Business Strategy | Mike McRitchie | Resume and LinkedIn Profile Writer | Telecom Marketing Content Writer

Entrepreneurial Ways To Turn Your Small Business Into A Medium Or Large Business

January 14, 2019 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Every small business owner is dreaming of bigger things for their empire, but it’s hard to turn that dream into a reality. With so much competition in the marketplace, you might feel a little outmatched by some of your bigger rivals in your respective industry. But the truth is that up-and-coming businesses are often more grounded than huge national or international corporations. If you want to take your company to the next level then here are some entrepreneurial ways to turn your small business into a medium or large business.

Collaborate with other businesses.

This might completely contradict every entrepreneurial instinct you have, but collaboration can be hugely beneficial on certain occasions in the business world. You don’t have to put yourself in constant competition with similar companies in your industry. Obviously, we’re not suggesting that you tell your customers to buy a product from one of your competitors rather than your own company. We’re talking about working with the competition to support your industry and your local community. Local restaurants might work together to raise money for a food bank in their town or city, for example. You and your rivals just need to find common ground. It’s about collaborating to achieve a win-win outcome. Maybe you could arrange a networking event for your business and other businesses in the marketplace.

Of course, another option is to merge with another small business. This isn’t always a move that two companies make when either or both of them is failing; it’s often a move that’s made when two companies want to become more successful in their respective marketplace. You might want to do some research on the subject before proposing such a deal to another company, even if you’re already on collaborative terms with local businesses in your industry. If you’re wondering “what is M&A strategy?” then you should get some help from experts in the matter. There are plenty of skilled professionals out there who can help you develop smart strategies for merging with other businesses. It could be a great way for your small business to grow into a medium or large-sized business.

Keep your current customers satisfied.

One of the best ways in which to keep your current customers satisfied is by delivering caring and dedicated services. If you keep your current customers satisfied then you’ll be able to grow from there. After all, your business needs stable foundations before it expands. You can’t build a customer base unless you focus on lead retention as well as generation. In other words, you need to work hard to maintain a happy client base so that you can get good reviews and grow from there. Otherwise, what incentive will potential customers have to choose your business? People want to see that your company has made an impact on previous customers who have purchased your goods or services. Additionally, satisfied customers talk, and you really want your clients to spread the word about you if your small business is going to grow into a medium or large business.

That being said, it’s not guaranteed that your business is going to go viral on social media or suddenly increase its client base simply by impressing its customers. Plenty of companies keep their customers happy. If you really want to encourage your existing client base to start telling their friends and family members about your business then you need to give them a reason to do so. It’s about rewarding your customers for helping you out. Maybe you could offer points or deals on products and services for every customer that successfully refers your business to one of their friends or family members. People will be much more inclined to help you with the expansion of your business if they know that they’ll be rewarded for doing so. This is well worth considering if you want your small business to evolve into something much bigger.

Be a better leader.

Another way in which you can expand your business is to become a better leader. After all, the boss of a company is the person who helps to guide it forwards. If you want to grow then you need to be a catalyst for change. You need to encourage your employees to work harder, for instance. If you can increase productivity then you’ll be able to increase your daily output. As a result, your company will be able to cater its services to a wider audience. That’s a strong step towards expanding your small business into a medium or large business. You should hold regular meetings to bring your team together and make them feel passionate about the business. That’s the key to growth.

Have You Got a Business Exit Strategy?

January 11, 2019 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

If you have been running your business for a while to build up your assets, and to retire early, you might need to start thinking about your exit strategy. To successfully pass on, sell, or create a residual income off your business, you will need to plan your finances, protect your assets, and create value in terms of knowledge and reputation. Below you will find a few tips on how to get started with creating an exit strategy for your business.

Your Books

To successfully exit your business at a profit, you will need to ensure that your books are in order. After all, it is crucial for investors and potential buyers to know that there are no hidden risks in buying a business. You should always consult with a financial planner and an accountant who will tell you what you need to improve on if you would like to exit your business and get more money for it.

Your Strategy

Without a clear strategy, a buyer will not know what to do with your business. You should always create an exit strategy and showcase how you are looking to build more assets based on opportunities you have spotted. This will make your company more appealing to other people in your industry, and you can create a valuable asset to pass on. If you are thinking about planning your succession and carrying on with the current strategy, you will need to train people to do your job.

Market Share

The greater your market share is and the better you can demonstrate your brand’s strengths, the more money buyers are likely to pay for your company. Even if you would like to retain the shares in your company and get profits on the trading income, your influence after the transition will be limited, so you should improve your brand’s strength and visibility continuously. If your business is struggling to maintain its market share and you need to exit early, you will need to get in touch with a commercial litigation lawyer to get an overview of your different options.

