I’ve worked with many entrepreneurs in my career and I notice that very few are able to grow their business in a significant way. Why is that? I think there are three major obstacles that stand in the way of entrepreneurs growing their business. They are the disciplines of innovation, delegation, and scalability.
Innovation
Some would say that small business operators can’t afford to innovate. They don’t have the resources of the Fortune 500 companies. They should leave that to the big boys. I think especially small businesses really can’t afford NOT to innovate. In fact today it’s easier than ever to create innovation. The Internet has leveled the playing field. Now small businesses have access to the same technology, processes and networks as the big boys. And they can innovate with greater speed. Innovation increases market share by overstepping the competition. It wins more mind share by making products or services more memorable. And it increases what I call heart share by achieving greater efficiency and a smoother customer experience.
Delegation
Unfortunately entrepreneurs are “get it done kind of people.” Therefore they do too much themselves. They are often content with only making “good use” of their time rather than the “best use” use of their time. Super-achievers are of the opposite mindset. They are quick to recruit OUTSIDE resources. They realize it is the best way to expand THEIR limited resources. They ensure that they are ALWAYS making the best use of their resources including their time. Imagine that you owned a small piece of property in New York City but you’ve never made more that $20,000 a year from it. A convenience store chain comes along and offers you $50,000 per year for 50 years. A good deal right? You sign on the dotted line. The next day Donald Trump knocks on your door and offers you $1 million for the next 50 years. Unfortunately you already leased it. Your good use of that property robbed you of it’s “best use.” The same is true of our time. Like that property you only get to use it one way, one time. Time is our most valuable and limited resource.
Scalability
Scalability is defined as how effective a solution will be when the size of the problem increases. Or, “how well your processes perform” when your enterprise expands. In the business growth strategies that I implement for my clients I use five strategies for creating scalable solutions. I don’t have time to discuss all 5 of these right now but the first is called “utilizing synergy.” What if I told you, that a paltry 10% change in your selling effort could result in more than a 33% increase in profit? You’d want to know how, right? Consider this: If we were to recruit 10% more clients, increase orders by 10%, and increase price by 10%, the net affect would be a 33% increase in profit. This works in any industry for any kind of business, 100% of the time.
Think about how you can use innovation, delegation and scalability to grow your business. For more great free resources download my Grow Your Business Program. It doesn’t cost a dime. Tell me what you think.