7 Ways to Grow Your Business to the Next Level
If you are serious about growing your business to the next level, then follow the advice of author and speaker Mike Michalowicz and don’t wait – take action – with a plan in mind. Following are some recommendations to help guide you as you begin to grow your business to the next level!
1. Focus forward and prepare
Focus on the vision of where you want your business to be, not where it is currently. Then review your current processes, procedures, team, and finances. Ask yourself if your business can handle the growth or do you need to make some adjustments or additions to be prepared for the growth. Design your processes and procedures to be able to grow as your business expands and be sure to stay current with technology. Consider what the makeup of your team will need to be and plan for that probable expansion and change. Evaluate the financial requirements to grow your business and position your business to be prepared for those needs.
2. Use goal setting
Set SMART goals – goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based. Remember goals are often defined as “dreams with deadlines”. You need to clarify your focus, measure your progress and track your achievements. For example one of those goals might be to increase productivity. What will that look like? Maybe you will need to delegate and possibly outsource to reach that goal and then identify what the timeline will be. Follow another piece of advice from Mike Michalowicz: “Entrepreneurs don’t do most of the work. Entrepreneurs identify the problems, discover the opportunities and then build processes to allow other people and other things to do the work.”
3. Use a SWOT analysis
SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats and is used to evaluate those four elements of a business or organization. This is a technique to analyze your business that is a simple yet powerful tool to identify and leverage your firm’s strengths, improve your weaknesses, and then identify and minimize possible external threats, while being poised to take advantage of opportunities as they come up. It is part of the process for your firm to plan ahead and be ready to scale up and grow your business successfully.
4. Pay attention to competitors who are successful
Study what competitors have done, their business models, and the size of their teams. Not only do you want to know and understand successful competitors but you can also learn from them. Those who have been expanding can be useful guides for your firm as you expand.
5. Remain client-focused and stay true to your firm’s culture
Sometimes as a firm begins to grow and expand, it can be easy to forget those business values upon which you built your business and the importance of being client-centered. Stay true to your business values and the culture with which your firm is associated. Remember the importance of being service-oriented over sales-oriented. When you are known for providing outstanding service, sales will follow.
6. Mix up your marketing
The importance of continuous marketing can’t be over-emphasized – particularly when you are at your busiest so that you are filling your pipeline for slower periods. Consider, though, changing up your marketing for some variety. Without variety in your marketing people may start to ignore it – it may not catch their interest and they may become immune. Think about retail stores that are constantly changing up the products on their shelves. It gives the impression of having new merchandise even if that’s not the case – it’s just been moved and re-arranged.
7. Commit to lifelong learning
Make a commitment to continuously expand your knowledge, and don’t be afraid to reach out for help when outside expertise might offer a valuable asset. Working with a coach may help guide you on the path to growing your business as well as help to hold you accountable to reach your goals more quickly.
Finally, another valuable piece of advice from Mike Michalowicz: “Moving forward is not based upon your past; your future is exclusively determined by the decisions you make now, in this moment.” Are you ready to grow your business to the next level?
