How to Spark Business Growth and Get Back on Track Fast
After the debacle of a year that was 2020, it’s time to get fired up about the year ahead. If we’ve learned anything this year it’s that we can’t assume ANYTHING anymore.
Whether you’ve already started dreaming and planning for what you want to experience by the end of 2021, or you’re merely looking forward to getting out of your pajamas someday, these 7 strategies spark growth and get you back on track fast in business.
#1: Define What’s Really Important to You
First things first. How do you define success? What does living the best life feel like according to you? Here are some questions to get those creative juices flowing:
- What do you want to achieve or accomplish over the next 12 months?
- Why are these goals and dreams important to you?
- How do these goals and dreams align with living your best life?
Getting 100% clear about what’s important to you and defining success on your own terms is imperative for setting and following through on goals. If you aren’t sure what you want or what’s important to you, take some time to dive deep into what you really want to experience this year. Once you get clear about what’s important to you, you can then set more meaningful goals for your business.
#2: Commit to Working Smarter not Harder
If you spend more than an hour a day doing repetitive manual tasks, it’s time to automate! We usually get one of two responses when we tell our clients to automate repetitive tasks: But I like to do it all because it makes me feel in control (aka no one can do it as well as I do it), or, I know I need to automate parts of my business, but I just don’t have the time or the tech skills to make that happen. Both of these responses tell us immediately that there’s some resistance to real growth.
The simple truth is until you remove unnecessary tasks, you won’t be able to focus on higher level priorities – the activities that actually sustain and grow a business. Still thinking you have to do it all if you want it done correctly? We’re here to tell you, this is one of the biggest mistakes business owners make. Staying stuck in mundane tasks will cause you to fall behind, make mistakes, and miss opportunities to grow and scale your business.
And if you’re still not convinced, ask yourself if those repetitive tasks are what inspired you to start your business in the first place. We’re gonna guess the answer is a hard no. So let them go and so you can get back to doing what you do best.
#3: Explore New Software Solutions
Doesn’t it seem like every day, a new software solution pops up in the marketplace promising to make your life easier? Honestly, we don’t know what we’d do without Asana! But how do you choose a solution and how can you be sure it will work for you?
Implementing new solutions can feel a bit scary at first because they require a bit of time to learn how they work. Fortunately, there’s a course for almost all software solutions that makes the transition much smoother. So don’t let the learning curve intimidate you from trying out project management solutions. In fact, most software comes with a free trial, so there’s absolutely no risk.
A good way to start is to track your manual tasks for one week. Then you can look for ways to save time. For example, let’s say you outsource the writing of your monthly blog articles and you notice that the writer often finds it difficult to remember the monthly topics. He frequently reaches out to you via email asking what to write about next. This results in you trying to find that piece of paper with blog topics, if you can find it, then responding to the writer.
Wouldn’t a project management tool that outlined your monthly blog topics save you at least 20 minutes of precious time? Yes, yes it would. Now imagine saving 20 minutes of time on multiple tasks per week and what that could mean for your business in just one month? With all this extra time, you might take on more clients or take an extra day off per month.
#4: Make a Great Webpression
Is it time for a website refresh, update or overhaul?
Perhaps you thought that once you built a website you’d never have to update it or refine it again. So. Not. True. It’s time to get up close and personal with your website and make sure that it reflects your company’s brand story. Why?
Because your website is a living breathing extension of your company and should be treated as a storefront in a highly desirable shopping center. Your website is your place of business and needs to reflect your brand story in a way that attracts and compels people to enter and take action.
Make your website a priority by updating images, checking links, refining calls to action and refreshing outdated lead magnets. If you need to overhaul your website because it’s so 2008, then set aside time to give your company a fresh new look. And if finding the right words is your nemesis, check out these tips for writing a compelling tagline for your business!
#5: Show Up on Your Social Media Channels
Whether you love social media or loathe it, the bottom line is social media is vital to visibility, awareness and potential sales.
If you’re in business, you need to be visible on your social media channels at least once per week. It doesn’t have to be complicated nor do you need a highly detailed content plan. You do need to show up in some form consistently either through publishing blog articles, posting videos or writing engaging posts that provide solutions for your ideal clients’ problems. We recommend starting small and making it easy to succeed. There are many tools you can use to schedule social media content ahead of time so you don’t have to deal with coming up with content each day.
Quick tip: the more in tune you are with your ideal clients, the more likely you’ll be in generating content they can’t resist clicking on or engaging with.
#6: If You Never Ask, You’ll Never Know
Want to know where you fall short? Want to ensure you are consistently providing what your clients want? Want to know what your clients really LOVE about working with you?
If you ask, they will tell you! One of the easiest ways to collect valuable feedback (and testimonials) from your clients is to send them a survey after working with you. There are specific questions that when asked lend themselves to stellar testimonials. If you’d like to learn what questions to ask after working with your clients that not only returns constructive feedback but also great testimonials, check out this blog article with the top 12 Questions to Ask to Capture Captivating Testimonials.
#7: Bump Up Your Skill Set
If you’ve been in business a long time, it’s easy to get into the rut of doing the same old things day after day.
As a business owner, it’s critical to innovate and evolve in order to stay relevant and profitable. If you have a strong skill set in a specific area, share your wisdom as often as you can. If you want to dive deeper and learn a skill that would make you invaluable to more clients, set aside thirty minutes a day to take an online course or read articles relevant to this complimentary skill. When you invest in yourself and your business, you’ll be much more likely to stay relevant and in demand.
The second half of 2020 taught us that we can’t count on things being “normal” anytime soon. Defining what’s important to you and creating a plan to take small action steps over a set amount of time is the formula to experiencing the life (and business) you want. In order to take those small steps, you have to manage time so that it works for you instead of against you.
Got big goals and dreams but very little time or money to see them through? My best advice is to take it one small step at a time, stay consistent and celebrate wins no matter how big or small.