For small business owners, the challenge being faced has always been nothing but how to grow your business. On the other hand, you might want to avoid growing too quickly because doing so can significantly damage the projection that you’ve set out. However, you also don’t want to grow somewhat slowly as this too can bring about stagnancy, and your competitors can surpass you easily.
This is also true with large businesses or corporations, particularly when it’s time to take a pivotal stop from a $1 million to a $10 million business. Based on studies, most companies generate close to $500,000 in revenue – they only need to find the next step towards getting to the desired level. This is undoubtedly not an unachievable milestone, as countless other businesses have done it, but it is something that requires you to know a few key things. 
Growing Your Business: A Breakdown
First, it is vital to acknowledge the fact that getting over $10 million in revenue for your business isn’t “the hard part.” Most professionals agree that getting to the $1 million level is the hardest. This ultimately comes down to the variation between the concepts of “wealth” and “income” – these two ideas that most people often have a hard time differentiating. An overall net wealth of $1 million is an attainable goal, but getting to that level in a year may be less realistic.
Therefore, a business owner needs to understand that boosting revenue simultaneously is unrealistic. Once you learn to run with the idea of “slow and steady wins the race,” you give yourself a better chance of succeeding in your business over the long term.
Indeed, this paradigm shift can pay dividends across your whole organization. You need to also re-evaluate your risk aversion; that is, you know which opportunities are worth investing in and which ones to pass on. There is a need for objectivity about how tolerant you are to risk to start with; you should also let that intuition inform many of the decisions that come after.
Another way to grow your business is to be realistic with yourself, albeit slightly different. If your company has been stagnant, you need to ask yourself what is the reason for that. Is it due to a valid lack of opportunity, or is it because of a general pessimistic point of view about what the future might hold? The latter might be understandable to a reasonable extent, but it also hinders the growth-minded leader you need to be. It causes uncertainty at critical moments, and it is something that ultimately holds a lot of people back.
Another way to grow your business has to do with not just learning how to market your business but also learning how to do it correctly. Marketing is a terrific avenue for attracting potential new business and not just keeping existing customers informed and satisfied. Creating buyer personas is a big way to achieve precisely that.
Finally, it would be best if you also were determined about what you value when it comes to business generally. Some business owners don’t have the enthusiasm to grow – they’re perfectly satisfied with the status quo. To be clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong with not wanting to expand. However, if you have foresight about growing your business, you need to prioritise it in a particular way.
It would be best to ask yourself the big question, WHY do you want to grow. Are you trying to expand, or do you want to leave a legacy behind for the future generation to keep running the family business? All these and more questions are begging to be answered because they will dictate many decisions you make in the future.
Ultimately, growing from a small business to a large one isn’t an unattainable feat. It will only require you to adjust your mindset and follow critical best practices like those discussed in this outline.
Suppose you would like to find out more about how to grow your business. If you want to venture into another line of business or would like to speak to a professional about your own needs in a bit more detail, please don’t hesitate to contact our office lines today to schedule an appointment.