Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

By Amy Sloane

Even though lots of people are extremely attracted to the idea of entrepreneurship, there are many who don’t truly understand the magnitude of what it takes to grow a small business, make a profit and remain sustainable. If you’re in the position where entrepreneurship is more than a buzzword for you, consider some of the most practical action items you’ll need to implement in order to grow your business.

–Develop a diverse marketing plan

Don’t just focus on one strategy for marketing. Instead, develop one or two strategies in the beginning. If marketing isn’t your strong suit, it’s okay to outsource a portion of the whole process to a marketing professional. Once you’ve defined your target customer, consider where they hang out the most. This includes online and offline hangouts. If your product caters to moms with middle-schoolers, partner with the local middle schools for partnerships and sponsorships. Furthermore, consider where middle-school moms hang out online. If they tend to spend a ton of time on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest, create a strong presence. Use social media ads to your benefit.

–Develop a tribe

Maintain an email list, and regularly add people to that list by offering opt-in incentives, giveaways, and discounts. When people are on your email list, send a valuable newsletter along with other fun messages to encourage them to stay plugged in to what’s going on with you.

Maintain a strong online presence by using various social media platform strategies well. If you’re going to use Instagram as a viable method of connecting with your base, do your best to remain current, innovative, and entertaining. This doesn’t mean you need to become a comedian if you’re not one. However, this does involve using the latest tricks to enhance your page. If you’re on Instagram, take advantage of Reels and IG stories to remain at the top of mind. As you build a strong tribe, you’re simultaneously building your repeat customer base.

–Maintain a smooth transaction process

If people visit your website and struggle to get from one page to the next without an issue with the site, they’ll move on to another company. Make your company’s website easy to maneuver and understand. Invest in making sure you have excellent merchant services that can handle all of the transactions. You never want to put yourself or your employees in a negative space due to the technical mismanagement of funds.

–Offer value

Instead of focusing on what you like and what you want, focus on your customer and how you can provide value to them. You might love your heritage and books. However, if you write a curriculum for your heritage, there’s no telling if people will want to purchase the curriculum unless they’re in your immediate circle of family members and friends. If you’re going to provide a product or service to the marketplace, make sure you offer value.

–Cultivate new relationships

When you’re building a small business, recognize the importance of relationships. If you want to go fast, you can go alone. If you want to go far, find a team of people to help you. This also means you’ll need to put a plan in place that allows you to hire someone as soon as you can. They don’t even need to be a full-time employee. You might just have a virtual assistant who helps you with administrative tasks each day. However, when you take tasks off of your hands, you’re working on making sure the company remains sustainable even if you’re not in the room.

When you’re ready to go sourcing for new inventory or get new contracts, utilize the power of your relationships in order to have a leg up on the competition. This means maintaining a positive reputation, treating people well, and being a pleasure to work with. When people respect what you bring to the table, it’s a lot easier to draw from those relationships when you need to. Just be sure not to take advantage of any relationship.

Studies show that most small businesses don’t last longer than five years. This is a tough statistic to get past. However, if you remain focused on your goals, implement these strategies, and pay attention to the marketplace, you’ll be able to successfully grow your small business. Always remember to deliver what your clients actually want. Get clear on who you’re providing a product or service for. Then, go after that target customer. With defined goals, a target customer, and a resilient attitude, you’ll increase your chances of developing a small business that thrives in the years to come.

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Amy Sloane is an alum from Oregon State University and spends her free time as a freelance writer and knitting enthusiast. Amy loves reading, cooking, and spending time with her dog, Molly.