If you know your goals and focus your time appropriately, you will grow to be the type of entrepreneur you’ve always admired, and your small business will thrive.

These ideas on business growth are supplied through the Affiliate Network of Resource Associates Corporation of which RLS Focused Solutions has been a member for 13 years.