The Dos And Don'ts Of Growing Your Small Business

Learn the best ways to grow your business.

Growing your business is an exciting task. It means customers are receiving your business well and you’re bringing in a profit.

But, growing your business can be intimidating. Many things have the potential to go wrong. That’s why you need a plan. When you know what to do and what to avoid, you can avoid stumbling.

Use the following seven dos and don’ts to successfully grow your business.

1. Do Your Research

Before you even start growing your business, you need to do some research. You need to know what your business is capable of doing with its money and other resources available.

Assess your business. Look at all the analytics, stats, and accounting records that are available to you. Analyze how your business has done in the past. And when possible, make projections of how you think your business will do in the future, such as sales projections.

You might also consider talking to business advisors, accountants, and lawyers. These experts can help you make good decisions about your business’s future. It’ll cost money to get their input, but this added research can point you in the right direction.

2. Do Set Goals

As you are growing your business, you need to have goals that you try to hit. Without goals, you can’t possibly know if your business is improving. When you have goals, you have something to strive for. You know if you are headed in the right direction or not.

When you set goals, create SMART goals. These are goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound. These standards will make sure the goals are realistic and possible.

3. Don’t Do Everything

When you’re growing your business, you might become protective. You might want to do everything yourself to protect your business from outsiders and big changes. But, this protection could hurt your business.

If you try to do everything yourself, you can become burnt out. And without outside input, you might not have the necessary creativity to grow your business.

You have people you can rely on to help you get things done. Your employees can do many of the tasks in your business. You can hire independent contractors to help. You might also seek help from business experts and local business owners who already have experience with what you’re trying to do.

4. Don’t Rely On Informal Agreements

Always put your business agreements in writing. You can’t rely on informal, verbal agreements. Having written agreements ensures that everyone keeps their promises and gets what they want. 

You should create written agreements when working with business partners, lenders, and other businesses.

5. Do Get Feedback From Customers

Your customers are a perfect group to get feedback from to learn how you should grow your business. By getting to know your customers, you learn what they want. Their feedback can give you an exact direction to take your business. You can discover what to grow and what products and services your customers really want.

Ask your customers for feedback. You can ask them to submit reviews and answer surveys. If possible, you might also interview some candidates so you can delve deeper into their wants and pain points.

6. Do Look For New Customers

It’s important to keep your current customers happy as you grow. But, it’s also important to search for new customers. Without new customers to buy your new products and services, your business profits won’t grow.

A market analysis can help you identify new customers. You can discover where they live, work, and hang out to better market to them. You might also learn what social media and other sites they use so you can target them online.

Find people who are similar to your current customers. You might also add new products or services that fit with your business but will also attract new customers.

7. Don’t Rush The Hiring Process

As your business grows, you will likely need to hire more employees. But, you should not rush the hiring process simply to fill positions. If you rush the hiring process, you might hire the wrong people.

Before you start the hiring process, make sure you know what position you want to fill. Create a job description and list the required skills and qualifications. You might think the job description is to attract candidates, but it also helps you narrow down what you are looking for.


When you do post the job and start interviewing, don’t be quick to hire the first person you interview. A bad hiring decision can set you back. Don’t invest your time into someone who isn’t right for the job or will quickly leave. Waiting for a good candidate is worth it.

Source: https://www.forbes.com
Photo Credit: Shutterstock




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