In the early stages of your business, staying afloat requires so much effort that you may not give much thought to a growth strategy beyond trying to boost your profit. At some point, though, you’ll face the decision of whether to grow your business — and how.
The prospect of steering your small business out of your comfort zone and onto a course toward bigger possibilities — and risks — can be scary. The secret to overcoming that fear and reaping the rewards of taking your business to the next level is to have the right plan and resources in place.
Your Definition of Growth
To understand how to grow your small business successfully, you first need to consider the potential pathways to growth and which of them is most likely to work for you. When you think about how your business currently operates, what would expansion look like?
Maybe it would mean moving into a larger space or adding a second location. You might start selling a new category of products or services. You could broaden your clientele, beef up your staff or boost your brand awareness. Business growth could simply mean investing in a new piece of technology. Maybe you could acquire a competing or complementary business, though it’s understandable to steer clear of that route until your business has matured.
The way you define business growth for your company will guide your expansion plan. The growth model you choose not only needs to align with your vision for the company, but it also needs to be feasible in terms of its logistical and financial requirements.
How to Tell When the Time Is Right to Expand
How do you know when your small business is poised for growth? There are several important elements to have in place before you leap. This checklist can help get you started, but you may also want to consider other areas specific to your type of business.
A steady supply of customers. If you already have a loyal and healthy customer base for your business, their support can be a good foundation for a successful expansion. And if you want to cultivate opportunities to grow your business in the future, there’s no better place to start than keeping your current customers happy.
A growing industry. What are news reports and industry analysts saying about the future viability of businesses like yours? If the general outlook is promising and your own sales are booming, it might be a good time to expand.
To determine whether your industry is growing, look for indicators like rapidly rising sales figures, the presence of underserved markets and the continuing interest of investors already familiar with the best penny stock app software. Be aware that changing consumer behavior and preferences might point to a pending decline in your industry, even if your own company is thriving at the moment. Another reason for caution is when you’re seeing new innovations push out old products and services in your industry.
You may still wish to move ahead with a growth plan if you have a strategy and the financial capability to adapt to those changes. Just be sure you are basing your decision on sound economic analysis.
A sustainable revenue model. Review your income figures to see how financially stable your business is now. Be sure you are meeting your current revenue goals and have a strategy for increasing those numbers as you branch out. If you’ve figured out how to make your business profitable now, you’ll have a better chance of succeeding when you move on to something bigger.
Industry expertise. If you’ve become one of the go-to sources in your community for industry knowledge, it may be a good time to capitalize on your company’s increased brand awareness. Recognition can help your business take off. If you’re aiming to reach that level, becoming a media source, conference speaker or published writer can be good ways to do so. An effective marketing and public relations strategy makes all the difference when industry expertise is your springboard to business growth.
Access to financing. Your vision of how you’ll grow your business will be nothing more than an unfulfilled dream without resources to pay for the expansion. Can you afford to invest some of your company’s profit, or your personal savings, into new business development? Will you be looking for outside investors? Do you have a good relationship with a business lender that can help fund your expansion plan? Answering the financing question is essential in determining whether you’re ready to scale your business.
Supportive people. Along with adequate financing, skilled and reliable people are indispensable to the success of a business expansion plan. The supporting cast that enables you to grow your business can include core members of your company’s leadership and staff, business consultants and coaches, legal and accounting professionals and family members.
A strong IT infrastructure. Adding more inventory, services, space and staff will likely require expanding your data and communication systems. You’ll need an IT framework that’s capable of growing as you grow your business. After you’ve launched an exciting new phase of your business, you don’t want to discover that your IT system can’t handle the increased load.
Video Conferencing is Beneficial for Business
How does offering air cargo services benefit business growth
Why should a company offer air cargo services? After all, most of the companies seem to manage growing their businesses without ever going through the trouble of organizing and operating an air cargo service. So, why should you bother with setting one up? Well, as it turns out, there are some quite important reasons to offer air cargo services. Of course, not every business needs to have them. But, there are some situations where offering air cargo services is just what a company needs in other to further develop. So, let us look into how adding air shipping can help your business grow.
Why does offering air cargo services benefit business growth?
Implementing air cargo services can often be quite expensive. There are numerous legal and financial hurdles you will have to go over, and the whole ordeal might take a considerable amount of time. So, why should you bother with introducing air cargo services? Sure the large companies have benefited from using it, but is it really for you? Is there really a benefit to going through all the trouble? Well, let us take a closer look to these Jet Rentals to NYC.
