Some people work in a certain industry for a few years, and then start a business in the same field. For a lot of them, this is just another job. As long as they’re not making a loss, they’re quite alright. However, some of us are more ambitious. If you want your business to grow a lot in a short space of time, then here are some important tips.
First of all, focus on mitigating your risks from the word go. Any business, no matter what niche they’re targeting, will have certain risks. No matter how well you understand economics or how much foresight you have, there’s going to be certain factors which you can’t control. You should make sure you understand the relevant risks, and insure yourself against them wherever possible. I know that buying a load of business insurance may eat into your overall capital. However, if your business hits a big enough crisis, it can stump your growth horribly. If employee data is stolen, or even worse product designs and customer details, it can totally destroy your business in a matter of days.
Try to keep your business as flexible as possible without selling out on your long-term goals. There are a few common threads you see with a lot of successful start-ups. One of them is the adaptability to change directions at a moment’s notice, according to the changing factors in the market. Check out this informative article by Josh Tetrick and Hampton Creek for one example. When it comes to development, whether it’s your brand or the products themselves, try your best to keep your approach agile and changeable. Again, this is to do with mitigating risks. Apple and Virgin might have the capital to be hard-headed in their ideas. Your start-up, on the other hand, cannot. Find out what the market and potential investors want from you, and then strive to fit that exact template.
Make 110% sure that your business doesn’t neglect the experience you give your customers. Obviously, if no one’s buying your products, your business isn’t going to be able to stay afloat. When you consider how important word-of-mouth referrals are for a start-up company, it should drive home how big of an issue this is. To be honest, if you spend enough time focusing on the customer’s experience with you, the growth of your business will take care of itself. Make sure you’re doing extensive market research and have a strong ideal customer profile to use in all your marketing efforts. Review the way you train and develop all your customer-facing staff, and ensure their service skills go above and beyond the standard. Be sure to keep conducting research as you progress, with incentivised surveys to find out what your customers want. As your customer satisfaction increases, so will your profit margins!
Take these three points on board, and you’ll have no trouble getting your start-up to grow rapidly. Just make sure you can handle it when it happens! There is such a thing as a business growing too fast.
