Image of business owner putting together bike.

How To Make Your Business Sustainably Grow

7-Minute ReadUPDATED: April 12, 2022

Share:

Many entrepreneurs start their companies with wild aspirations of ongoing growth and wealth. And while it’s wonderful to dream big, truly growing your business can present many challenges. From putting out fires to comprehending how taxes will affect your profit margin, the reality of growing your business demands a lot of work.

But not to worry! We’ve put together a guide to help you grow your small business. We will give you several tips and tricks to help you find the best practices you can apply to your organization today.

How Can I Grow My Small Business?

If you’re just starting out, you’ll want to assure you’re mastering the basics that will set up a solid foundation for business growth.

While these simple tasks and tips below may seem easy enough, make sure that you’re continually standing by these practices.

Creating a customer-centric culture will help your business gain loyal clients. It will also train your team members to stay focused and give them an increased understanding of your organization’s mission. Here are some of the basics of growing a successful small business.

Put Your People First

The best way to grow your sales is to find out exactly what your ideal client needs. You can discover your target market’s wants and needs by conducting research or sending out surveys. But your work doesn’t end once you figure out what they truly want. It’s important to continue to ask for feedback.

Asking for feedback allows your small business to continuously improve and better serve your clientele. This also helps you identify the best ways to market and develop services that cater to them.

Enhance Your Customer Service Efforts

Think back to a time when you had an amazing customer service experience. Did it inspire you to become a loyal customer of that brand? More than likely, if you had an outstanding experience, you’ll continue to do business with that company.

This also rings true for your personal business. While many other small businesses may offer similar products or services, your excellent client service can set you apart from the rest.

Constantly improving your client service shows your consumers that you appreciate their business and value their loyalty. So, make it easy for them to communicate with you and find answers to their questions.

Whether you choose to do this by engaging the use of a bot on your website or via social media engagement, creating easy access to information and service will help your brand stand out as a strong competitor.

Work On Your Professional Development

Similar to working on your customer service efforts, you should continue to work on your own professional development. The more knowledge you have as a business owner, the better your offerings will be.

In addition to focusing on your own professional development, you need an effective team to help grow your small business. Giving your team members a purpose may encourage them to work harder for your business and its mission.

Humans desire to belong to a bigger cause. Therefore, creating a workplace environment that cultivates growth and development may encourage your team to work harder and set bigger goals for themselves.

It’s also wise to send them to training and personal development seminars. There, they will continue to learn and become better team members for your organization. Remember, a happy staff creates happy clients.

Use Social Media To Your Advantage

Social media is a great tool that allows you to connect with your clients. Through social media, you can build engagement and start conversations with your loyal clients. By reading comments and posts you can more clearly understand your client's needs and connect with them.

Additionally, you don’t have to spend that much money on social media to connect with your client audience.

Don’t Be Afraid To Find Funding

Just like when entrepreneurs need funding to start their businesses, small business owners need funding to grow and leverage their endeavors. If you think you need some extra cash to grow your business, figure out a financing plan to make it happen.

When you begin shopping for a personal loan, you will want to ensure you partner with a suitable lender that can help you grow your business. It’s also important that you review your credit before you apply for a loan because bad credit could ruin your chances of approval.

How Can I Grow My Business With No Money?

You don’t always need money to grow your business. There are plenty of ways to expand your small business that don’t require the use of cash. Here are a few options for growing your small business without funding:

Build A Community

Have you ever heard the saying "it’s not what you know but who you know"? The bigger your network, the more opportunities you may have. What’s even better, networking is completely free. All you need to do is spend your time finding groups, networking events, and online communities to begin.

Networking isn’t just about connecting with people. It’s also about growing your wealth of knowledge and increasing your skill set. By associating with a variety of like-minded professionals, you are bound to grow and develop your craft.

Define Your Brand

Branding helps consumers connect with businesses and companies. It gives businesses a personality that consumers can relate to. Creating your brand’s voice, message, tone and style doesn’t have to cost anything. You can create everything you need for your brand right from your mind.

