3 Tips for Business Growth For all of you...

3 Tips for Business Growth

For all of you entrepreneurs out there who are swamped with the day-to-day operations of your business – and we know that is almost all of you – we are passing on 3 big lessons

from Strategic Steps for Growth, a nine-month executive business management education designed for minority and women-owned businesses offered in partnership between NYC Business Solutions and the NYU Stern School of Business’ Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation.

1) Always look for the bigger picture. It’s very easy to get caught up in the details of the business and lose sight of the big picture. But, stepping outside of your business model and hearing how other entrepreneurs have tackled specific challenges and avoided financial pitfalls, can help you solve some of your toughest problems.

Cheng Ong, a recent graduate of Strategic Steps for Growth and the head of Tydas, Inc., a Manhattan-based consulting firm specializing in IT services gave an example: “I have finally figured out how to calculate COSS (cost of services sold) for my business after struggling with it for two years by seeing how other firms work it out. This allowed me to figure out my profitability, reassess my pricing strategy, and perform budgeting and planning”.

2) Neglect marketing and business development at your own risk. Small business owners can get mired in the day-to-day transactions of the business and forget all about developing the business. A costly mistake is to neglect creating a strategy to attract new business or even just retain customers. Included in that strategy should be a marketing plan and budget. (See related post on Top 6 Marketing Tips for 2012.)

3) Sometimes growth means change. The true benefit of spending some time on your business and thinking strategically is realizing that for your company to grow, you might have to change either a facet of your business model, or maybe even your entire business model.

“That’s not a bad thing,” adds Cheng. “To look at your business in a whole new light and to get excited about it again – that’s worth the time commitment. For example, one of my classmates realized that they would have to restructure their entire employee base. Another launched a new website after going through the marketing module. And I have decided to create a second business to capture an emerging technology market”.

It’s hard for small business owners to find time for anything – but making an investment of time to think strategically about your business can have a huge return.

If you are interested in enrolling in Strategic Steps for Growth, visit our website.

Anne Rascon is the Deputy Commissioner of the Division of Economic and Financial Opportunity at the NYC Department of Small Business Services. In this role, she oversees the Selling to Government and Certification services of NYC Business Solutions.

If you have a question or comment for Anne, please drop her a note below. And, don’t forget to share her column on Twitter and Facebook.