If you recently started a business, you’re probably wondering how to grow it. In this post, you’ll find some super effective new business growth tips you can start using today.
Starting a business is very exciting. For many, it’s the culmination of a long process. While for others, it’s a dream come true. No matter how you arrived at this moment, it’s worth celebrating, and you should be happy with yourself. But now, the real work begins.
You see, starting a business is just the beginning of a long and oftentimes, overwhelming process. I’m referring to the process of building a successful business.
But, before we can talk about building a successful business, we have to talk about how to get through the first few years and how to set your business up for success.
In many ways, the first few years can make or break your business, so if your goal is to grow your business, you have to lay a solid foundation.
And, I’m here to offer you some help.
Let me give you my 7 best tips for growing a new business.
1. HAVE A PLAN
A business plan is the cornerstone of your business. It’s what you look to for direction.
Your business plan is your roadmap to success, so it is something you can’t do without.
Your plan should direct your decisions and strategies. Without a plan, your business will feel unmoored, tossed about by everything that comes along. And, you don’t want that to happen.
You want to direct your business and move it in the direction that you want it to go.
I’m sure you get the idea.
Your business needs a plan to survive and thrive. But, I know writing a plan is not that easy. If the thought of writing a business plan scares you, don’t worry. I have some tips to make the process less intimidating.
Simple tips for writing a business plan
- Keep it simple. One of the business planning mistakes people make is trying to be too detailed. Don’t try to cram every single thing into your business plan. Keep it short and sweet.
- Include only the most important details. For example, your target audience, what you offer, how your business will make money, and some short-term goals.
- Include some action steps and strategies. For example, your key marketing and sales strategies.
When you keep your business plan short and simple, it doesn’t feel too intimidating to write one. So, if you don’t have a business plan, try to create a one-page plan for your business. All you need are the most important details.
2. SET SOME GOALS
As a new business owner, it’s often hard to know what kinds of goals to set. If you are starting completely from scratch, it’s difficult to make projections. Notwithstanding, you still need to set some goals.
You can set marketing, sales, and revenue goals. You can set some financial and personal goals. But, remember to be realistic when setting your goals.
Setting goals is the best way to stay focused. Your goals give you something to aim for. When you have goals, you know what you should be working on, and you are purposeful.
So, think about what you’d like to achieve in the first year of your business, then turn them into goals. Continue to build on these goals year after year.
Make sure your goals are specific, measurable, and realistic. Also, determine your success metrics ahead of time, so you can keep track of your performance.
At the end of the year, you can go back to see if you achieved your goals or not.
Tracking your performance will help you plan better for the following year.
Speaking of tracking your business performance, I have a short training that can help. Check out the Track Your Way to Profitability and Maximum Growth Training.
3. PRIORITIZE AND FOCUS FOR NEW BUSINESS GROWTH
One of the main reasons new business owners struggle so much or feel overwhelmed is that they are trying to do all the things. They don’t know their priorities, so they can’t streamline their focus.
They hear about a new strategy or something else, and they lose focus and chase after one shiny object or the other.
You can’t build momentum or gain traction if you are constantly pivoting or making new decisions.
Ultimately, there are very few things that matter when it comes to growing a new business. Your job is to identify what those things are.
Identify the activities and tasks with the highest return on investment and stick to them. Focus on income-generating tasks.
If you don’t want your new business to be a total bust, you must identify your priorities and streamline your focus.
In my opinion, here are two things you should focus on:
- Marketing your business and building your customer base.
- Understanding the needs of your customers, so you can build a loyal customer base.
Think about it, without customers, you have no business. So, getting customers is your number one priority as a new business owner. And, it’s what is required for new business growth.
4. USE SMART MARKETING STRATEGIES
Along the same lines as above, it’s important to figure out the best marketing strategies for your business.
As you probably already know, there are lots of marketing strategies out there. However, you don’t need to utilize every single one for your business.
If you try to be everywhere or use lots of different marketing strategies, you are going to burn out, and you probably won’t see any substantial results.
It’s better to focus on one or two main marketing strategies, learn them very well, and keep improving them.
The marketing strategies you choose should be based on your target audience. Who are they? Where are they? What kind of marketing strategies do they respond to?
Don’t use Facebook if your target customer is not on that platform. The same applies to other platforms.
Generally, you need two types of marketing strategies. A customer acquisition strategy and a customer retention strategy.
How will you retain your existing customers? As a new business, you probably won’t get a lot of customers in the first year, so customer retention should be a major focus for you.
Email marketing strategy is great for customer retention. And, I believe any business can utilize it.
5. KEEP MISTAKES TO A MINIMUM
I am just going to go ahead and say it. You are going to make some mistakes in business. If this is your first rodeo as a business owner, the odds of making mistakes are even higher.
I say this not to scare you, but so you can be on your guard.
Keep mistakes to a minimum and avoid making costly mistakes. The best way to do this is to do a lot of research before making important decisions.
Don’t make hasty or emotional decisions (especially when it comes to your finances). Make sure you have all the facts and you weigh the pros and cons before you make big decisions.
Find out some of the most common mistakes business owners make and do everything you can to avoid them.
6. GET YOUR FINANCES IN ORDER
One of the reasons many new businesses fail is poor financial management.
If you started your business without organizing your finances, it’s something you should do as soon as possible.
Financial problems can sink your business before you can find your footing, so you need to do everything you can to avoid them.
So, how do you organize your finances?
Here are a few ideas:
- Open a separate business account. Don’t comingle your business finances with your personal finances. Keep them separate.
- Watch your cash flow. Don’t spend more money than you bring in. Keep your expenses as low as possible.
- Secure enough funding or capital to run your business for the first year. The last thing you need is to run out of money in the middle of the year or after a few months.
- Prepare for a rainy day. Have an emergency fund.
- Identify your sources of income. Be very clear about how your business will make money.
- Keep proper financial records and stay on top of your taxes.
If you struggle with financial management, consider getting some accounting help if you can afford it. If you can’t afford to pay for accounting services, you must do everything you can to stay on top of your finances.
7. HIGH PRODUCTIVITY
One of the mistakes new business owners make is that they confuse hyperactivity for productivity.
Don’t mistake busy work for productivity. It doesn’t matter how busy you are if you are not making progress or achieving your goals.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you are being productive because you are spending hours on your business.
If you want to survive the first year of business, and ultimately, grow your business, you must be very productive.
Productivity means you are hitting your targets and milestones.
Be very selective about what you say yes to. Learn to say no to things that won’t move your business forward.
If you are a brand new business owner, it takes time to figure out where and what to spend your energy, time, and resources on. However, you have to do the best that you can.
At the end of the day, new business growth only happens when you focus on the most important thing and maximize the resources that are available to you.
Growth takes time and it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. So, be willing to try different strategies and take some risks to find what works.
Finally, you have to keep learning if you want to grow your new business. Have a budget for business education so you can learn the skills you need to become successful.
Are you a new business owner? What growth strategies are you using in your business?
Other Blog Posts You Might Enjoy