Growing Your Business

10 Common Sense Ways to Grow Your Small Business

10 Common Sense Ways to Grow Your Small Business

As an entrepreneur and small business owner, your day-to-day tasks can feel overwhelming. Sometimes things get so busy that you don't take time to reflect on your business and growth prospects. Opportunities abound, many times without a significant investment.

Here are 10 common sense ways you may try to ramp up your business.

  1. Increase your prices - Ok, wait: are you reading this correctly? Yes, we said this was an article about common sense ways to grow, and #1 on that list is to get more money for your products or services. Not setting your prices high enough is one of the entrepreneur's greatest flaws. It actually can make you lose business since many prospects will think you are not going to deliver or solve their problem. If you believe you are providing a unique service, are responsive and are solving your clients' pain point, then increase away. You have to believe that what you are offering is priceless before your audience will. Higher prices position you out of the commodity market.
  1. Form an alliance or referral network - Referrals and word-of-mouth are the most effective ways to build a small business customer base. Setting up a network of other firms or related businesses that act as referral partners can make it much easier to generate new business. An example: If you are a financial planner, you might reach out to leading accountants, real estate, estate planners and insurance professionals in the area.
  1. Target new markets - One of the best ways to succeed is to focus on a specific idea and do it better than anyone else. But, while you are so singularly focused, you might be missing out on new markets that will be hungry for your solutions. This could be another niche, country or even customer size.
  1. Take advantage of government contracts - Those in the private sector sometimes forget that the biggest customer in the world is the US government. There are literally tens of thousands of opportunities your business could be bidding for in state, local and federal contracts. The SBA has a great resource to understand how the federal marketplace works and how you can get started.
  2. Focus on customer retention - Gaining more business from current clients is by far the most cost effective way to grow. How quickly do you respond to your customers? Do you ask for referrals? Do you actively go after five-star reviews? Do you keep in touch with your customers on a regular basis?
  3. Expand online - According to a business survey of 3,800 small businesses, 55% of small businesses do not have a website. While this number continues to get smaller, if you want the world to know you exist, you must be online. Whether that means setting up an e-commerce store or establishing your brand on the search engines, the Web opens up your business to a huge audience. The growth of mobile devices makes it even more vital to get online. Technology and automation might even reduce overhead and employee costs. It is not a matter if, but when, you get online.
  4. Outsource where you need help - The sharing economy has changed the way businesses hire temporary help. There are a number of marketplaces that can be used to find a graphic designer, virtual assistants or even an accountant. Getting an expert to help you on a project will not only save you time, but also improve the quality of the end product. This will also help you save on overhead costs. Just make sure you don't violate any "employee" versus "independent contractor" laws.
  5. Start believing in yourself - The self-fulfilling prophecy is true in business as well. How many times have you watched inferior competitors become uber successful just because they put themselves out there? They truly believed they were the best.
  6. Work on business processes first, then scale - The quickest way to failure is growing so fast that your processes can't handle the volume. You will find that tasks that one person could handle become specialized as you grow. Using technology to track results, automate marketing and streamline sales to close make a big difference when you start playing with the big boys.
  7. Open another location - This really depends on the type of business you are running, so it might not be your first choice for business expansion. But common sense would say that, if you are successful at your current location, why not expand locally to other sites to extend the reach of your brand? First, there is the proximity to your current location or perhaps a demographic that you are targeting. Finding a location where current customers might reside allows you to let the power of word of mouth help expand your reach.
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Sonu Shukla

Sonu Shukla

Sonu Shukla is a CPA, accountant, and tax preparer based in Orlando, FL. Sonu Shukla can assist you with your tax preparation and planning needs. Sonu is more than just another accountant in Orlando, Florida; he is a small business owner himself. It is a position in life that grants him the perspective and insight to emphasize with his clients, bringing them the best service possible. A Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Financial Planner, Sonu possesses the skills, education and experience to demonstrate unerring business acumen and passionately planned financial strategies. Being proactive is key for Sonu, tailoring highly efficient tax plans for his small business clients, all in a one on one environment where he and the client can bounce ideas around until every detail is worked out.

SONU SHUKLA, CPA, P.A.
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