Preparing your Small Business for Growth

Your business is busy trying to deliver a solution while standing out in a crowded marketplace and keeping up with developments in your industry -- it can be exhausting. Things like your brand can sometimes get lost in the happy-to-have but crazy commotion that is growth. 

Here are a few tips for staying on track while your business is making moves: 

Set distinct goals. To improve and maintain traction in the marketplace you must set goals. An easy starting point: write down your business objective and then break down how this objective will be met. Make your business goals clear and definitive and most importantly, relevant. Establish who is responsible for meeting each aspect of the objective as well as a timeline, so that everyone is held accountable as your business evolves. As time and circumstances allow, employ analytical tools to evaluate what’s working and what needs tweaking. 

Understand your market. In order for a business to grow, doing your due diligence with market research is a must. It helps you understand your industry, competition and target customers. To start, conduct an internet search using trustworthy and credible sources. For more tailored results, connect with your customers through surveys, q&a's and focus groups. Once you have a stronger understanding of the customers who make up your demographic, reach out to them regularly via a blog or email newsletter. Interact with them on social media and most importantly, listen. Encourage your customers to give you feedback and embrace it as a way to celebrate and/or improve your business endeavors. 

Be the brand. Ensure your employees are educated -- and receive continued education -- on the business’s key points and purpose. You and your team are the best branding tools imaginable. Take advantage of this and empower your colleagues to bring the brand to life. They can communicate about your brand confidently and accurately while your business evolves. Developing an elevator pitch is a great way to give an employee a springboard for how they present themselves and represent your business in the community. 

Anticipate change. Change will happen. Be thoughtful of your core principles while you do your best to roll with the punches. You’ve made an investment and it’s important not to allow it to be lost in a changing marketplace. Staying true to your point of view will allow you to further strengthen relationships with your existing community while at the same time earning the trust of prospective clients. 

Are you a rising new business less than a year old? Apply to become a New Business Sponsor. The program will arm you with the tools you need to keep up with your business’s growth. Is your business more established? Get Accredited with BBB as part of your formula for success.

For more information you can trust, visit us at bbb.org/boston, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Setting Goals: Strategies for Getting the Most Out of Your Business

For any business, setting benchmarks is essential to achieve success. Better Business Bureau recommends these three strategies for achieving your business goals.

Find mentors to emulate. Who do you aspire to be like? Potential mentors could be people you work with, or even in a completely different industry whose road to success is worthy of imitation. Identify your mentors’ work ethic, habits, education, or whatever it is that deems them worthy of your aspirations. If possible, talk with them about how you can achieve your goals by following in their footsteps. Use the resources available to you in order to achieve your goals.

Make adjustments to your business and its direction as quickly as possible based on facts and results. When things aren’t going well or as you had planned, take a step back and analyze why this may be happening. As soon as you realize that you need to make a change, consult with mentors and use the information you have to adjust. Test out a new approach, review the results, and adjust if necessary. There is no sense in repeating an action that fails to deliver your desired outcome.

Build a strong foundation for your business by avoiding shortcuts. Your business must be built on ethical business practices, knowledge of your product and company, a desire to improve via professional development, and a commitment to representing your company and serving customers to the best of your ability. If you take shortcuts in any way, your business will suffer. One area where many business owners take “short cuts” when they are busy is skipping professional development, but that could shortchange your success. Make it a priority to attend, listen to what is being taught, incorporate relevant matters into your business, and always strive for improvement. You cannot expect success without hard work. The positive side is that by putting in the work and avoiding such shortcuts, you are more likely to rise above the fray and meet your goals more quickly.

What strategies work for your business?

How to Set Social Media Goals

How do you remain productive through your day? For some they jot down quick lists of goals to accomplish and for others they can put all their focus into completing once task at a time.

While each individual person has preferences in how they accomplish their tasks, defining proper goals when it comes to social media is key to success in the long run.

It is common for a business to feel the need to jump on the bandwagon that is social media. Find the most popular sites and quickly signing up, and then having no idea what to do from there. You might think “Hey, I just need 10,000 likes and I will be golden” or “I want to make money from this”.

