Managing a growing business

When it comes to tackling how to grow your small business, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. You may feel unsure about how to improve your processes, since everything needs work. You may feel anxious about all the unknowns of a growing business, from handling normal growing pains to trusting your business plan itself. The good news is, rather than taking drastic action to grow your business, it’s actually small, incremental changes that drive explosive growth. By leveraging the forces of optimization, you’re able to use the resources you already have to create forward momentum. To leverage your resources optimally, get back to the fundamentals and ask yourself, “What business am I really in?” Embrace the fact that sustainable business growth strategies hinge on brand and business identity, which is what you focused on in custom-crafting your business map. Use your business identity as your compass, and focus on specific outcomes that will bring your vision to life. Take a look at all areas of your business – your marketing, advertising, sales, operations and even company culture – and you’ll discover room for improvements that will grow your business.

Understanding how to grow your small business requires putting your business map into action. As you work to grow your business, look to the narrative components of your map – the obstacles and resources you anticipate encountering along the way. Look at your map as a tool for navigating these obstacles. Like a geographic map, you must keep your position on the map updated continually for it to be effective. As you steer your business toward expansion, you’ll find that, as you update your map consistently, you can adapt to needs as they arise in real time. Your plan gets at the heart of your business by creating a portrait of your ideal client – the driving force behind every decision you’ll make. Implementing your business plan will also force you to pinpoint external influences on your business (like economic or market forces), which is vital data for your marketing strategy. By forcing you to evaluate your brand identity, your plan prepares you to give the competition a run for their money.