Most people are so wrapped up in launching a business, that the discussion about growing a business never happens. You’re constantly searching for information on how to launch a business; then you launch one but experts rarely share how to grow your company limiting your resources.
Constantly Learning
One of the things that has remained the same in the last, almost 7 years of running my business, is that I am constantly learning. Not a day goes by that I’m not consuming information about business. When I first started in business I treated Inc, Forbes, Success, and Entrepreneur magazine like bibles that would lead me to the holy land of business success. Guess what, they didn’t. That’s something I also learned. Those magazines really didn’t focus on my industry and still don’t. Skinned the game by just throwing my hand in the ring. I’ve helped learn so many facets of business life just from doing that.
Short Term Goals
People usually talk about where do you want to see your business in 3 to 5 years. When talking to my ICB Consults client’s, I ask what their 3/6/9 month goals are. Then I want to know how those goals align with their yearly goals. You need all of the pieces of the puzzle to grow your company. Don’t just occupy your time solely with long term goals. You need a mix of both.
Goals That Stretch You
No matter the goal it needs to push you out the comfort zone. That is how you grow a company. You need to be taking steps that push you. If your company has continuously made $500 monthly in sales, it’s time to increase that by 20% for the next quarter. If you are making $3,000 a month it might be time to begin the action plan for full-time business owner. If you are receiving more orders than you can process, in a timely matter, then it’s time to look into fulfillment centers.
Stepping out of your comfort zone can produce new levels of success. When I closed my resale boutique to do full-time consulting and content creating, I legit took a leap out of my comfort zone. Not just a little nudge or two steps. After almost three years of solely doing this, I have learned that I love it. I’m ready for my next level, what about you?
Scaling With Products & Service
You have to constantly be focused on new ways to improve your company’s bottom line, as well as, to reach more people. If I only focused on one on one consulting, my company would stall out. If I only kept my original 5 digital products, my company wouldn’t bring in five figures in digital sales a month. There has to be constant growth to your company’s business model, especially when, one revenue stream is growing constantly.
Letting Go of the Negative
Negative people, products, or services that are not adding to your business should be cut immediately for growth purposes. Holding onto something that has not panned out in the last 24 months is not helping you. Its trying to make “fetch” happen and we all know Gretchen didn’t make that happen. Too many times we hold onto things for sentimental value, thinking that it will pan out sooner or later. If you are pouring thousands of dollars into a company yearly and it’s not working, take a step back and revise the plan. You would be amazed at how pivoting can change the direction of you business.