Take the time to figure out your brand’s personality. If your brand were to identify as a person, what traits would it have? What would your brand’s day look like? If you think of your brand as a person, it’ll be easier for you to create and identify your business. It will also help your ideal customers connect with your organization.

Swap Your Services

Using a bartering system is a great way to grow your small business without money. Essentially, you can swap your services with someone else. For example, if you offer graphic design services, you may want to barter with someone who offers copywriting to help define your brand’s message.

You can find people who are willing to partner in your online community, Facebook, Upwork and other freelancing sites or even Craigslist. When looking for the perfect partners, address what they bring to the table and what you can give in return.

The goal of a bartering engagement is to create an even trade where both parties receive equal services. You wouldn’t want to give 10 hours of your work in exchange for 5 hours of someone else’s work, right? So, make sure you understand what each party is willing to give before you move forward with the partnership.

How Can I Grow My Business To The Next Level?

If you’ve had a thriving business for a while but are ready to take it to the next level, you may need a little help. In addition to the suggestions above, here are a few ways you can grow your business and level up.

Set Goals That Will Force You To Grow

Setting goals can help you prove focus, measure growth and track progress. Your goals can help you push the boundaries to achieve amazing things outside of your comfort zone.

The more you are willing to stretch and challenge yourself, the more you can accomplish. Developing a short-term and a long-term plan for your business with specific income goals in mind may help you take your organization to the next level.

Learn How To Delegate And Outsource

To take your small business to the next level, you will have to outsource and delegate tasks that no longer serve you. If you continue to do all the work, you will never actually lead your organization. Take the time to make a list of all the tasks you can either delegate to your team members or outsource.

Once you identify the tasks you can give to others, you can spend more time focusing on the growth of your business.

Increase Your Productivity

There are daily tasks that you must complete to keep your business afloat. The more efficient you become, the more you can get done. Creating processes will help your business become more successful. Then, once you’ve created said processes, you can more easily delegate them to your team members.

Additionally, every day you should complete at least five things that will help you carry out big-picture goals. For example, let’s say you own a clothing line and want to partner with a charity you’re passionate about. Your next step would be to figure out the five things that will help you get closer to achieving that goal.

Try New Marketing Techniques

If your marketing efforts aren’t producing the results you want, it’s time to switch it up. Use the tools and resources you have at your fingertips to produce a new marketing campaign that will grow your sales. The most successful entrepreneurs are the ones who are willing to try different marketing strategy techniques and combinations.

This allows you to see what works well for you and what doesn’t. After all, how will you discover the best marketing strategy for your product if you don’t try different options?

Staying Ahead On Technology

With the ever-changing landscape of technology, it’s crucial that you and your team stay up to date on the latest technology trends in your industry.

For example, with the ability to use most financial institutions online, it’s essential all financial organizations allow their clients to use an app or log-in to access their financial information. Banks and other financial institutions that don’t invest in the updated technology may rob themselves of future customers and profit.

Staying up-to-date with technology helps keep your customers happy and improves efficiency in your business. Both of these benefits will save you time and money.

Final Thoughts

Prioritizing business growth is imperative to any owner who aspires to have a long, prosperous career as an entrepreneur. Creating a business environment that is client service-oriented and team member development-focused will help an owner create a culture that can endure over decades.

Additionally, owners must realize there are always ways to improve their practices. Whether it’s updating their accessibility, attending networking events, or learning about the newest technology available, it is a business owner’s duty to both themselves and their clients to assure they are continually evolving.

If you’re looking for financial resources to grow your business, consider applying for a personal loan. A personal loan helps you get the money you need to cover any personal business expense based on your own financial information, which is one of the primary differences between business loans and personal loans. You can use this loan for any expense that helps your business with its daily operations, whether it’s technology investment or career development.

At Rocket Loans, we also offer our clients a quick and easy application with simple payment options. And with little effort or stress, you can simply take your business to the next level and achieve the big concepts you’ve been dreaming of.

And remember that while growing your business will be a direct reflection of the work you put in, you must also commit to continual education. Doing so will assure you’re always knowledgeable about the best methods of operation and help you achieve financial gain at a sustainable rate.

Apply For A Personal Loan.

Explore your options today and see what's possible in one simple click.