How’s Business

When people ask, “How’s business?”, do you think things could be better?

Whatever response you give to those people, you might be prompted to ask yourself if your business and your sales are growing in a way you’re happy with.

For many business owners, routine scrutiny of business growth and developing strategies for this growth is often superseded by the simple act of trying to cover their bases. Don’t neglect business growth. Plan for your business to grow and start implementing these strategies right now.

These are some of the essentials of healthy business growth:

• Plan for growth. Always look ahead and don’t be complacent.
• Develop a growth strategy. How will your business grow? When, where, and why? Ask yourself these questions and construct a strategy for growth around your answers.
• Track your progress. Consider how you will prove your growth strategy is working. What will be your key performance indicators?
• Think about the costs. Can your business afford to grow? Will growth reap profits?
• Think about sustainability. If your business grows, will it last? Can your business cope and meet the increase in demand for your products and services?
• What’s innovative about your growth strategy? Will your business grow into a new niche? Will your growth respond to new trends, changing customer demands or something else?
• Can you achieve growth without needing to expand your customer base?

Business growth is an important aspect of starting and sustaining your enterprise. You may think you’re in a stable position, but if your business is not growing you’re actually going backwards. And when you realise you’ve been left behind, it’ll come as a shock.

Devote time and care to planning the future of your business, and then the next time you get the “How’s business?” question, you’ll feel much more prepared to answer.