It’s the last day of April, but we still have time to squeeze in this month’s issue of good small business reads. All the recommended readings this time give advice on how you can grow your small business, taking it to new heights of success.

First up is “Three Ways to Find an Edge in a Crowded Market,” from Entrepreneur magazine. Whether you’re thinking of opening a business and are hesitating because of the heavy competition or you’re already operating in a crowded market, this article gives great advice on how you can make your business stand out in a crowded field.

The SBA, always a good source of information, has a section dedicated to articles related to growing your business. These include pieces on forecasting for growth, financing growth and how to use technology to stay competitive, among others.

Next up is an article from Fast Company entitled “5 Essential Principles for Growing Your Small Business,” by Faisal Hogue, a successful entrepreneur and author. One of the principles the author discusses is “Scale your sales.” This is an area that troubles many small businesses; they either grow too fast and can’t keep pace with customer demand (and lose customers as a result) or they hesitate to do what’s necessary to scale and miss their chance for growth. Hogue’s advice on how to build a repeatable sales model that allows you to scale is important.

Finally, for some inspiration we all can use I direct you toward “10 Things Extraordinary People Say Every Day,” by Jeff Haden, writing for Inc. magazine. This piece is not strictly related to business, but I think a leader who says these things regularly to his/her employees is probably going to build a great culture that will lead to growth and  success.

Happy reading!