Business Growth: It’s Time To Shift Your Thinking

Reported by foodem.com, the online wholesale food marketplace-

Maintaining an existing business is not a walk in the park. There are revenue worries, such as budgets and payrolls. There are customer worries as well. For instance, you must determine what keeps and how to keep your customers happy, while defining strategies to broaden your customer base. Other than customers and financial factors, there is the concern of employees and their well-being. After all, they are primarily the face of your company; the ones who help promote your brand and keep your business running like a well-oiled machine. The question, how do I keep my employees motivated comes into play. Although just a few, these elements of business are no easy feat.

On the other hand, running a startup is even tougher. Essentially you are starting from scratch; not only are the same worries present, but those same worries start from scratch. As a startup you have to find ways to attract talented job candidates. You have to use the power of networking, in-person meetings and marketing, whether online or traditional, to help establish your niche market and create a customer base.

Once you get to a point where your startup begins to see steady growth in resources such as money, employees, customers, market and/or suppliers, it’s time to make changes; developmental changes that will enhance your business. An article from Inc magazine’s ‘Explosive Growth’ series spelled out three changes that growing startups should consider.

Shift: From What to Why

Initially, every startup focuses on the “what” of their business, which is the product or service being provided. As growth takes place and you differentiate your business from others, it’s necessary to shift the focus to the “why” of your business. In other words, “the element that draws your most loyal and zealous customers.”

Shift: From More to Less

It’s only natural to fall into “the more I sell, the more money I make” way of thinking. It’s partially true. Coming out of the gates the goal is to establish your business as a viable business by selling as much as possible and gaining as many customers as possible. But, at some point you want to scale back, reevaluate your target customer base and selectively sell to ideal customers.

Shift: From Heroes to Systems

A talented and passionate group of people makes all the difference when starting and maintaining a business. The thing is, business growth requires structured systems in order for persistent gains. Effective leaders can find interesting ways to incorporate their passionate staff into successful systems within the business. Making sure the systems are clear and measurable is key. Five vital system areas every business should have are: