Wheels Turning but Not Fast Enough? 7 Ways to Grow Your Small Business

Are the wheels churning in your business, but just not fast enough?
Here are 7 ways to grow you and your business.

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Transcript

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Thank you again for listening in I'm your host Priscilla shamba and today's episode is about the seven ways that you can grow you and your business. 

Tip #1 Be obsessed with KYC.

 Know Your Customer. Organic growth from knowing your customer is the cheapest and longest lasting.  You want to be aware that your customer is constantly changing, and that's why you have to continuously re-knowing your customer.

(00:38):

KYC never stops. You always have to be learning your customer because you have to be aware that your customer is constantly changing and you have to keep track of this to remain relevant. How do we do this? Well, we look at the data. We look at the feedback or the lack of feedback. 

The two aspects that you want to look at, you want to be able to first of all, really quickly address complaints. And secondly, you want to be continuously improving the customer experience. Don't gloss over the data, it’s telling you something and you need to listen. Check out our data driven challenge episode and apply it to a business!

(01:22):

We don't have to employ guesswork because we have all these tools that we can use to really zero down on the data, and try to understand what exactly is the data telling us. It's going to save you a lot of money, and it's going to save you a lot of time, if you just take the time to understand the data. And secondly, more importantly to take action based on that data. 

Tip #2: Customer service.

 The only way to grow your business is:

1. To retain your existing customers and,
2.  To gain or acquire new customers.

(02:14):

The standard for customer service has gone from good to great. The definition in customer service of what is good service and what is great service is constantly changing and it's constantly changing in an upwards direction. We are in a value economy. The expectations are high. It's not enough to have an excellent product or service. The customer wants to know. Do you see me?

(03:00):

John C Maxwell says, “It's one thing to communicate to people because you believe you have something of value to say. And it's another thing to communicate with people because you believe that they have value.”

 Remember when you're doing your marketing, it's a form of communication and we're trying to bring value. But John C. Maxwell is pushing us even further. He's saying not only are we trying to bring value, are we letting the other person on the other end, the customer in this case, our target customer; are we allowing them to know and feel that we think that they are valuable. That they have value. 

Jeff Bezos is known for having a day 1 mentality at Amazon. Amazon is at least 15 years into business. One of the biggest companies out there, if not the biggest and

(03:59):

Amazon attribute their success to having this day 1 mentality; of being lean, of being quick to take action, of being ambitious. When you're constantly doing things to get better. This is the key to great customer service. What can we do today to be better than we were yesterday? Don't take this lightly. Everyone is trying to grab the customer's attention and the only way you're going to be able to break through the noise and reach your customer is if you are excelling at giving them great value and excelling and letting them know that you see them.

(04:44):

No one wants to be just a number at work and definitely no one wants to be just a number when they are a customer. Keep that in mind. 

Tip # 3: is about social media.

 Make sure that you're using your social media platforms correctly, and also make sure that you are exhausting all the places in which you're found on social media. Social media is an information age goldmine. The more you know, the more you know, the more you realize how much you don't know. The reach of social media is unprecedented. Things are constantly changing in social media.

(05:30):

Gary Vaynerchuk says, “Look at your social media as real estate. You want to go where the attention is.” Don't resist change. There are always new platforms. There's tic tok. 

There are always new platforms that are constantly coming up and just because you don't understand how they work, don't resist them. Don't resist change because you'll be dead in the water. Gary V says, you have to be a first mover on social trends to have a massive advantage. 

Go back to the real estate analogy. If you wait to see who moves into an area, by the time you want to join the neighborhood, the price to enter that neighborhood, to be a part of that neighborhood is higher. Don't sleep on social media. Keep learning and implementing to grow your personal brand and your business brand on social media. 

The motto for your social media strategy, should be “FAIL FAST”. Try something

(06:30):

if it doesn't work, move on to the next thing really quickly.

Tip # 4: is you have to be out there networking as the business owner. 

