Random Thoughts on Growth

I thought I’d share a few random thoughts about business growth with you. Here goes:

• Growth *should* mean better…not just bigger.
• At the launch of a new business you’re going to have to focus on becoming profitable so you can’t be as picky with some things as you’d like. You’re going to have to ‘grind’ and work really long hours. But if you’re not careful, that approach will last beyond the 12-24 months it should and you’ll get burned out owning a business that you don’t enjoy.
• If your business doesn’t make you happy most of the time…you need to re-engineer it. There is no sense making that big of a commitment to something that makes you unhappy.

• As soon as you can – pay yourself first. It’s your business.

• Growing revenue & profit by raising prices is an underutilized and really valuable approach.

• The explosion of Online Coaching is great…I’m a fan. But if you’re not getting people great results in person – you shouldn’t start taking online clients (regardless of what Facebook tells you.)

• The fastest way to grow is by combining the doing of great work with playing to your strengths.

• One way to ensure that growth will slow to a crawl is to try to be all things to all people. A generalist.

• Another way to slow growth or avoid it all together is to spend all your time on ideas and none of it on execution.

• There is no shortage of ways to grow. From licensing and franchising to certifications and infoproducts. Adding locations, membership sites, raising prices, adding programs, online coaching, selling products, specializing…I could go on and on. A lack of options are never the problem…a lack of action is.

• Do more of what is working.

• Get good at selling. It is a very high leverage skill and it’s easy to develop a proficiency in.

• Get good with at least one approach to marketing too. I’d rather be the best at one things than mediocre at 10.

• Writing a book is a powerful positioning tool that can make a huge difference.

• Determine what success is to you and focus on that. All too often we don’t have a desired destination so we don’t really do focused work. We just react to the day’s needs.

• Social proof is a very powerful tool when trying to grow. Start collecting it early and often.

• A very unappreciated approach to marketing and positioning is the use of consistent, relationship based marketing. While everyone else has high churn – you can build a relationship so when someone is ready – they choose you.

• Focus more on what you keep than what you gross.

• Sometimes you need to take 1 step back before you can take 10 forward.

Finally…growing the business that you want is no harder than running a really ordinary business.

It’s just more about deciding what you want to do, what you want to have and what you want to be.

Then investing your time in pursuing that instead of spending it in an undirected way.

In fact, you will likely work less…just smarter.

And you’ll be happier while you do it.

By Pat Rigsby