Business growth is defined in more than one way. Traditionally, business growth has been defined by geographic growth and building a global presence, although with many new internet-based businesses, this has become less important. It’s also been defined by financial growth, whether it’s through sales, revenue, profits or valuations. But it’s also defined by internal human capital growth, an area of growth that cannot be measured in dollar signs or even by numbers in general, although some HR programs do try to quantify this growth in some data form. But to really optimize your business for growth, it takes careful implementation of both financial and human capital strategies, and being able to implement them could mean working with consultants temporarily.
Optimized Financial Growth Strategies
1. Apply for Loans with Favourable Terms
Growing your business financially often takes borrowing money to get started. It used to be that business loans would take at least five years to qualify for, and then months to go through the process of completing paperwork, and then getting your company’s assets appraised. But online lenders have started competing with brick and mortar banks using certain technologies that evaluate a business’s creditworthiness using big data and quicker methods to approve the funding. Online loans can be a great source of financing if you’re using a loan with good terms and are able to get the maximum amount you need. However, you do need to watch out for high interest rates and finance charges that can come with these loans, and if you’re currently paying higher interest than you should be on a loan, you may want to consider refinancing with a new one.
2. Review Your Current Overhead Expenses
There are always fixed expenses in your budget, and one way to grow your business finances is to cut overhead costs where you can. This might mean moving to new facilities or downsizing space you don’t need, cutting down on operations that would unnecessarily use up power and cause more expenses there, or even implementing recycling or other activities that can cut down on waste disposal costs. Always take time to review your accounting books each month or at least each quarter to see if you have overheard expenses leaking in your budget.
3. Make Savvy Technological Investments
One of the best ways to turn debt or cash on hand into a big ROI is to invest in cutting edge technology. Whether it’s brand new computer systems, mobile apps, robotic based manufacturing equipment or automated processes, the general idea is that that technology will speed up production or meet customer demands that could not previously be met. More often than not, businesses who stay on top of technology that serves their industry well will end up growing faster and surviving longer than businesses who don’t make those investments.
4. Review And Adjust Your Marketing Budget
Marketing keeps changing and has multiple fronts on traditional marketing and digital marketing. Effective marketing is one of the biggest drivers of business growth, yet it can also be one of the biggest hindrances to it. Some experts will tell you you should just use any and every media channel for marketing, but that’s actually not completely true. Every marketing channel you use should have a high ROI for every dollar you spend, and if certain channels are not yielding new customer leads, you should cut them. When it comes to marketing, quality matters more than quantity in terms of how many media channels you use as well as your messaging and campaign organization. Good marketing utilizes market research data to see how ad messages resonate with potential customers. While it certainly is useful to add new avenues to your current strategy such as being more active on social media or using email newsletters, you’ll often see much better ROI yields if you stick to the strongest marketing avenues. For example, if you’re getting more customers from SEO channels or video ads, you should focus more on those strategies as opposed to throwing money at marketing strategies that aren’t working.
Optimized Human Capital Growth Strategies
1. Set Your Core Business Values And Lead Your Business Accordingly
To begin the growth of your business internally and build a stronger and more unified workforce, you need a foundation from which to start. That all begins by determining what principles and values you want your business to be known for. For example, building a place where customers trust you and your practices, or where advanced knowledge and expertise are key. But you want a business that holds to strong values so that it becomes so well-known about you your future employees and customers know it as soon as they walk through the door.
2. Make Sure Your Employees Feel A Certain Level Of Independence
Oversight and micromanagement of a business are not the same things. While every business should keep an eye on what its departments are doing, it’s often better to take a more hands-off approach to letting your employees work. You might be surprised at just how much your team members can do if they’re given leeway to complete projects and solve problems on their own. When your employees can do that, they can learn and grow personally and this tends to cultivate more overall growth among them.
3. Take A Genuine Interest In Your Customers
When you consider how many salesmen and telemarketers are out there making catchy pitches but are often not trusted, it’s usually because the customers detect when a salesman is a little more concerned about making the deal and collecting the commission over filling a need. Customers tend to trust their local mom and pop stores because they know they’re getting an authentic experience there and they know the owners usually care about them personally and aren’t just interested in making sales. If you borrow that principle of taking a genuine interest in customers and delivering an experience that fits their exact needs, it’ll have them coming back and telling their friends about everything.
4. Provide Interesting Training Programs
Interesting and engaging training programs can really spark enthusiasm among your employees whether they’re software-based training programs, or on-the-job training along with team building seminars. Employees want to feel they are accomplishing something great for the company and reaching new levels. The training program should feel rewarding and include information presented in memorable ways so that your employees feel they’re gaining real experience. A new trend emerging in business training is self-directed training in which employees have a lot more leeway to learn things on their own and decide which learning material will best aid them on the job.
5. Allow Your Department Managers To Make More Decisions
As was previously mentioned, delegation of certain powers and less micromanagement tends to make for a better workplace. That’s why you should allow your managers to make decisions for each of their departments that can bring new things and cultivate new ideas in the workplace. Now it is true that there are some decisions that are best left to you and other administrators to have the final say on and give approval before they’re enacted. But that’s certainly not the case with all decisions, and any decisions that you know your managers can make that are helpful to the company should be able to be made without always calling you. This can speed things up and lift morale in your departments.
6. Make Your Employees Feel Appreciated
One of the best ways to make your company one that employees love to work for, and that will have more of them staying long-term is by giving them rewards that tell them you truly value the time they’ve put in. This could include big rewards such as employee of the month recognition that comes with bonus pay, promotions to those who’ve had big yearly accomplishments, or big prizes for other activities. But employee appreciation should also include things like treating all employees to a nice catered lunch, hosting a corporate event that includes comedy shows or musical performances, or even a game night where they can relax and take their mind off of work for a while. These kinds of rewards can remind employees that they’re part of your company family and can enjoy their time while working for it.
7. Aim For Diversity In Your Hiring Decisions
Diversity in the workplace can seem like a monotonous phrase today with a lot of institutions pushing for affirmative action and requiring businesses to have a diverse makeup of their workforce. But it can be something to embrace because a lot of ethnic diversity and even different age groups can make for great dynamics. People from different backgrounds and cultures can learn things from each other and become exposed to ideas they may have never thought of. Many young workers tend to appreciate different cultures, and you can bring in a lot of different skills from different demographics.
8. Involve Your Company In Philanthropy When Possible
It’s easy to adopt certain core values and make statements on what your company is about. But you can become even more trustworthy if you put it into practice and support charitable causes in your local community. You can win over the hearts of customers and others in your community if they see you and your team volunteering at a children’s event, helping out at local soup kitchens and shelters, serving veterans or taking up other causes. You can even encourage employees to support non-profits financially by including incentives in your employee rewards programs.
9. Promote A Culture Of Listening
Sometimes ideas get lost in the humdrum of daily activities, and sometimes concerns or disagreeing opinions aren’t heard by those they should be. But many business leaders who’ve become successful over time have done so because they’ve taken to listening to those around them as well as their employees, and they’ve helped them feel their input is valuable. Sometimes just small things like making people feel their voice is heard can make a difference between high satisfaction at their job, or feeling ready to leave.
The bottom line is there are many facets to optimizing a business for growth, and you should prepare it by seeking to implement sound financial practices, and investing in the personal growth and happiness of your team members. It can mean making some changes you may not be totally prepared for, but if done right, you’ll be happy you did. If you’re ready to take these steps, you should contact us to discuss your growth strategies and find out how we can help you achieve the desired results.
