The game changer in your business growth?
Discussion
For me, it was grasping the nettle by employing people to do the day-to-day "work" and at the same time starting to spend a lot more money on advertising that I feel comfortable with.
The problem is that you expose yourself to a lot more risks, so the potential downside if things don't quite work as planned become a lot bigger which isn't always good for peace of mind.
The problem is that you expose yourself to a lot more risks, so the potential downside if things don't quite work as planned become a lot bigger which isn't always good for peace of mind.
A move to "working on top of the business" looking down and gently tweaking the stuff done by other folks. That involved (for me)
- Hiring great staff,
- Keeping them engaged and motivated
- Trusting them implicitly
- Working far fewer fixed hours (10-15hrs a week) so I was available to "dive in" when required
Building a team is what starts the process but that requires confidence in the ability to generate the revenue to fund that team.
For us, it was winning one single contract with an unusually high value that would be run over a two to three year period. That meant we had the financial headroom to bring in the right people and the time needed to bring them up to speed.
For us, it was winning one single contract with an unusually high value that would be run over a two to three year period. That meant we had the financial headroom to bring in the right people and the time needed to bring them up to speed.
Building a team with the right skills and capacity is, of course, an important prerequisite for growing a business.
But what stunts the growth of many otherwise great small businesses is the size and scale of the advertising they are prepared to commit to.
You can have a fantastic team offering superb customer service (in fact I know of lots of businesses like that) but they will never grow beyond a certain size because their advertising is limited.
So I'd suggest that often the missing key to growing a business is an appetite to invest seriously in advertising the business. And this needs to be underpinned with a clear method, deciding in advance, for how you are going to judge what works and what didn't.
But what stunts the growth of many otherwise great small businesses is the size and scale of the advertising they are prepared to commit to.
You can have a fantastic team offering superb customer service (in fact I know of lots of businesses like that) but they will never grow beyond a certain size because their advertising is limited.
So I'd suggest that often the missing key to growing a business is an appetite to invest seriously in advertising the business. And this needs to be underpinned with a clear method, deciding in advance, for how you are going to judge what works and what didn't.
EddieSteadyGo said:
Building a team with the right skills and capacity is, of course, an important prerequisite for growing a business.
But what stunts the growth of many otherwise great small businesses is the size and scale of the advertising they are prepared to commit to.
You can have a fantastic team offering superb customer service (in fact I know of lots of businesses like that) but they will never grow beyond a certain size because their advertising is limited.
So I'd suggest that often the missing key to growing a business is an appetite to invest seriously in advertising the business. And this needs to be underpinned with a clear method, deciding in advance, for how you are going to judge what works and what didn't.
Its funny this thread has come up as its exactly the position I find myself in: Have been running my own business for around 6-7 years and find myself going backwards in the last 2 years. The next year is a big one for me as it very much dictates if I want to even continue doing this going forward. But what stunts the growth of many otherwise great small businesses is the size and scale of the advertising they are prepared to commit to.
You can have a fantastic team offering superb customer service (in fact I know of lots of businesses like that) but they will never grow beyond a certain size because their advertising is limited.
So I'd suggest that often the missing key to growing a business is an appetite to invest seriously in advertising the business. And this needs to be underpinned with a clear method, deciding in advance, for how you are going to judge what works and what didn't.
Coming back to what you said I have came to the conclusion that I am utterly s
t at marketing and more importantly I do not have the time to do it. Even though I have said funds to possibly "go big or go home" in terms of spend on advertising I am worried or don't have a clue what to spend it on or investigate. do you have any advise? Hopefully the question may help the OP too. Chamon_Lee said:
Coming back to what you said I have came to the conclusion that I am utterly st at marketing and more importantly I do not have the time to do it. Even though I have said funds to possibly "go big or go home" in terms of spend on advertising I am worried or don't have a clue what to spend it on or investigate. do you have any advise? Hopefully the question may help the OP too.
The first question to properly address is your appetite. How much do you want the business to grow, and what are you prepared to invest/risk to achieve that objective? That is not an easy question and is one I struggle with myself quite often.t at marketing and more importantly I do not have the time to do it. Even though I have said funds to possibly "go big or go home" in terms of spend on advertising I am worried or don't have a clue what to spend it on or investigate. do you have any advise? Hopefully the question may help the OP too. Not having time is the second problem. You will have to adjust your business so that you do have sufficient time. That might mean employing additional resources and accepting that, at least in the short term, you will make a lower margin.
With regard to what forms of advertising to use, I would list the top 5 or 10 companies in your sector that you would aspire to become. Then investigate and write down all of the forms of advertising you can discover they use. Then basically work out a plan which involves copying their approach but in a limited and controlled way. The idea is to try and test what might work for you. Having a methodology written down in advance for how you will judge what has worked is also a good discipline imo.
Chamon_Lee said:
Hopefully the question may help the OP too.
I'm fortunate that marketing is my background but the challenge I face, as all 'new' businesses do, is that you need to test and measure continually. This is fine but it can make it a long process. Also, you need to work out who you want to target and work out how to get to them or even find out who they are where they are. Its' just a process really.2 things for me.
One very basic was reading the E-Myth. Simple steps but so few SME's follow these simple principals.
The second was hiring a business coach. As a small business owner I wasn't accountable to anyone. I knew exactly what to do, I just wasn't doing the most important / valued tasks.
My business coach kept me on track and I've achieved 10 times more with them, accelerating profits with much less stress too!
It was such a 'game changer' for me, and now I have some free time, I've been coaching local SME's for around 12 months now with some great results.
Highly recommended!
One very basic was reading the E-Myth. Simple steps but so few SME's follow these simple principals.
The second was hiring a business coach. As a small business owner I wasn't accountable to anyone. I knew exactly what to do, I just wasn't doing the most important / valued tasks.
My business coach kept me on track and I've achieved 10 times more with them, accelerating profits with much less stress too!
It was such a 'game changer' for me, and now I have some free time, I've been coaching local SME's for around 12 months now with some great results.
Highly recommended!
One thing when you begin to make this transaction is that growing your business does not necessarily to growing your profitability!
This is because you have to absorb all the additional overhead.
It is also worth remembering that more staff can also come with greater hassle!
As others have said, it is all about building a great team of people and installing loyalty in them by treating them well and paying them well.
All the best!
This is because you have to absorb all the additional overhead.
It is also worth remembering that more staff can also come with greater hassle!
As others have said, it is all about building a great team of people and installing loyalty in them by treating them well and paying them well.
All the best!
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