Cultivating a small business – a strategic view

The growth of a small business is a subject that any business owner should be interested. The difference between the growth of a small business or simply floating around some different aspects.

How much planning do you do? The growth of a small business takes a lot of planning, a lot of regular planning. The most prosperous companies take all planning very seriously.

From the day, you must regularly book strategic planning time. I recommend having a formal planning session. I could be biased, but if you hold at least meetings of the general board of directors, you are obliged to make strategic planning. Having regular meetings of the Board of Directors, a small business will occur. You also get the advantage of looking critically to your business on a regular basis. Which brings us to the next question.

What type of measuring system do you have in place? Being able to have access to the vital metrics of your business on a regular basis is how you stay on the right track. What measures to monitor is something different for every business. There are main elements such as your P & L and your balance sheet that all companies must keep an eye on. Others could be a profit per customer, earnings per employee, reference rate, customer complaints and complaint resolution time. This is a very short list. Start determining the most beneficial measurements for your business. Do not worry about finding them all at first, start with a few. The growth of a small business will take a lot of measures. Make sure you measure the key aspects of your business.

What kind of systems do you have in your business? How are they evolving? Small business systems are essential for the growth of a business. If you have regular planning sessions (board meetings), you must have consistent systems for your actions. The systems are the central nervous system of your business. The systems relate all information to and from the board of directors. Your business consultancy is where all key decisions comes from.

Small business systems take a long time to grow and should constantly improve. A desirable system will create coherent results regardless of the task. An example, give the system to a new employee and will complement the task with the same result as a seasoned employee.

Working as a business broker, I see that a mean business that sells for 1 to 2 times that net profit has no official systems. Companies that recover higher multiples still have formalized systems in place.

When you do not plan work activities on business systems, this is one of the best ways to spend your time.

Take action! Take action is vital. I see so many other business owners who attend seminars, reading books, attend networking events and think about owning a business. The only thing they miss is an action. All the world’s planning means nothing if you do not take action preferably massive action. The growth of a small business does not happen during the night. If there is no action, it will never happen.

There is much more to grow a small business than this short article contains. If you are preparing properly from the beginning, or make the appropriate changes to your current business. You will find one of the most personal and financial rewarding things you make is to grow a small business.