3 Expert Business Growth Strategies for Startups
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Published on: 21 June 2019
Last Updated on: 13 November 2024
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Building a business is tough. Experts like Larry Polhill, Café Valley executive, and senior management at various fast growing SMEs have seen the challenges first hand. According to experts, growth strategies come along with the budget of the startup. If you have a minimal budget, you should start with basic business growth strategies. Once you have enough fund to expand your business, you can go on for an elaborate plan.
In this way, you won’t be falling under that 79 % of the startups which do not survive up to 21 months of its opening. He continues to believe that the way forward is to adhere to common business practices of the best companies.
Here are three ways business growth strategies for fast growth:
1. Bring on a Board of Advisors:
The life of a business owner can be secluded. Often you feel like you are all alone with nothing but tough decisions in front of you. You need to surround yourself with professionals who can share in your decision making.
Make sure that you jot down everyone’s view so that you can go through each and every aspect of the strategic business plan before deciding on anything. Sometimes, the conjugal ideas of the board members often bring up some really profitable ways of generating revenues.
Successful entrepreneurs and business leaders make excellent choices for a board of advisors. Start with a clear idea of what areas you need help. Your answer to this question should aim you toward your board members. If you need financial help, look for banker or money manager types.
If it’s sales or marketing, then aim for these skill sets. Be wary of bringing on people who are close friends. You need people who will challenge your thinking, and from whom you will not take criticism personally.
An advisory board will shoulder some of the problems associated with having to make key decisions quickly. The people on the board should be smarter than you and have more experience. Your board shouldn’t be charged with dealing with routine, mundane business challenges. You can only defeat these challenges with an effective strategic business plan.
Their focus should be on providing strategic advice and connecting you with potential clients and resources that will likely grow your company. Digital marketing is something which should not be ignored. If you can, you should invest more in online marketing at first and then try some physical advertisements. Online marketing tends to work much more effectively and brings you more customers.
Inform them of your business plan so they have context and can examine what you would like to get accomplished against what you are doing day to day to meet those goals. And give them an open forum to ask about and challenge policy issues, finances, corporate culture and more.
The right board members will not come on for the compensation, but you may find it appropriate if some have to travel or incur expenses in performing their duties as a board member, to be compensated.
2. Systems:
Setting up systems for your business is often hard and counterintuitive. Particularly if you are the type who has had success using your gut and keeping things loose. But as your business grows and the number of employees and clients increase, along with the additional paperwork and details they bring, systems become indispensable.
Systems are most important because they enable small businesses to grow in a way that is determinable and manageable. Some say that systems are boring because it is a back office function that seeks to rein in the excitement going on in the front office. Strategic business plan along with systematic workflow is one of the ways in which you can skyrocket your business. You will also have to have a team who is potential in taking your business to another level.
But this is probably the wrong way to look at it. What is more accurate is that systems create a foundation for the company to determine its goals and reach them. If there is a conflict with the back and front offices because of instituting systems, then front office behavior is probably stunting your success in business growth strategies.
Franchises are often more successful than independently operated ones simply because they are built on systems. Creating systems are the first step toward a business where not every decision is dependent on the entrepreneur. Not only that, but you also need to keep a keen eye on the budget so that you have enough money to pay back for the small business loans that you had taken for your startup.
Systems allow people to plug in and go. Systems include operating procedures and manuals that can bring a new team member up to speed in no time. It is what takes small out of small business.
3. Acquire a Company:
An acquisition can be a great way to grow your business quickly by adding key additional resources, people, and even valuable IP. Here are some additional benefits of doing an acquisition.
- Obtaining quality staff or additional skills, knowledge of your industry or sector and other business intelligence. Availing for small business loans if eligible.
- Accessing a broader customer base and increasing your market share. Your target business may have distribution channels and systems you can use for your own offers.
- Diversification of the products, services and long-term prospects of your business.
- Reducing costs and overheads through shared marketing budgets increased purchasing power and lower costs.
- Reducing competition. Buying up a new intellectual property, products or services may be cheaper than developing these yourself.
You have to do your homework, however, to make sure the company you are targeting is the right one for you. This is a perfect subject for your board of advisors.
Conclusion:
Always remember that you need to keep some backup of your business growth strategies so that you can use them further and maybe even modify them for something even better. So go on and get your startup started with the best tactics you have got on the market.
Also, do not forget to leave a comment in the comment section below and let us know about your feedback on this article.
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