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Want to know how to take your small business to the next level? It is easy for businesses to plateau and get stuck in a figurative rut. Taking your business to the next level isn’t going to just happen. You’ll need to prepare for the growth and then take the necessary actions to get there. Keep on reading to find out how to take your small business to the next level.
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HOW TO TAKE YOUR SMALL BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL
1. Set your ‘next level’ goals
The next level will look different for every business, so the first thing you need to do is clarify what the next level means for your business. The more detailed you can get the better. Does the next level represent breaking through a certain income level such as the VAT threshold (£85,000), six-figure year or even a quarter of a million pound year? Does the next level mean taking on freelancers or employees? Does the next level mean strengthening the positioning of your brand and getting featured in the media? Does the next level mean being fully booked with a waitlist of people eager to work with you?
At first write down everything that pops into your head when imagining the next level in your business. Then go back through your notes and create SMART goals.
2. Create a plan to take your business to the next level
Once you’ve set your goals and are now clear on the next level it is time to create a plan to get there. When it comes to business growth it is likely that you’ll need to continue to do some things you are already doing, and do new things. Depending on the situation you might be confident in what needs to be done or you might know how to get started but not everything you need to do. The aim is to write as detailed a plan as you can from where you are right now. The plan can change along the way, but it will provide you with a focus to get started.
Make sure that the plan has metrics and milestones. Metrics are the numbers you’ll review so you can measure your progress. Milestones are key moments in the journey. For example, if part of taking your business to the next level involved becoming a best-seller author then some milestones might include: completing book proposal, being signed by a publishing house, first draft complete and final draft submitted.
3. Know your numbers
In order to take your small business to the next level you’ll need to really focus on the numbers that matter. This is different in every business, but there are some common numbers to monitor such as:
- Revenue
- Profit Margin
- Conversion Rate
- Number of leads / enquiries
- Click-through Rate (email)
- Engagement Rate (social media)
- Churn rate (membership)
- Cost-per-acquisition (paid advertising)
Successful business owners know their numbers. They work out what is important to monitor based on their goals and then ensure they are regularly monitoring. This is what enables you to understand if your plan is working or not and if you are seeing the results you desire. Without properly knowing your numbers it is easy to not truly understand how your business is performing.
4. Make time to continually learn and grow
As a small business owner your business will only grow as much as you grow. It is important that you are making the time for you to learn and grow, so your business can grow. This is especially true if you are fulfilling all, or a lot of roles within your business. Your growth should be focused on:
- Trade/Profession-related skills – Consistently upskilling your skills in relation to your trade or profession will help you to continue to deliver a high-quality service.
- Marketing skills – In most cases to take your small business to the next level you’ll need to improve the effectiveness of your marketing. If you are responsible for your marketing then you should be improving your skills and ensuring you are following best-practices of now (not years gone by).
- Sales skills – Learning to sell is essential as a business owner, and a skill most people aren’t confident with. Invest in improving your sales skills and confidence.
- Personal growth – As I already mentioned, your business can only grow as much as you. Focusing on the skills that will directly help your business grow is great, but you should also be looking at your personal growth and development as a whole.
5. Get external support and accountability
Being a business owner can be difficult at times and taking your business to the next level requires you as the business owner to ‘level up’ too. That is why at this point in your business journey it is important to get external support and accountability. There are a few options when it comes to external support. It may be external support to specifically help with the growing and learning piece I just mentioned. Or you might get external support that specifically helps perform a role within the business.
Getting external accountability is especially important if you are running your business with no employees. It is easy when no one else knows about your goals for hitting the next level for you to stay exactly where you are. Your dream stays a dream, but since no-one knows about it it doesn’t really matter. That is why external accountability is so important. With external accountability you share your goals and then declare what you are going to do to achieve those goals. Then the person holding you accountable will check-in with you at agreed points in the future so you can update them on your (lack of) progress.
| WANT HELP TO IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING KNOWELDGE AND BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR FOLLOWING YOUR NEXT LEVEL PLAN?
I offer 1-to-1 business and marketing mentoring for coaches, consultants and online service providers. If you are a business owner that is small in team size, but big in ambition then I’m here to help. My 1:1 business and marketing mentoring programme will give you the training, ongoing support and accountability to help you get your business to the next level (and in a way that truly works for you). For more information check out my 1:1 business and marketing mentoring programme here. |
6. Work on your mindset
There is a saying “New level, new devil” and you need to be prepared as you are going to the next level that new “devil” will appear. Some might be physical, but often they are mental. Working on your mindset to help you successfully get to the next level and stay there (rather than self-sabotaging) is key. To work on your mindset you can try popular techniques such as practising affirmations and journalling.
One type of mindset work that is particularly important as you take your business to the next level is money mindset. It is very common as you set your business higher financial goals to come across money mindset blocks and without addressing them you’ll struggle to hit your financial goals.
7. Identify and eliminate bottlenecks
If you want your small business to successfully grow then it is essential to identify and eliminate bottlenecks. Bottlenecks are a part of your business where there is more demand than can be physically managed. This means that part of the business limits the capacity of the business as a whole. Very often in small business the bottleneck is caused by the business owner. For example, the business owner might be working at full capacity and not be able to work with more clients, to take more sales calls, to post more frequently on social media etc.
8. Celebrate your wins along the way
Depending on what your ‘next level’ was it might be that you hit the next level in a few months or it might take you longer. That is why it is important to ensure you celebrate your wins along the way. Go back to your plan and see if you can add rewards to specific milestones. Celebrating as you hit key moments will help you to really recognise the progress you have made and keep you motivated to continue.
9. Focus on working smarter, not harder
As you prepare to go to the next level it is easier to think you’ll need to work harder. However, that isn’t usually the case. It is about doing more of the same thing, it is about working out how to get the results in the quickest and/or easiest way possible. Working smarter will enable you, even as a small business, to get better results and move your business forward without necessarily having to increase capacity by either working more hours or hiring other people.
That’s it! You know now how to take your small business to the next level.
Growing your business and hitting the next level in your business is exciting. No matter what you want to happen it can, but it all starts with setting a clear goal, creating a plan and ensuring that you are working as strategically as possible to get the maximum impact.
In the comments I would love to hear what your next level is.
| WANT TO TAKE YOUR ONLINE BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL?
I’m a Business and Marketing Strategist that specialises in supporting coaches, consultants and online service providers who are small in size, but big in ambition. I help my clients to build thriving online businesses without selling their soul or working themselves into the ground. To find out more about how we can work together check out my services here. And to discuss your precise needs book a free, no-obligation, introduction call to discuss your business here. |
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