When you look at Amazon in 2021, you see a billion-dollar company that employs millions of people and is the household name for online shopping. But did you know that Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon business, started his company from his garage in Bellevue, Washington?
Initially functioning as an online bookstore, Amazon soon grew into one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world. Similarly, every business has a starting point.
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics states that 20% of small businesses in the U.S. fail within the first year. Hence, during the first few years, you’ll find yourself focusing on the survival of your business. However, it is best to think about your plans to grow the business simultaneously to avoid stagnation.
5 Reasons Why Small Businesses Fail To Grow
Before you find out what steps you should take to grow your business, it is best to identify the common reasons why small businesses fail. Some of these are:
- Lack of demand from customers for a specific service or product
- Inability to adapt to the market changes
- Failure to listen to the customers
- Not using the online market efficiently
- Inadequate cash flow
When small businesses face one or more such problems, there is a high chance that they won’t survive in the long run. Nowadays, new competitions are cropping up every day as everyone dreams of becoming successful as an entrepreneur.
However, when you have a thorough understanding of the problems you might face in the future, you can plan ahead to avoid those bumps in your journey.
3 Steps To Ensure The Successful Growth Of Your Business
Now that you have identified some of the common issues that can cause a problem for your business let’s look into three critical steps that you can follow to grow your business successfully.
- Create a business plan
Most entrepreneurs are enthusiastic and brimming with excitement to start a business. They have grand plans and big ideas that they want to incorporate immediately without formulating any plan.
However, this is a recipe for disaster. If you’ve never baked a cake before, you cannot expect to succeed in your first attempt without using a predetermined formula. Similarly, a business plan plays a critical role in determining the success of your business.
While you might have grand plans for your business, a business plan will help you understand whether those are within the realms of possibility. A business plan usually includes information such as:
- Market analysis
- Competitive analysis
- Management plan
- Finance plan
- Operations plan
These are crucial sections that you need to focus on before you execute your business plans. They’ll provide you with an idea of whether your business will be sustainable in the long run. When you have a solid set of goals to work towards and a full-proof plan on top of it, it’ll become easier to grow the business with time.
- Build up trust through referrals and reviews
When you’re a new business, you’ll have a challenging time convincing people that you are trustable. In such moments, referrals and reviews can work wonders.
You’ll have a specific target audience depending on the kind of service or product you provide. It is, therefore, safe to assume that these customers will have a social circle with similar people as well. Hence, the key to getting a lot of referrals is to actively seek them instead of waiting and hoping that your customers will praise your business. A few ways to make this possible is by:
- Providing incentives like discounts or coupons for every referral
- Asking customers if they know anyone else who would be interested in your products
Additionally, reviews are also an excellent way to build brand awareness and trust from new customers. When your customers share their positive experiences about buying from you, more people are likely to find you dependable.
You can make use of social media for the best results. People will always look for online reviews on various social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. Therefore, you can always highlight your customers’ reviews on your page to keep everything organized and easy to find for anyone interested in your products.
- Plan ahead for expansion
If you want your business to thrive, you need to plan beforehand. Many new business owners face challenges when they don’t consider expansion. You’ll have to worry about buying new inventories, boosting production, hiring new employees, and conducting quality checks to meet the demand.
Some of the common reasons for expansion can be:
- Increase in demand from customers
- Introduction of new products or services
- Newer expansions or acquisitions
Whatever be the reason, you should always be prepared to meet those needs when the time comes. Some suitable measures that you can take are:
- Avoid excessive expenses – If you continue to expand your costs without increasing your bottom line, you won’t have any cash left over for expansion or acquisitions. Therefore, it is best to have a good look at your business and cut costs where you can manage.
- See which area needs expansion – If there is an increased demand for products, you don’t immediately need to buy a larger warehouse. Instead, purchasing new equipment or expanding the staff can work fine for a while.
- Hire part-timers instead of full-time workers – An excellent way to save up on expenses is to hire part-timers for any short-time demands. Once you have enough revenue and profit, you can hire permanent employees.
Summing it up,
Growing a business from scratch takes time, commitment and dedication. In the beginning, you will have to spend sleepless nights trying to keep your business afloat. But all your hard work will pay off if you don’t give up and make informed, intelligent decisions. The three methods highlighted in this blog will help you out in your journey to grow your small business successfully.
Author bio:
Richard Drew is an established freelancer working at many reputable finance homework help services. He assists students who look type “rate my paper,” looking for a professional to help them out. Drew loves to go hiking and is particularly fond of birdwatching.