7 Tips to Build and Grow a Small Business

Getting through the startup phase is just the beginning. Then comes striving for growth and expansion.
7 Tips to Build and Grow a Small Business
Think about investing in a vacuum truck, if you haven’t already, and add pumping and system maintenance to your menu of services.

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Launching a business can often seem like a make-or-break moment. Entrepreneurs feel as though their company has to make a splash, or at least a tiny rumble, in its early stages; it has to survive through the startup days, establish itself and find firm footing. There is much truth to this. For any business, the early days are critical.

Making it through the startup phase hardly means the difficult part is over, however. Next comes the need to grow and expand. You may not have any interest in developing a huge, multinational company, but all businesses need to evolve, expand and change. They are dynamic. They thrive on chances for expansion.

How can you build and grow your small business? A few tips come to mind.

1. Brand yourself. A company is about more than the products on the shelf or the services on the menu. A company stands for something, and carries with it certain connotations. What experiences do people associate with your business? What are your values? Does your business stand for service, for speed, for convenience, for quality, for family friendliness, for environmentalism? Branding your company is essential for building upward and outward.

2. Develop a logo. A piece of visual shorthand, signifying your brand and everything it stands for, can be invaluable for growth — especially in the age of Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

3. Create some news. When noteworthy things happen at your company, write up a press release and distribute it to the local media. The news might be a new product, a new hire, a new office, an award won — anything. Compile your press releases in a “newsroom” section of your website. Real companies have real news to share.

4. Educate your customers. Don’t just sell. Inform. Be a true advocate for your business by showing customers how your products and services can be used. Use blogging, video and social media to enrich the consumer experience — not just to advertise to them, but to earn trust.

5. Target new markets. Think about investing in a vacuum truck, if you haven’t already, and add pumping and system maintenance to your menu of services.  Always have an open mind about new markets.

6. Become part of the community. Devote a day or even just an afternoon to working with a local community organization. Help raise money, donate a product or sponsor a good cause. Not only is this the right thing to do, but it can foster enormous goodwill from local customers.

7. Focus on quality. Last but never least, don’t allow your visions of expansion to get in the way of the fundamentals. The primary concern should always be providing a great product or service, one that will keep customers coming back for more — and ideally telling their friends. Your business will not grow without some positive word-of-mouth.

Don’t allow your business to become stagnant. Build it. Develop it. Allow it to grow — wisely, but decisively. 

About the Author

Amanda E. Clark is the president and editor-in-chief of Grammar Chic Inc., a full-service professional writing company. She is a published ghostwriter and editor, and currently under contract with literary agencies in Malibu, Calif., and Dublin, Ireland.
Since founding Grammar Chic in 2008, Clark, along with her team of skilled professional writers, has offered expertise to clients in the creative, business and academic fields. The company accepts a wide range of projects and often engages in content and social media marketing, drafts resumes, press releases, Web content, marketing materials and ghostwritten creative pieces.

Contact Clark at www.grammarchic.net



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