If you are thinking of growing your small business to a medium-sized enterprise anytime soon, these six tips will show you how it can be done. Once you have successful survived the start-up stage it is time for bigger things.
The conversion period when a small business starts to expand poses quite a few challenges that need to be faced head-on and because most entrepreneurs simply don’t have the smarts or the know-how, a definite plan of action needs to be put into place. Good preparation is key in expanding a business because growth needs to be managed well.
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Your clients need to play a role in your growth:
Let’s face facts – without customers there is no business. To make your company grow into a bigger enterprise and for the path ahead to run smoothly, remember that your customers are precious. It is important to keep them in the loop every step of the way and to inform them of your intentions of expanding your business. Frequent updates will give your clients peace of mind and put them at ease; it is important for them to know that they play a role and that they are still important to you.
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Be prepared for the results whether these are positive or negative:
Not every plan will be exactly as you intended that is why it is important to always be prepared for an outcome whether positive or negative. If your ideas don’t pan out exactly as you envisioned, there will always be other ways to turn this around. It is important to let go when things are not working – holding on will only sink you and make you negative.
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Introducing new talents and developments makes sense:
The original ideas and team is not necessarily the team that will take your business to the next level, although those employees that bring value to the table are important to hold onto. Expanding your workforce is important – this includes both the number of staff members as well as the skills and talents they have.
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Having a plan of action in place plays a vital role:
When you are planning to expand your business, take note that a carefully thought-out plan in place is the first step in the right direction.
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While you are expanding it is important to remain significant regardless:
The whole idea of growing a business to the next level is to ensure that the coffers start filling up, and not to lose sight of the original idea of what it is that you do; remember not to dilute your brand identity, and that your old customers are gold and the new ones are silver – clarity, clarity and more clarity as far as your brand is concerned is what counts at the end of the day.
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Efficiency, organisation and documentation are there for a reason:
When you run a smooth operation the trick is to ensure that your documentation is up to date and organised. Document every single step of the way on your journey to expansion. Documentation is a true representation of all your business workings. Successful entrepreneurs are good record keepers which will indicate all problem areas before they become too big.
If you are thinking of expanding your business, these pointers, when implemented, will guarantee success.
