Business growth strategy is the pillar of your business. Only half of startups survive more than five years and only one-third make it to 10. What’s the one thing you could do to ensure your company is sustainable? Create a business growth strategy. No! The answer is to create a growth strategy that suits you and your business’ needs.
Follow the steps below to create a Powerful Business Growth Strategy that is tailor-made for your business:
- Determine What You Want From Your Business
I am a firm believer that you own a business so it will support the lifestyle you want to lead – otherwise, it is a whole lot easier to work for someone else. So when planning for the future of your business, create your business growth strategy that will support your vision of the life you want to lead. Start by answering the following questions:
- What is the lifestyle I want to lead?
- What would my perfect average working day look like?
- What will I need to support my dream lifestyle?
- Do I want to be 100% responsible for all aspects of a business – the good and the challenging?
Once you have your answers ready, you will be able to figure out if you should start your own business or if you would be happier working for someone else. The answers to these questions become the start of your vision for the business. Then create your business growth strategy with that outcome in mind.
- Determine What Your Business Has To Look Like For You To Live That Lifestyle
If your goal is to have the prestige of a large business with many employees then you need to build a business that can scale to support your entire team. Build strategies and tactics to support that vision. On the other hand, if your goal is to live a simple life but travel a lot then you need to build a business that allows you to work from anywhere. You may hire talented remote staff or outsource your work. It really depends on how you want to live your life. When you design your business to allow you to live the lifestyle you want to live, you will be happy owning your business.
- Identify The Gap
Look honestly at where you are currently with your business, and what your vision is for your business, then identify the gaps. What do you need to change to achieve that vision?
- How do you and/or your staff need to grow to reach your goals? Choose to invest in yourself and your staff to acquire those skills or habits.
- What processes or procedures need to be created or revised to free up your time for growth activities?
- What can you do to simplify or streamline your delivery of products or services?
- Plan For The Future
Now that you have the initial steps figured out, you can work on planning the future of your business to work towards your goals. Break those goals down to what you will do this year, this quarter, this week, and what you will do today to keep you focused on your goals. Your goals should be specific and actionable and have a timeline so you have something to work towards. Set up a few small habits that take you automatically towards your goal.
- Track Progress
Planning and execution are wasted if you are not monitoring your progress. Choose several areas to measure weekly that gives you a regular pulse on what is happening in your business.
- Identify a few KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) that will show your progress. These measure your success/progress after you have made your sale.
- It is critically important to also include a few CDA’s (Critical Driver Actions) in your weekly tracking. CDA’s measure the actions you take that bring in new customers. When you track these actions, you will be able to predict your revenue in the future and make adjustments before they hit the bottom line.
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