Organizational Knowledge

One of the main assets of your company will be the organizational knowledge you built up. Your experience and skills have a lot to do with the success of the business. Passing this on and sharing knowledge in the organization will help you maintain the operations even after you take a step back from your company.

Reputation

Another valuable asset you can turn into cash when exiting your business is your reputation. You need to protect it at any price. No matter if you are no longer taking an active role in day-to-day management, you will need to monitor what is going on in the industry and check whether or not the company is still holding on to its original value and mission.

There are several ways you can build an exit strategy, but your financial standing, your brand visibility, and the market share will determine the success of your project.

3 Mistakes That Will Kill Your Farming Business Before It Grows

January 9, 2019 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Starting your own farm is a big decision and there are a lot of challenges to face along the way, but there is also a lot of government assistance available to help you get it started. It’s also a very good industry to get into if you’re fed up with the business world. If you can build a sustainable farm, you can make a decent living from it fairly easily. Everybody needs to eat after all. However, farming is a skill that you have to learn and there are a lot of things that you can get wrong in those first few months and years. If you’re considering starting your own farm, make sure that you avoid these basic mistakes.

Buying The Wrong Farm

Choosing a farm to buy is the first step and if you get it wrong, you’re never going to get anywhere. Finding somewhere that has a good amount of land and a decent property (if you plan to live there) is the bare minimum. What a lot of people don’t realize is that they need to find out what they’re actually going to be able to grow there. You can’t assume that every farm is fertile because it might not be. Before you agree to anything, you need to have soil testing carried out on the farm. That will tell you which crops are going to thrive on your farm, if any. Then you need to look at the markets for those crops and make sure that you can actually build a business on them. If you just blindly buy a farm without checking the soil, you might end up with a very expensive plot of land that you can’t do anything with.

Location is important too because you need to think about how you’re going to distribute your product once you’ve grown it. It’s always a good idea to find a farm that has a town or city fairly close so you’ve got a local market for your produce.

Disease Prevention

If you’re farming livestock, you need to be aware that they’re prone to disease. Outbreaks of disease are one of the biggest causes of financial disaster in the farming industry so you need to know how to prevent it. Usually, it comes down to how you manage your livestock; keeping them indoors is a more cost effective way of farming but it does increase the chances of disease outbreaks.

Spreading Yourself Too Thin

You might think that it’s a good idea to start planting 3 different crops and farming cows at the same time. For an experienced farmer, that’s manageable, but for a beginner it’s going to be tough. In most cases, if you spread yourself too thin like that, you’re not going to end up with a good end product. Start slowly with one simple crop for the first season or two and then gradually build it up as you become more confident.

Another way you might find yourself being spread too thin is by over-using materials and equipment, which can cost you a lot more money than you might have thought, and end up bringing your farm into a troublesome position. In order to avoid that situation, you are going to need to make sure that you are keeping stock of everything you have, from the smallest piece of baling twine to your tractors and other larger machinery.

As long as you do that, you’ll find that you are in a much better financial position with regard to your farm.

Any one of these mistakes could kill your farming business before you even get it off the ground so make sure that you avoid them.

4 Factors You Can’t Overlook During An Office Upgrade

January 8, 2019 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Many businesses will go through a time when it becomes clear that upgrading the office is the best next move. When it is time for your business to do this, you will of course want to ensure that you get it right first time. If you fail to do so, you will only end up spending more time and money than necessary getting things how you want them to be, and this is hardly what your business needs at any time. In order to make sure you upgrade your office in the right way, let’s take a look at some of the factors of the whole process that you can’t readily ignore. As long as you are taking care of the following, you should find that upgrading your office is much easier and more likely to be a success than you might have otherwise thought possible.

Timing

It is highly important that you choose the appropriate time to upgrade your office, as if you get this wrong it could actually spell disaster for the business in a number of ways. You must make sure that you are not going to disturb or disrupt the business too much, and that basically means that you need to be fully aware of what kind of time of year is likely to be best to carry out such an upgrade in the first place. There are many ways to make sure that you get this right, but mostly it is all about just making sure that you are paying attention to what your business needs and when. For instance, if there is a certain time that your industry is especially busy or vibrant then you probably want to make sure that you are avoiding that particular time. Or if you are about to launch a new product or rebrand, you are obviously not going to want to upgrade during that time, as you are going to be busy enough as it is. Good timing is very often the difference between success and failure, so make sure that you are aware of how to get this right when you upgrade your office.

Cost

Clearly, upgrading anything is always going to be something of an expense, and when it comes to your office you are bound to find that it costs you a lot of money overall. There are many ways to mitigate this cost, but the most important thing to do first of all is to simply ensure that you are aware of the likely cost of the project in total. To do that, you will need to plan it out well enough, so that you don’t expect to go too much over budget. However grand or humble it is likely to be, being fully aware of the likely upper and lower costs will ensure that you suffer no great surprises or that you end up wasting money anywhere – which is hugely important at any time for any business.

