7 Growth Tips For Small Businesses

I have pondered on the question: What do small businesses that achieve sustained growth do differently from those that do not grow? - for years.

As a student of economics in one one of Nigeria's prestigious tertiary institutions -Wellspring University-, an entrepreneur and a public speaker at conferences and seminars, I get to speak to a couple of people including, business owners, financial analyst, bankers, doctors and in general, professionals in various disciplines quite often.

I only got to learn over time that there are really no silver bullets or 17-point checklists that could unarguably lead to guaranteed growth. All professional (also backed up by my research) have concluded that 'hardwork' and 'smartwork' are the duo to growth.

There are, however, seven specific areas in which growth companies concentrate their hardwork and smartwork or simply put concentrate their efforts. These are the seven areas we'll be talking about in this article.

1. Strong Sense Of Purpose:

Most leaders of companies that have achieved growth discover that it takes more than the promise of increasing financial reward to fuel their aspirations and ambitions. They find a higher calling than simply the pursuit of “more money.”

2. Outstanding Market Intelligence:

This is an organization’s ability to first recognize, then adapt, to fundamental changes in the marketplace. Many times, small-business owners become too myopic, seeing only a limited view of the markets in which they compete. Growth leaders see the bigger picture.

3. Effective Growth Planning:

This is the best predictor of whether or not a business will grow. To be effective, a plan for growth does not need to be overly formal or complicated. However, it does need to be written, well-communicated and regularly updated.

4. Customer-Driven Processes: 

These day companies and organizations have relinquished efforts to sustain its management merely on her decisions without putting to book the customers needs, demands and satisfaction. Only in a perfect monopoly will this process be overhauled fully or to a degree.

Great organizations are generally -believed to be- customer driven. They take a look at most or some of the business processes from their customer’s perspective. They equally evaluate if the customer's perspective is in place to make it easier for the company, or to help deliver on the promise of faster, cheaper and better for the customer? If needs be, they strike a balance between both.

5. The Power Of Technology: 

Successful leaders don’t let the boom and bust of technology cycles give them the excuse to ignore that we live in an information age. If a company is in business, it is in the technology business.

6. The Best And Brightest People: 

Growth leaders recognize that they are only as good as the people with whom they work. The ability to hire, train and retain the best and the brightest people is often the difference between success and failure.

7. Seeing The Future:

Few organizations take the time to regularly consider the future. Growth leaders learn how to diligently monitor and interpret the macro forces of change affecting the world in which they live.