By Mike Howard
Getting your business off the ground is tough enough, and then it’s time to scale. This is not always an easy task for the small business person, as we tend to take on too much of the day-to-day operations of our business rather than focusing on our core competency. Sometimes it requires taking a step back and assessing your business to make sure you are focusing on the key activities which will move your business forward in a strategic way.
Ask yourself, “Am I just working in my business or am I also working on my business?” What you might realize is that you need to reorganize and restructure your operations by scaling your business in order to become successful, faster. To do this, here are 5 tips I have found to be extremely helpful.
- Delegate! Are you working on growing your business, but doing everything yourself? Take a minute and write down everything you do all day and then circle the things that require your unique talent. The rest are distracting you from serving your clients and focusing on growth. Assess how much more productive would you be if you had access to support services, such as IT professionals, bookkeepers, graphic designers, paralegals, etc.
- Build Relationships. Being the best at what you do and the value you bring to your customers- is no doubt a big part of your potential success, but did you ever hear the phrase, “Sometimes it’s who you know, not what you know?” Having the right relationships can be the key to taking your business to the next level. Learn which organizations have potential for you. I always say if one of your clients is a member there must be other members who could potentially be clients. Take the time to invest in building these relationships. Networking may not always have a quick return, but there is almost always some reward in time. Attend seminars that will help leverage your business success and form alliances with other professionals whose business services or products clearly compliment yours so you can develop a win-win referral system.
- Open Expansion Offices/Satellite Offices. In today’s economy, companies find it difficult to grow by increasing market share. Going after a bigger piece of the same pie is tough. One way to grow is to increase the size of your market with a satellite office. Additional locations enhance your imag, put you in a better position to attract and serve new clients, and will even improve your SEO rankings with Google.
- Improve Your Image. People want to do business with people whose business gives them the perception of strength in size and success. What kind of image are you giving your clients? If you’re working from home, you are already at a disadvantage. It doesn’t have to be a daunting experience to move into professional office space. In today’s marketplace, there are office solutions available with low-risk involved when it comes to a lease commitment and the expense versus opening a traditional office lease. The Virtual Office has proven to be the perfect office solution for innovative businesses seeking a competitive advantage to launch companies, test new markets, and create new beginnings.
- Master the Latest Technology. Keeping abreast and learning how to use the latest technology not only gives your small business the look and feel of a bigger and more successful company, but it will also give you a leg up when serving your clients, as well as help you to be more productive and efficient. For instance, if you’re business is not set up working from the Cloud, you are missing out on the many advantages, such as: access to emails and documents from anywhere, more collaboration with your team and clients.
American Executive Centers have been committed to helping businesses become more successful faster for over 30 years. By putting these tips into place, you are sure to get your business on the right track and moving forward to becoming more successful, faster. Interested in learning how we can help your business grow? Schedule a tour at one of our 7 Greater Philadelphia Locations by emailing info@americanexecutivecenters.com
Ancien Hippie 