Are you ready to GROW your business to the next level? If so, here are some tips to help you reach that milestone more quickly.
KNOW YOUR VALUE. You bring value to the marketplace and to your clients. Get really clear and comfortable with this value. Then use the value you offer to ensure you have the correct pricing model and marketing strategies for your product/service.
CHARGE WHAT YOU’RE WORTH! Make sure you’re charging what you’re worth and/or what your product is worth. Too many entrepreneurs charge less than they should. Not charging enough can put you out of business and will impact cash flow when you are in growth mode. You cannot make up for a bad pricing model over time.
KNOW YOUR PRODUCT. Get clear about what you’re REALLY selling. You’re not selling a widget or a package – you’re selling an experience, a feeling, a solution to pain. If you’re unsure what this is, go out and ask your customers. Ask them for specific feedback about the value they receive from your product/service.
FOCUS. Once you know what you’re selling, and why people are buying, focus on selling only that. To grow requires an extreme sliver of FOCUS. The more focused you are the easier it’ll be to gain momentum. Trying to be all things, to all people or selling too many options can confuse your market and slow down your growth. There’s always time down the road to expand your product/service offerings.
IDENTIFY YOUR PERFECT FIT CLIENT. Clarify and write out a detailed description of who your ‘perfect fit’ client is. This is the client who needs what you’re selling, can pay you what you’re worth and is someone you enjoy working with. Write out the specific demographics and psychographics of this person. Create a persona. Get creative and have fun with this. Our businesses grow and flourish when we’re working with people we enjoy and who are the perfect fit for our product or service. We’ll slow down and/or avoid business development when we have to work with people who drain our energy.
STRIVE TO WORK ONLY WITH PERFECT FITS. In the beginning of a business it’s easy to say ‘yes’ to clients we should be saying ‘no’ to. As you grow, and if you want to keep growing, you must say ‘no’ to business that isn’t a good fit so you can say ‘yes’ to the business that is a perfect fit.
KEEP IT SIMPLE. Businesses works better and grow faster when they’re simple. From your marketing strategies to your customer service processes – keep them simple. Make processes and procedures easy to duplicate, understand and employ. Complicated never works for long and more is not always better. Simplicity allows you to grow more quickly and with less chaos.
KNOW YOUR NUMBERS. Be intimately connected to your numbers and key indicators. It’s your business and the finances are YOUR responsibility. Know your numbers and what they mean. The financial future and growth of you company depends on it being healthy financially.
SPEND CAREFULLY. Growth requires cash spent in the RIGHT places. Avoid spending money on flashy items, expensive marketing schemes and other items that don’t increase the bottom line. A wise business owner once told me that if it costs a dollar and it doesn’t increase the bottom line, find a way to get it for 25 cents or go without. It’s easy to get off track with spending – leave your ego out of it and conserve as much cash as you can. Then when the growth spurts come, you’re ready to support them.
TAKE CHARGE. Growing your business requires you to take the lead, to be all in, to WANT it. You must be the one to lead your team, to embrace the changes needed and to spearhead the future vision.
MAKE IT FUN! If growth isn’t fun, or we burn out, we can sabotage or stall success. Find ways to keep the ‘fun’ in your business by surrounding yourself with awesome people, taking good care of yourself and not taking yourself too seriously.