5 Ways to Drive Growth for Your Small Business This Year
Congratulations, small business owner! You’ve made it through another year with your small business nearly unscathed, and what better way to celebrate than learning about these 5 ways to drive growth for your small business this year?
Though these past couple years have mostly been about girding your business's loins from the myriad of societal issues that have plagued us (insert annoyed emoji here), if 2023 has got you feeling in the growth mindset spirit, you’ve come to the right place.
One: Protect & Project
I’m assuming since you’re still reading, you’ve got a good handle on having a growth mindset. You planned, you put away money in case of emergency, and you’ve learned how to pivot when doing your job seemed nearly impossible under the circumstances.
So, my very first task in these 5 ways to drive growth for your small business this year is to keep protecting and projecting. Protect your money by squirreling some away in an emergency fund and keeping an eye on fluctuating interest rates and inflation.
Accounting for higher shipping rates, possible shortages and supply chain issues, and even late cancellations due to sickness that you’d normally charge for is best practice here. If 2020 taught us anything at all, it’s that literally anything can happen, so prepare for whatever you can.
Two: Outsource
Step one: Make it through the pandemic
Step two: Achieve growth during the pandemic
Step three: Become overwhelmed as all heck with all your growth and added responsibilities
Is this where your mindset is currently at? Don’t worry, getting past that is easy. All it requires is spending a little bit of money. Don’t freak out! With the right tasks outsourced, you’re almost guaranteed a healthy ROI, and then some.
You’re not a tax professional, nor a marketing professional, and you’re definitely not a computer software program that’s algorithms are built to predict the future. So don’t try to be! Bogging yourself down with too much work that you’re not well versed in will only hurt you.
In considering these 5 ways to drive growth for your small business this year, this might be the one thing that makes or breaks you. Try as you might, you can’t do everything, so knowing when to outsource work in a financially responsible way can save your bum.
Three: Adding New Technology
It’s 2023, and let me just tell you – there’s an app for that! Even you old school paper and pen people will be hopping on board with this one, trust me! As a small business owner, investing in these apps can stimulate growth in areas of your business you never imagined.
Having trouble finding the time to create onboarding and training protocols? There’s an app for that! What about organizing your brainstorming notes so that they’re easily implemented into streamlined tasks? There’s an app for that, too!
There’s even technology out there that tracks your business's numbers and turns them into legible predictions of income, fluctuations in income, etc. So, turn that mindset button in your brain to “anything is possible”, and start researching which programs might be best for you as a small business owner.
Four: Network
Any small business owner knows networking is one of the pillars of creating a successful business. But there’s just this small, little thing called a worldwide pandemic that came in and ruined everything about networking, or, depending on your mindset, changed everything?
You’re accustomed to leveraging those free drinks and discounted appetizers as ice breakers when meeting your fellow networking professionals, but that strategy might not be widely available to you anymore, so it’s time to get creative.
Search for groups of like-minded professionals on Facebook. Join a local digital networking group. Heck, go for a walk and start a conversation with that funny lady that walks her dog literally all day every day – you never know who might become your next client, or investor!
Five: Go as Green as You Can
Although I saved this item for last in my list of 5 ways to drive growth for your small business this year, it doesn’t make it any less important. The studies are in, and the people want sustainability.
That might look like switching to compostable packaging for your online shop. Maybe it’s donating proceeds from your sales to non-profits that align with your business's products and morals.
No matter how you choose to go green as a small business owner, if you desire growth and prosperity, you need to get on board with the green initiative!
Closing
A very prolific musician from a very tumultuous time in the past said “these times, they are a-changin’”, and as a small business owner, there’s no better mindset to adopt into your everyday life. They are a-changin’, and always will be!
Although this list of 5 ways to drive growth for your small business this year may be small, it sure is mighty. So please reach out if you have any questions, and let me help facilitate the growth you and your business deserve.
