SME business owners and entrepreneurs are growing with a burst of new ideas and innovation across various industries. Having business goals and milestones is no guarantee to grow your small business. And there’s no surefire formula to tick off your goals and expand your reach.
Results that you like almost always arrive only after a bunch of experimentation, risks and stumbles along the way.
Our co-founders, Venkat and Sumanth, mutually agree that the key to progress is to outgrow your earlier self. And we surely do find them competing themselves everyday at work instead of competing with each other.
Similarly, businesses get better, grow and expand when they’re always on the lookout for ways to improve.
We spoke to a few small business stars in our circle. We figured that no matter the industry of your business, these are some tips that will get you going in the right direction.
Grow Your Small Business #1 – Hire the Right People, Build a Great Team
When you have a milestone but your team doesn’t, your business loses sight of your vision. Almost every entrepreneur says having a team who shares your vision is the most important thing to grow your small business.
“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.” – Babe Ruth
While building a team, ensure to pick people with the right skill sets who fit into your work culture. That will leave both you and your team happy.
Grow Your Small Business #2 – Growth Equals Change, Be Adaptable
When you are ready to grow your small business, a lot of things change. Being flexible, adaptable and ready for change is as important as your thirst for growth.
“The only way you are going to have success is to have lots of failures first.” – Sergey Brin, Co-founder, Google
You explore and test faster, chuck out what’s not working and enhance what works well if adaptability is a part of your mindset. The popular agile methodology (iterative development) is based on the same idea.
Grow Your Small Business #3 – Know Your Customers, They’ll Lead the Way
Understanding what your customers are expecting from you will give you a direct answer on how you can move forward. Conversing with your customers will leave you hints of how you can grow your small business.
They often have answers to a lot of our questions. What product should you launch next? What should you make better in your service? Should you hire another hand at the office? Where should you show up online? Everything!
Rightly said by Bill Gates, “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”
“Imagine your customer is your best friend—listen to their concerns, be a shoulder to lean on and then shift the focus from what went wrong to how you can help make it right.” – Rachel Hogue
In fact, we’ve been consistently writing blogs because we understand what kind of information our clients like to read. Our conversations with our clients always give us a new bunch of thoughts to write about.
Grow Your Small Business #4 – Leverage Digital Channels
Hackowls is all about helping you go digital. Creating an online presence for your business allows you to market yourself and interact with a wider audience.
You must be present on the Internet where your potential customers are active. You will be discovered, shared, talked about and grow your small business.
“Companies that invest more in digital transformation actually outperform their peers over time. These companies are more prepared for disruption, better able to monetize new digital channels, and better able to build a bigger user base. What’s more, this phenomenon exists regardless of industry.” — Geoff Cubitt
Through online platforms and social media, you can also engage in social listening. You can monitor mentions of your business, track, analyze and respond to conversations about you.
Grow Your Small Business #5 – Invest In Yourself
If you’ve just begun or are in the early stages of your business, you know there’s still a lot of learning to do. Don’t shy away from learning. It’s only paving the way for the better of your business.
Of course, learning doesn’t come for free. But they’re not business expenses. They’re investments to grow your small business.
“The best investment is in the tools of one’s own trade.” – Benjamin Franklin
Invest in expanding your capacity. Invest in building your team. Invest in bettering your craft. Invest in accelerating your growth. Think ahead, plan your next step, invest and evolve.
Growth is great for your business. But it doesn’t happen overnight. With time, patience, focus and consistency, your potential customers will recognize you and you will become memorable. What has helped you grow your small business in your journey so far? Tell us in the comments below, we’d love to learn from you.
