Did you know that small businesses make up 99% of all businesses in America? The US has about 32 million small businesses total.
And according to a 2021 Intuit New Business Insights report, 17 million new small businesses will be formed just this year.
If one of those new businesses happens to be yours, then you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll go over 11 ways you can help your small business grow in 2022:
- Write a business plan
First, write a business plan. A business plan defines the purpose, mission, and values of your business to give it direction. It then provides a clear plan to achieve those goals.
Include a growth strategy in your business plan and delegate responsibilities. That way, you’re intentional about scaling.
- Get a small business loan
Next, attract funding. It’s hard to scale a business without capital. And when you’re just starting out, you probably don’t have extra capital to draw on. This means you need to get a small business loan.
You can get a small business loan from banks or private lenders. But for the best loan terms, consider getting an SBA loan backed by the US Small Business Administration (SBA). They offer interest rates at around 7% for down payments as low as 10%.
- Focus on your core strengths
As a new business, it’s hard to stand out. There are most likely already other companies that do what you do. So identify what makes you unique. Then develop a unique selling point (USP) that you can use to set yourself apart from your competition and focus all your energy on that core strength.
- Hire quality employees
As an entrepreneur, you wear many hats. It’s easy to work in a million different directions and before you know it, you haven’t reached your goals. To avoid this, you need to hire quality employees.
You may not be able to afford to hire full-time employees with benefits at first. So start by hiring part-time workers or freelancers that you can pay on an as-you-go basis.
Whatever you do, create a positive work environment. That way, your employees will be more motivated to work hard and stay with the company longer.
- Develop systems
Scaling a business requires systems. As soon as you identify routine tasks in your business, try to build a system to automate them.
This could be as simple as getting a customer relationship management (CRM) software like HubSpot or Zoho or getting work management software like Monday or Asana.
Such tools can help you streamline your workflow so that you can spend less time doing time-intensive tasks and more time making important executive decisions.
- Leverage data
In addition to building systems, collect as much data as you can. Information is power. With the help of analytics software like Google Analytics and Amazon AWS, you can identify patterns in advertising, sales, and more to see what’s working, what’s not, and act accordingly.
- Use remote collaboration tools
Since COVID-19 started, remote work has become the new norm. If you and your team rely on meeting in person, you’ll fall behind the competition.
So use remote collaboration tools like Google Docs, Calendly, Zoom, and other video conferencing technology to enhance your productivity.
- Keep an online presence
These days, having an online presence is essential for any business. It allows you to reach exponentially more customers.
To start, create a clean website with a clear and compelling homepage. Visitors should understand what your business does within a few seconds of landing on your page.
If you’re looking to start an ecommerce site, tools are available online to help you with the process. You’ll want to make sure that your website is professional, well-organized, and user-friendly. Online store builders, such as StoreBuilder by Nexcess, can make setting up an ecommerce site faster and give you options to customize your storefront design.
Then start a blog and social media profiles. This allows you to build your brand and connect with customers and other business partners on a personal level. By engaging with them online, you will drive more leads and sales.
- Cut costs
It’s easy to get focused so much on sales that you neglect to lower costs. But cutting costs can increase your bottom line just as much as another sale can.
So review your operations and see where you can optimize. In the long run, this will free up even more capital to then invest back into your business.
- Study your competitors
Running a small business is hard. But you can make it easier by learning from your competitors. Analyze their approach to marketing, pricing, social media, and more. Then take notes of what seems to work well for them, so that you can implement such in your own business.
- Be willing to adapt
Lastly, small businesses need to be willing to adapt. Succeeding is a matter of trial and error. Sometimes you’ll make a bad decision, but you can learn from it and move on.
In addition, when a new business opportunity comes your way, don’t be afraid to take a calculated risk and give it a shot. Maybe it will bring new business partnerships or help you break into a new market. Whatever you do, stay agile and don’t give up a rare opportunity to grow your business when you see one.
