Not all small businesses start with a business plan. You may have become an entrepreneur when you were in between jobs and started consulting (aka contract work) based on your expertise and connections. As word got out and demand for your services increased, the job search took the back burner. At some point you filed with the state and became an official company, to keep your taxes clean (or some other potential benefit driven reason).
A key growth moment happens when a business owner realizes they are not only an expert in their field, but they are also a business owner. Let’s take a residential lawn care service company as an example. This is a business that relies on manual labor to care for lawns. If they only have push mowers, it will take more time than rider mowers. They may start with a handful of customers, but if they want to scale their operations (more lawns = more revenue), they’ll need to hire employees who are reliable, understand the equipment they use, know the company’s service offering, and determine opportunities to increase efficiencies by planning routes that group customers together based on location. This business owner may have started by taking care of a few neighbors’ lawns and now has to manage equipment, vehicles, staff, prospects (quotes), billables and receivables. There’s so much more, including marketing, of course.
If the lawn business owner only focuses on lawn care and doesn’t hire anyone to handle other parts of the business, there’s a cap to the business revenue and profit. However, if this entrepreneur is savvy and puts energy into the business by working on the business, not just in the business, then this business is primed for growth.
The moment you realize you’re running a business, remember, it’s never too late to make a change. Businesses are constantly pivoting, whether it’s a new offering, revisiting the message, going after a new target segment, or responding to new needs, there is always something new for you to try in your small business.
The question becomes if you prefer to take a reactive approach or a proactive one. The proactive approach is intentional as your goal is defined, you feel more in control, and your strategies align with your goal so that it is achievable. The reactive approach may save you time upfront, but the scramble and stress when you realize something is missing in your business will cost you more in the short-term and long-term.
When you plan in advance, you have a clear direction and path forward. While you may not always follow that plan exactly (you can’t control everything), you will make measurable progress. The Work On Your Business Retreat may be just what you need to kick start your marketing plan. Join us for an intense workshop-style retreat, led by marketing and website experts, where we’ll also have a few fun moments to bring out the ‘ahh’ you associate with ‘retreat’. We’re here for you, the first step is to learn more about the retreat; click below for more details including the agenda, what you’ll walk away with, and the mansion where we’re hosting the retreat.
-Written by Alexis Rago, the co-Creator of the Work On Your Business Retreat, and the Big Kahuna at Marketing Mana LLC. Alexis enjoys life as an entrepreneur, while also managing the role of mom to two kids and one fur baby, as well as being a wife, daughter, friend, and volunteer.