Network with Others in the Industry

One of the keys to growth is to constantly network with others in your industry. You can maintain and grow your contact pool by joining an industry organization, attending trade shows and seminars, and even through using social media.

Understand Your Customers’ Needs

By taking the time to talk with your customers, you will begin to understand their needs and wants more clearly. Use this information to tweak your product or service to reasonably fit their demands. By doing so, you will be able to serve them better, elevating your business for “repeat customers” and customers’ referrals.

Continue Learning about the Industry

You should never stop learning about your industry and your business. If you stop growing, there is a good chance your business will too. In a world of easily accessible and free information, you have ample opportunities to keep learning. Consider reading an article each day, following a blog relating to your business, signing up for webinars or attending workshops and seminars.

Continued learning will also help you generate ideas for innovating your products and services. Additionally, it will help you be aware of new automation that could help streamline your current processes – creating more time to focus on other initiatives to grow your business.

Find a Good Advisor

Knowing someone that understands your industry and has gained experience over the years can be a tremendous asset. Try finding someone that will be your advisor to help you answer the hard questions you'll face when starting and growing a business. Also, consider finding someone that outside of your business, as they will then be able to give unbiased advice with an outside perspective.

Learn from Your Successes and Failures

As with all things in life, when starting and growing a business, you will be faced with successes and failures. Never let any of these slip by, but instead, take the time to analyze them – learning the “rights” and “wrongs.” These lessons will help you face decisions and challenges more wisely as your company continues to expand.

Hire Great Employees

At the core of your business are your employees. They help your company operate successfully on a daily basis and are the individuals that your customers interact with regularly. Due to this, strive to hire employees that best reflect your company’s mission, vision, and values. Great employees will treat your company as their own and will be determined to see it achieve and grow.

By hiring employees you trust, you can begin to delegate some of your responsibilities so that you can focus on the vision of the company to move it forward.

Create a Marketing Plan

Create a marketing strategy to help you stay focused on your goals and the steps you need to take to accomplish those goals. This will also help you stick to a schedule and budget funds wisely.

Specific Growth Strategies

• Open a New Location
• Offer Franchise Opportunities
• Penetrate New Markets
• Merge or Acquire another Business
• Expand Globally

For more information about Growing Your Business, visit SBA.gov.