These are the worst types of goals to have. While in the end they might be exactly what you want, without defining any type of specifics the chance you reach them are slim to none.

Here are some examples of proper goals:

-          I will add 100 new fans per month on the FaceBook page

-          I will make 5 new professional connections on LinkedIn through December 31

-          I will follow 10 new people on Twitter per month

These are examples of proper goals because they are S.M.A.R.T.

-          Specific

o   Goals should be specific and state exactly what you want to accomplish

-          Measurable

o   Goals should be measurable so you know you’ve met your goal

-          Attainable

o   Goals should be attainable and reasonable

-          Relevant

o   Goals should be relevant, consistent with other goals

-          Timely

o   Goals should be timely and include a deadline for reaching the goal

By defining proper goals when it comes to your social media practices, you will be able to track your progress and have an easier time when adjusting certain aspects in order to be successful. 

Hiring a Business Consultant

Business consultants are great resources that can provide advice and guidance for your business ventures. It’s crucial to hire a consultant with specific experience who knows the industry forward and backwards. 

Use these tips as a guide when hiring a business consultant:

Do Your Research.  Before you start searching for a business consultant, be sure to determine your specific needs so you know exactly what to look for in a candidate. Ask friends, family members, and co-workers to suggest a business consultant. Check out consultants at bbb.org to read reviews or complaints.

Look at Credentials.  Ask consultants what type of business degree they have earned. Be sure to ask where they earned their degree and make sure it’s from an accredited institution. Although degrees are important, employment experience is even more crucial. Since you are hiring the consultant for business advice, you’ll want to hire someone that has first-hand experience running a business. Look for a consultant that has experience with your specific industry and dealing with your areas of concern.

Interview Candidates.  Once you have compiled a narrow list, meet with at least two candidates for an interview. Look for a consultant that shows organizational skills and professionalism. Ask if the consultant has prepared an outline that targets your specific business needs. If the consultant is associated with a business, ask if that may hinder their ability to cater to your needs in the future. Make sure the consultant clearly answers all of your questions and concerns. Think about if the consultant has relevant experience for the position but can also provide outside objectivity. Since it’s their job to help you, make sure the consultant is a good listener.

Request References.  A reputable business consultant will easily be able to provide testimonials from previous customers and a list of references you may contact. Ask the references about their relationship and experience with the consultant. Ask about the services the consultant provided and if the references were completely satisfied with the job that was done.

Review the Contract.  Be sure there is a written agreement with the business consultant. Make sure the agreement includes: the services the consultant will provide, when the services will be provided, and how much and when you will pay the consultant for their services.

What other tips can you offer?

Does Your Business Plan Have ADD?

It doesn't matter how many great ideas an individual, team, or company comes up with. Until you implement one, you haven’t made any progress. Execution is what builds lasting success, and splitting your business’ energy among too many outcomes can hinder your ability to execute good ideas and achieve your goals.

Fragmentation vs Integration: Many organizations go through an elaborate planning process. While their goals may be strategic, their process is lengthy and involved. If your method is overly time consuming, it takes away from more important work. More problematic, reliance on the idea generation phase of planning frequently results in a fragmented outcome. Whether you measure the results of your planning process in goals, objectives, or KPIs, if you’re trying to achieve too many outcomes, your business starts to suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder. It’s tough to achieve your desired execution when your attention is split in a million directions.

Your Top Three Goals: One of the keys to execution is focus. You may want to achieve a hundred different things, but most of us find it impossible to focus if we’re intent on more than four all-important goals. In fact, four may be too many. I would suggest erring on the side of success: choose your top three goals and be uncompromising in your pursuit of excellence in these areas. A relentless focus makes a positive outcome all the more likely. 

Choose three goals on which to focus: Customer satisfaction, revenue and products (improving existing base or adding new ones). It may not seem like a lot on paper, but executing these three goals is a good focus, as well as, devoting one hundred percent of your efforts into their integration. It’s become a formula for success. Every year you should add or improve your products or services. Every day you should work to improve customer satisfaction. And every moment, you should seek to increase your revenue. For us, a focus on executing these three goals is the key to prosperity.

What's your business plan like? Does it include these goals?