We all know that businesses go through ups and downs. Anticipating these cyclical seasons and having a plan laid out, can give you a greater platform for growth, both in your business and in your personal attributes. If you would like to know how to grow your business, here are some simple tools that can position a business on to a flourishing path of ease:
1. What are your business numbers and what do they say?
Start by taking an honest look at your business and make a note of the current annual revenue and expenses. Gather the details of monthly revenue and monthly expenses of the business for the past 1-2 years. It’s crucial to know what the status of the business is so that future action can be planned with the real picture in front of you.
Did you know our award-winning planners and journals are designed in collaboration with industry experts? They feature mindset, productivity and leadership content to inspire and empower you.
The exercise of looking at your accounts and expenses is for you to be aware of where the business is currently. If your business has patterns of variations such as increased expenses in certain months of the year, be clear that additional planning may be necessary before these periods to fund these expenses.
During business expansion, costs may go up as more money is invested in the company. Allow the numbers to give you cues and clues on the actions you need to take.
Do note the recurrence of periodic surges in revenue. These are opportunities that one can benefit from, by putting better marketing strategies into place. For example, certain months have a surge in car sales due to higher discounts from car manufacturers. Stationery sales may rise during exam times and when schools reopen after vacation. Sale of certain products may be higher when people tend to gift those products.
2. Go beyond judgment when thinking about how to grow your business
When a business is not doing well, or when a business is run on “the hopes and dreams that it is doing well,” I often find people resisting step number 1 (listed above). There could be various emotions, ranging from fear of failure and shame, getting in the way of looking at the numbers with an honest assessment.
3. The power of asking the right questions
Asking questions is an exceptional tool that can be used to create greater possibilities for your business. When you ask questions in the right way, the energy of a situation can change dramatically. If you’re in despair, don’t start by asking, “Why is this happening?”. Instead ask, “What else is possible?”. This allows for newer and different ideas.
Regardless of how well something is going, practice asking “How does it get any better than this?”. Doing so invites any situation to get better, regardless of whether it was good or not before you asked! The basis of asking questions is to allow change to occur. Do not expect or visualise an outcome while asking questions. When we visualise, we restrict what can come up. Without visualising, something even greater can manifest.
Want to live a life that makes you excited? Our LH Planners use our Dream | Define | Do framework, based on proven mindset and productivity research, so we know it will help you achieve what you put your mind to!
5. Asking explicit questions to improve the business
If you have specific targets of increasing your income, you could ask, “What would it take for revenue to double with ease over the next six months?”. Adapt the questions to suit your situation, without going into conclusion about the answer. The idea here is to let more possibilities show up.
6. The intuitive advantage in understanding how to grow your business
Sometimes we are so focused on something that we miss what could intuitively lead us to create a more profitable business. Follow your intuition. If anything is too uphill, acknowledge there are alternate ways to create, that could be easier and more fun. What else is possible that you have not yet considered?
7. The Fun of Business and the Business of Fun!
We frequently get too serious and forget to include fun in our business. Business can then become ‘busy-ness’ with not much ease on a daily basis. Practice asking “What can I add to my life that can create fun in my business?”. When we conduct business with ease and joy, money follows with greater ease! Wealth creation then becomes a more natural by-product of creating a fun business!
About Deepa Ramaraj
Deepa Ramaraj is a computer science engineer and LifeTransformation Coach for individuals, CEOs and executives, guiding them in areas that require growth, such as leadership, profitability, personal finances, relationships and overall well-being. She is a facilitator for several specialty programs by Access Consciousness, including Being You. With an unconventional and effective method, Deepa facilitates effective workshops for corporations to boost sales, dissolve challenges, and transform the way business is done using tools to remove barriers and advance success. Follow Deepa.