Business Growth

Do you want to grow because: You want to make more money, Increase number of employees, accommodate more customers, Open additional locations, or create a duplicatable process to re-create your business model in multiple locations. Whether you are selling a product or service these factors are crucial to define. Below is a list of other considerations to assist you with your growth plans and increasing your bottom line.

1. Simplify your business. Weed out the unprofitable and the hard-to-sell products or services.
2. Simplify your marketing message. Make it clear and concise so that there is little doubt in the message you are trying to convey.
3. Get your business and your web site listed in relevant directories.
4. Learn to delegate. Figure out what you do that generates revenue. Then delegate the rest.
5. Encourage employees to explore more efficient approaches to their tasks instead of relying on their standard way of doing things.
6. Don’t forget suppliers. They might not be on your payroll, but they are more apt to do a few things for you at no charge because you really take care of them.
7. Work faster. If you can condense three four-month jobs into three three-month jobs, you can do one more job in the year.
8. Reward your team for meeting budgets and time lines. A 5% bonus is cheaper than a 20% increase in costs. Be the ME IN TEAM owner and reward your team for a job well done.
9. Offer to be a spokesperson on your specialty when your local media need an expert opinion. Send them a relevant press release every month.
10. Give something valuable away on your web site; at your front counter; when you send out your invoices; when you deliver goods. This should be free to you, but valuable to the recipient, for example, coupons or a “How To”.
11. Highlight offers, features, promotions and news in your email footers, invoices and letter signatures.
12. Start social accounts with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, and post articles on a regular basis.
13. Go where your audience is on the web. If your potential audience hangs out on forums, then post to those forums. Become a trusted advisor or credible source in your industry.

Once you have made your decision to expand your business consider every area to determine the changes that will occur in each. It will be an exciting time but it can be a hard transition coming from the “I” owner platform to the ME IN TEAM entrepreneur style. Be the leader worthy of the growth you want to attain and let the ME IN TEAM owner shine through.