If you are currently a business owner, growth is something that is probably almost always on your mind. Even if you have been in business for years, it is crucial to continue looking for new ways to generate revenues and reach a broader audience.
Unfortunately, there is no “magic button” that can automatically cause your business to grow. Anyone who wants to increase the size of their business, even if it is only by 10 percent, will need to be creative and proactive. Carefully managing your finances and efficiently allocating your resources will be crucial for any business that wants to grow in a sustainable way.
Fortunately, however, there are currently more options available for business owners than ever before. By making sharp strategic decisions and forging productive partnerships, your business can fundamentally change. Even in times of ongoing economic uncertainty—such as those we’ve seen thus far in 2020—sustainable growth remains within reach.
Below, we will discuss some of the best strategies for growing your business. Take the time to consider these options and decide which ones might make sense for you.
Growing your Business with a Business Line of Credit
One of the best ways to grow your business is with a business line of credit. With access to an additional source of capital, your business will have the freedom and capacity needed to expand its current operations. This can include opening a second location, investing in a new piece of equipment, launching a new marketing campaign, hiring additional employees, and many other types of expansion.
There are many reasons your business might consider accessing a business line of credit, rather than pursuing a traditional bank loan. Generally, bank loans require a much more rigid application process and will often require significant levels of collateral (making the loan themselves structurally riskier). These loans often also have very restricted uses, limiting your ability to grow as you see fit. On the other hand, a business line of credit is much easier to apply for, offers significantly more flexibility, and can be modified as your business scales over time. In other words, these loans help give you the power and dynamism you need to achieve your expansion goals.
A business line of credit is a great way to begin building credit for your business, without affecting your personal credit score. Furthermore, these lines of credit include no origination fee, offer same-day approval, and will give you the opportunity to work with your own dedicated business advisor.
Restructuring your Business
In addition to applying for more working capital, many businesses can improve their ability to grow by simply restructuring. Often, the first restructuring move a business will make will be evolving from a sole proprietorship to a limited liability company (LLC), a partnership, or even a corporation. Updating the structure of your business can help make it easier to apply for loans and lines of credit, and also helps provide various legal and tax protections.
Restructuring your business can help attract angel investors, mezzanine investors, and other valuable stakeholders. In some cases, you may even want to consider issuing an initial public offer and enter into the stock market. These sorts of large structural changes don’t always make sense for every business, but they can be extremely beneficial in certain situations. Additionally, merging with another company or splitting the company into specialized divisions are two other ways you can potentially better position your business for growth.
Establishing an eCommerce Enterprise
About 10 percent of all retail sales occur entirely online ,and this number has been growing—fast. The eCommerce space plays a dominant role in our economy and is responsible for facilitating trillions of dollars in transactions per year. Naturally, eCommerce is one of the first places a business should look for opportunities to grow.
Whether your eCommerce “store” supplements or replaces your current brick-and-mortar location, there are many benefits that can come from shifting your resources to the digital world. eCommerce stores can operate with extremely low overhead, enabling your business to increase its profit margins and better your bottom line. You’ll also be able to reach a much wider audience, effectively communicate with guests, and establish long-term relationships through emails, newsletters, social media campaigns, and more. Ultimately, if your business elects to forego going digital, you’ll almost certainly be missing out on easy chances to grow.
Reaching New Markets
In a digitized, globalized world, reaching new markets is something that is easier than ever before. Currently, there are more than 4.5billion internet users around the world. If your business has already saturated its current client base, then it might be time to expand into new markets.
“Expanding into new markets” can mean many different things .For some businesses, this might mean engaging in targeted digital marketing campaigns overseas, hoping to generate new revenues. For others, it could mean expanding the product line to appeal to a new demographic. Opening additional locations, developing new brands, and establishing a growing digital presence are all additional ways to grow your current pool of possible buyers. While it is likely that the product or service you offer isn’t something that everybody needs, it is also likely that there are many potentially interested buyers that are currently being overlooked. Addressing these overlooked markets will be one of the surest ways you can help your business grow.
Reallocating Resources
Where, when, and how your business chooses to use its finite resources will have a tremendous impact on its ability to grow. Being entirely invested in illiquid assets will make it difficult for your business to respond to new opportunities for growth as they inevitably come along. Leveraging these illiquid assets, such as using them as collateral for more fluid capital, can help you access the resources you need without affecting your operating capacity.
It will also be important to—honestly—recognize the role that every item on your balance sheet plays during the course of business. Many business owners will keep their resources allocated in assets generating revenues of $1,000 per day, even though these assets could be reallocated in away that would generate $2,000 per day. Accepting the status quo as the default is easy, but it isn’t always productive. Businesses that are able to remain competitive and achieve measurable growth are the ones that are willing to say yes to new opportunities—even if these opportunities require hard work or deviating from the original game plan.
Let's sum it up
The need for sustainable, profitable growth is what drives the world of business. If your business isn’t actively taking measures to grow, it’s falling behind its competition. With a business line of credit, dedication to digital expansion, and a willingness to restructure, your business can move closer to becoming the enterprise you know it deserves to be.