Think of it as coming out of your zone to see what's going on around you. We need to listen, listen, listen. Never ever be so busy grinding that you miss out on all the opportunities around you. Networking is there to open up your mind. Proverbs 27: 17 says “Iron sharpens iron.”

 Some of the best places to get started as far as networking is your local small business center, or your local small business association. Get to know who is there. Get to know other small business owners that are getting started or have businesses that are running in your area. 

As much as we have online mentors and great information and resources online to people that we would have never imagined having access to. It's also important to have people around you, that you can go out with, have a cup of coffee and discuss the things that are happening in small business in your area. You also want to be able to talk to someone where you can dive into the meat and bones of running your business and how you can get things done. Don't undervalue this. This is very, very important to your growth and to the growth of your business.

(08:07):

Tip # 5: is about skilling up.

 You as the leader of this venture need to make sure that your skills are up to par. John C. Maxwell says, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” You've got to be ready to lead at the next level of growth. This is critical. If you don't skill up, the growth of your business will make you redundant.

(08:41):

This has been observed in businesses time and time again, the Peter’s Principle to business. Where people rise to the level of their incompetence. You’re the star in one scenario, when your business is a certain size, and then as the business grows, you find yourself out of your depths. 

(09:10):

You basically rise until you're a failure, and then that's the end. That's basically what Peter's principle says. So your stakes as an entrepreneur are just too high to sit back and allow yourself to be made redundant in the business that you started. You need to continually skill up so that you're ready to lead at the next level of growth, because if you're not ready to lead at the next level of growth, you might have just destroyed your own business by growing.

Constantly ask yourself, where can I improve? And how can I improve my leadership, my people skills, my being self-aware as the leader of this business? how can I improve my knowledge? You don't have to be an expert at everything, but you want to know enough to speak the language. They say, know enough to be dangerous in business.

You don't have to be an expert. That's the reason why we hire experts. Let them have the domain expertise. Your job is to connect the dots, not to master them.

(10:34):

Tip # 6: grow your giving as a business and as a personal brand.

You want to give time; volunteer, mentor other people in the community. You have reached a certain level of success. Bring along someone else who would benefit from knowing what you know now.

Leaders create other leaders. Give money; tithe, donate. Be a part of giving back to the community and the environment that is helping you to grow your business. Create opportunities for others. Open doors for others, give them information. A lot of times, people don't go to the next level just because they don't have access to the right information.

Have an abundance mindset. Give, give, give, and it will be given unto you. “When we give generously with an abundance mentality what we give away will multiply.” That's a quote from Henry Nouwen.

 2 Corinthians 9:11 says, “You will be enriched in every way. So you can be generous on every occasion and through us, your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”

 (12:16):

We're in business because we're on a mission to make an impact. We're growing our businesses to grow our wealth so that we can make an impact. We want to make an impact from a Kingdom approach. So we have to continuously make sure that we are aligning our business and the way we operate with Kingdom principles,

(12:39):

Tip # 7: be grateful. 

Don't let the pursuit of success become an idol or rob you of your joy. You don't want to be so obsessed with growth that you don't appreciate the people that you work with and the people who are working under you and following your leadership. Because when you're ungrateful, you make it seem as if their efforts are in vain. And as a leader, part of your job is to bring enthusiasm and energy and direction for your team. And if you're walking around moping about growth, that takes away from everything that everyone is trying to do to bring your vision to life.

13:32):

Philippians 4: 4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say rejoice.” Don't let any pursuit rob you of your joy. Jim Rohn says, “Success is not so much what we have as it is what we are.” When we're in line with the will of God, and we're doing what we believe God sent us to do in business. That's a success my friend. A divine purpose led life is a success. So let's be grateful. 

Philippians 4: 11 - 13 says, “I am not saying this because I'm in need for I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstance. I know what it is to be need. And I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want. I can do all things through him who gives me strength.”

Let this be our mantra as we walk around with enthusiasm, looking forward to growth; taking the steps that we know will lead to growth but enjoying every moment; being content.

(15:00):

Gratitude is good for the soul. 

Well, that's seven ways that you can grow you and your business.

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Until next episode. Stay well.