Larger market
The first benefit you will experience is a larger market. It doesn’t matter where your business is set up or how many shops you have. By implementing air cargo service you will make your product available to a much broader market. Potentially, you can make it available to the entire globe. This increase in the market is bound to show up as revenue that can often double or triple your current one. True, you can try using boats to ship your products. But, as the global climate is changing and effecting ports, you can expect boat shipping to become more and more expensive. Which is a reason more why air shipping is the way to go.
You need to think big if you want your company to truly grow.
Better quality of service
But, it is not only about the potential of tapping into the larger market. If you offer air cargo service, you are, in fact, offering the best delivery service possible. One thing we need to come to terms with about today’s customers is that they are spoiled. They want everything that they purchase online to be in their hands the moment they do so. This is not a nice trait, but you need to understand it and expect it if you are going to run your business. And, once you do understand it, you will realize how important air cargo service is.
If you can guarantee that your customer will have their product delivered within 2-5 days, they will be willing to pay a lot more for it. Boat shipping in no way near capable of delivering in such speed. Which is why air cargo services are a must-have.
Thanks to the availability of video and chat apps, consumers are more comfortable than ever with video conferencing. This is especially true of millennial device users, with a 2016 report revealing that more than half of all smartphone users between the ages of 18 and 34 make video calls on their smartphones. As this younger generation enters the workforce, businesses are starting to see the benefit of video conferences and how they need to change the way teams communicate in order to include it in their business strategies.
But there are many other reasons to use video conferencing at your company. It can improve your interactions with both your clients and coworkers, and help you convey concepts in a more concise way than less effective forms of communication. Here are some of the benefits of video conferencing and how it is becoming even more relevant for businesses, no matter what industry you may work in, find out more detailed information about zoom cloud hd meetings benefits.
Video is Mobile, and Millennial Friendly
Mobile use has continued to grow, with experts predicting that smartphones and tablets will account for nearly 80 percent of all Internet use by next year. For businesses, this means workers are increasingly conducting their work using their smartphones rather than a desktop or laptop computer. And they’re using these devices to make themselves more available despite their location or schedules. Instead of waiting for their boss to come back from a business trip, for instance, an employee can have a face to face, meaningful conversation over video to keep projects moving forward. And as time goes on and more millennials enter the work force, they won’t be hard to convince of the benefits of using video conferencing in business interactions. They’re already using these devices regularly to make video calls, so extending this idea to their careers isn’t too much of a stretch.
Video Shows The Non-Verbal
As the methods of communication turn more and more digital, miscommunication has become increasingly common. In texts and emails, especially, people tend to “fill in the blanks,” adding an inflection or even a facial expression to the words they’re reading. This can also happen over the phone, when a person may not see that the person speaking has a smile, or a concerned look. A key benefit of video conferencing meetings is that it eliminates these discrepancies, letting participants register and understand gather all the body language cues that are so important within conversation. Picking up on the messages that are being communicated non-verbally can vastly improve your relationships with customers or clients.
Video Fosters Team Building
When you’re on a team of employees who aren’t based in the same office or location, there’s always a challenge with team bonding. Phone calls can’t replace the level of connection you get from a face-to-face conversation at the water cooler or in a conference room. Studies show that colleagues who can see each other connect on a deeper level, which is key for productivity and team building. So be sure to encourage video conferencing during all of your team meetings. Encourage a few minutes of socializing at the start or the end of the call, to replace that ‘water cooler’ conversation. It can go a long way to creating a happy and productive team, despite working across a long distance.
Video Combats Remote Isolation
Despite the many benefits of remote work, there’s a downside, as well. Employees who work away from the office have reported feeling socially isolated, not only from their colleagues, but from people in general. Video conferences can help remote workers by bringing that feeling of social interaction and collaboration in a way chat, email, and phone calls can’t. It also brings those employees into the office, connecting them with the rest of the people they work with (as mentioned above!) even if they’re not in the same conference room. Make sure your remote workers are equipped with the tools they need to easily connect to your online meetings and encourage them to regularly use video conferencing for their conversations with everyone – coworkers, vendors, and clients.
Video Saves Time and Money
The use of a video conference system can also help a business save on time and money. Having an in-person meeting means people need to travel to get there. This means employees and companies have to worry about travel cost, which can be quite extensive in some cases. There may even be instances where workers travel across the country, just to be in a meeting. Video conferencing eliminates most if not all of these travel cases. By allowing people to be on a video call from anywhere in the country or the world, they no longer have to be in the same room. Just think of all the money saved by conducting meetings via video conference, not to mention the amount of time workers don’t have to spend on the road or on a plane. Going the video conference route is an overall cost-cutting and time-saving strategy.