Master small business development
When you are a small business owner, you understand that launching a business and growing a business are two different animals. When you are in the initial stages of the business cycle – working to develop your company and its capacity – it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle, wearing multiple hats while scrambling to achieve growth.
The reality is that you must be intentional in planning for sustainable small business development. Take the time to analyze your product and business identity and create a small business growth plan to get yourself from where you are now to where you want to be. When you approach growth with a mindset of curiosity and intentionality, you’ll achieve lasting success.
What is small business development?
Small business development is necessary to keep your company in the market. Your competitors may find ways to grow faster than you, and when you’re stagnant, you’ll face an even steeper uphill battle to success.
Sustainable growth entails building and aligning sales, clients, revenue and internal capacity with your ultimate business vision. Experts agree that growth hacking for small business development requires a three-pronged approach:
Leveraging existing clients.
A small business must make customer retention a priority, since it’s usually much easier to find new customers through existing ones than starting from scratch. Make use of this invaluable resource by soliciting positive and negative feedback from your customers about your product, marketing and advertising.
Protecting margins.
Small businesses must protect their margins in order to scale sustainably. A small business growth plan must acknowledge that it is not necessarily wise to expand into a new business area or market just because you can. Instead, you must decide the course of growth that will secure your company’s longevity within your current margins.
Embracing a horizontal power structure.
As a business owner, you must ensure that your staff participates in your business’ planning and innovation processes. To achieve a horizontal communication structure, you and your managers must refrain from micromanaging so that everyone feels respected. Delegate decisions to staff and build a culture of innovation into all levels of your team. Only then will you be able to make full use of your staff as a source of creative momentum.
How to make a small business growth plan
You have all the tools you need to build a successful and concise small business growth plan. This plan is your map for reaching your goals and taking your company to the next level. Like a geographic map, your small business development plan illustrates your current landscape. By keeping your map up-to-date, you’re able to mark your current location and navigate your way to the next step.
Creating a road map for small business growth helps you find development opportunities, avoid common mistakes and minimize your risks. As you make your growth plan, ask yourself these critical questions:
1. What business are you really in?
What is your business vision? Who is your ideal customer? Achieving small business growth requires investigating whether your clientele aligns with your ideal customer. If you’re not currently serving your ideal customer, then who are you serving? By looking at your existing client base, you can think about ways to expand your current and ideal markets.
2. Why did you get into business in the first place?
You might be struggling now, but in the beginning, you were inspired to entrepreneurship. What inspired you to go against all odds? Once you reconnect with your original passions, you’ll gain the confidence you need to face your competition. How can your competition help you? Your competition is a source of wisdom, if you choose to use it. It’s likely your competition is facing the same issues you are, so look to your competitors’ successes (and failures) for guidance and inspiration.
3. Who are you and what is your core talent?
Understanding your strengths, weaknesses and leadership style is crucial for distinguishing yourself from the competition to achieve small business growth. What differentiates you from the competition? Why do customers opt to purchase your product over other options? What value are you adding to customers’ lives that makes them return for more? By establishing a value proposition for your product, you’re able to solidify your corner on the market.
4. Where are you in the lifecycle of the industry, the economy and as a business owner?
Evaluate your assets, including your stage in the business cycle, future goals and current financial standing. What are your revenue streams? By identifying your current sources of revenue and the direction you’d like to head moving forward, you open the door for inquiry as to new revenue opportunities.
5. How will you measure growth moving forward?
Making a small business growth plan means adding metrics to your self discovery process. Select key indicators of growth that you can measure easily. This way, you can evaluate whether the changes you are making are effective.
Take the first step in growing your business with Tony Robbins’ 7 Forces of Business Mastery. This content series is packed with information to guide you toward an effective small business growth plan.
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