To really get to grips with the likely cost of upgrading your office, you will find it hugely beneficial to contact the relevant suppliers and contractors to get quotes for what you are planning. These quotes will always be estimates, but it can help you to get a rough idea of what kind of expense to expect in the first place. If nothing else, you can simply take that estimate and add ten percent, and you should find that you have a reliable figure at the end of it. If you fail to really account for the cost of upgrading your offices, then it is much less likely that you will be able to make it all work out, so this is something you want to be aware of from the start if you can.

Comfort & Ease

In terms of how to actually design the space, it will help greatly if you make a point of prioritizing comfort and ease throughout the office. The more comfortable an office is, generally the better it will be run – and the easier it is to get around and use the office space for what it is meant for, the more likely it is that you will be able to use it as effectively as possible. There are many things you can do to ensure that you are going to have a comfortable and easy to use office, and it all begins with how you design the space in the first place. If you have enough space and openness in the office, it is much more likely that you will end up with a comfortable office, so that is the first thing to try and be aware of.

As well as that, you will want to ensure that you are going to stock up your newly upgraded office with only the most comfortable office furniture, and that you are therefore ensuring that comfort is a real priority. Do this, and your staff will notice, and it will mean that the office is a much nicer and more enjoyable place to work on the whole. As you can see, comfort and ease will go a long way to ensuring that your upgraded office is much more viable to use.

Security

If you are going through the whole process of upgrading your office, it will only make sense to also ensure that you do whatever you can to make it more secure, so this is something to think about as well. There are many ways in which you can hope to make your new office more secure, and it is something which will make for a happier and more productive workforce, and therefore a more productive business on the whole as well. In general, you can use the upgrade to ensure that your office is going to be considerably more secure by replacing the doors, windows and other entrances and making sure that you introduce new security measures like CCTV or ID. Do that, and your business will function much more securely, with all the benefits that brings with it.

Is It Time You Moved To Newer Business Premises?

January 7, 2019 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Is it time you moved into newer business premises? Despite the expense and the stress involved in making the move, you probably should if any of the following apply to you.

a) Your premises are no longer fit for purpose

Your premises may have been perfectly functional a few years ago, but if they no longer live up to your requirements, then a change may be in order. You may have taken on extra staff, for example. Or perhaps the cost to make repairs is more expensive in the long-term than buying or renting somewhere new. Whatever the case, if you know your premises no longer hold the same functionality as days gone by, then it’s probably time to move.

b) Your premises are too expensive to run

So, the cost of repairs is one thing, but then there are also such things as rising utility and insurance costs to consider. You might also be paying out too much money on fuel expenses, on both a work and personal level, if your premises are far from employee’s homes and places of business meetings. Downsizing might be the best thing to do if you don’t need somewhere with a lot of space, as this is a practical way to cut costs, and moving to a cheaper locale might be in order to reduce taxes, etc.

c) People can’t find you

Are you in the right location to attract customer and client footfall? Are people forever turning up late for meetings? Are you a walking and talking satnav, forever having to guide people to your business? If so, you might want to move to an easier to find location, for everybody’s sake!

d) Your business keeps getting broken into

If crime and vandalism are rife in your area, then you may be a constant target for those people who want to either steal from you, or create havoc in your life. There are ways to secure your business premises, but it might be in your long-term interests to move into an area that is relatively safe from thieves and vandals.

e) Your tenancy is at an end

This is the perfect excuse to consider moving somewhere new, especially if you can find a cheaper tenancy elsewhere. And especially if the other issues on this short list are relevant to you, then what are you waiting for? The move could be beneficial for so many reasons, so take it into serious consideration.

f) Your premises is vulnerable to natural threats

It’s possible that your business premises may be vulnerable to natural threats such as flooding, sinkholes or earthquakes. Any damage caused by these natural disasters could be expensive to repair and it could be a safety risk too. There may be solutions such as adding porous paving or diversion canals to reduce flooding that could prevent you having to move. However, if such options are not possible or out of your budget, you may have no choice but to relocate.

And finally, if you do decide to move…

If you do decide to move, there are a few things you need to do during the process. Before moving into your new facilities, you need to ensure everything is in place for your business to commence, including phone lines, broadband connections, and electrical supplies.You might also consider using one of these prefab metal building kits to take care of your storage needs while you’re in the process of moving. And finally, remember to let people know of the change, updating them with your new address information by sign, on social media, and through your website. With all of that done, we hope that your move, if you do decide to migrate, is a big success!

Thanks for reading!