7 Steps to Growing a Small Business.

Growing a small business is a complex and challenging process.

It requires an understanding of the market, a well-planned strategy and a willingness to adapt and innovate.

While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to growing a small business, entrepreneurs can take fundamental steps to increase their chances of success.

The seven steps below will empower you as a business owner to grow your business effectively.

You've already explained a business mission and a vision statement within your business plan.

However, many entrepreneurs do this when they start a business and must remember to update it to make it a living, workable document.

Redefine your goals and vision now you want to grow your business to reflect the new plans.

Consider:

Redefining your goals and vision is the first step in growing a business.

You create a clear direction that will guide your decision-making processes.

Review your goals and vision statement regularly to keep in touch with where your business is now, and what you will be driving it to become.

Ensure you write your vision statement and the underlying objectives using the SMART acronym and make your goals:

Be specific about what you want to achieve.

For example, grow sales by 50% in the next financial year.

A statement like this gives a measurable quantity of sales and a time frame to complete the objective.

However, you must ensure this is attainable and relevant to your business.

To grow a business, you need to understand your market.

The market is not just about who your customers are now, but also predicting what people will want in several months or years.

There is no point in working hard to grow your business if people do not want your product in two years.

Answering the following questions can give you a good understanding of your market:

You can conduct market research to better understand your market by providing customer surveys, holding focus groups and analysing data from industry reports.

Networking with others in the industry can provide valuable insights into the market.

Use your market knowledge and gather insights about your customers, competitors, and industry trends to make informed decisions about your business strategy, especially when considering how to grow your small business.

Now that you have redefined your goals and vision and have an in-depth understanding of the market, including your position within it, you can develop your strategic plan for business growth.

A good strategic plan outlines your steps to achieve your goals.

You will need to break down each objective into achievable steps, with each step provided with a list of the resources necessary to accomplish the action and how you will overcome the challenges.

Setting a goal with planning how you will reach it is worthwhile.

Creating a strategic plan gives you the details to action your vision and achieve your goals.

The strategic plan focuses on the facts rather than the big picture of a vision statement.

Your strategic business plan should include the following:

Creating a robust strategic plan is essential to implementing the changes your business will need to make to grow.

It provides you with actionable steps to ensure you achieve your goals.

Entrepreneurs, especially those who begin as sole traders, often find it challenging to grow their businesses because they want to retain control over every detail.

However, growing your business to serve more customers, provide a second shop-front or create a nationally recognisable brand means you can no longer do everything yourself.

Growing your business means relying on your employees to achieve success.

Build a strong team of employees who will work to grow your business.

You may also need to develop your leadership skills, delegate tasks and effectively manage people working for you.

When looking for new employees as your business grows, consider the following:

Your business will succeed with people who are skilled, motivated and aligned with your vision and values.

When building your team, look for individuals with a track record of success who share your passion and commitment to the business and have complementary skills and strengths.

In addition to hiring the right people, investing in their development and well-being is essential.

Businesses with happy, motivated staff members achieve more and spend less on staff turnover.

Give your employees the training, resources, and support they need to succeed.

Create a positive, inclusive workplace culture fostering collaboration, creativity and innovation.

Your team will help you to grow your business, so invest in providing your team with the key benefits they want, including:

To grow a business, you must focus on delivering exceptional customer experience.

Happy customers are always your best marketing tool - they share their good experiences with friends, family, colleagues, and acquaintances, effectively growing your business.

To ensure your customers are happy, you need to understand your customers' needs and expectations and then provide a product and service that exceeds those expectations.

To improve your customers' experience, you can:

By delivering exceptional customer experience, you can increase customer loyalty and retention, attract new customers through referrals and differentiate your business from competitors.

All these will help your business to grow.

Technology use is critical to growing a business in today's digital age.

With adequate technology in your business, you can automate processes, improve efficiency, and reach a wider audience when marketing your business.

Even small companies can attract global attention on the world wide web.

By embracing technology, you can gain a competitive advantage and position your business for future success.

There are many ways to leverage technology to grow your business.

For example, you can:

Invest some time in staying updated with the latest technology trends and tools, so you can decide which means you can implement to improve your business.

The more automated actions your technology can undertake, the more efficient your production and service will be.

Having computerised processes and sound systems that work will enable your staff to be efficient in everyday tasks.

Current technology can help you optimise your business processes, improve customer experience, and gain a competitive edge.

Who knows what technology will be available to help your business grow in the future?

The final step in growing a business is to improve and innovate continuously.

Every improvement you make increases profits, enhances customer satisfaction and can lead to more significant sales.

As a business owner, you must stay ahead of industry trends (or at least change your business to match the trends as needed).

Train your team to constantly look for ways to improve your products, services and processes.

Provide an incentive program for team members who suggest improvements or use their creativity to resolve issues.

Continue to network and read industry reports to understand the direction of industry trends and customer expectations.

Adjust your strategic plan and operations to take advantage of new information when the opportunity arises.

To drive innovation, you can:

By continually working to improve and innovate, you can stay ahead of the competition, meet the evolving needs of your customers, and position your business for long-term success and continued growth.

Growing a small business is a challenging but rewarding journey.

You can take your business to new heights and achieve your dreams of growing your business with dedication, perseverance and a commitment to improvement.

Remember to:

Following these seven steps can increase your chances of achieving your goals for business growth.

Listen to this great cast we did with Bob Moesta about innovation and the customer experience.

Are you looking for more support for your business growth journey? Our Business Transformation Program provides expert content in three courses, weekly one-on-one coaching and accountability and ongoing networking.

Join our Business Transformation Program waitlist now.