Running a small business is no small feat. After all, you’re juggling every aspect of your business operations. In this blog, I’m outlining the top essentials that every small business owner should know, whether they’re getting ready to launch their business or have been knee-deep in operations for quite some time.
Here are six things that can help take some stress off your shoulders. You can jump to a section here:
- Be Very Specific (But Flexible) With Your Goals
- Build a Support Network for Your Small Business
- Know Your Unique Value Proposition
- Identify and Reach Your Target Audience
- Find and Define Your Competition
- Develop a Growth Strategy that Fits Your Small Business
1. Be Very Specific (But Flexible) With Your Goals
Did you know that, according to one study cited in Forbes, 20 percent of small businesses fail within their first year? Of the 80 percent remaining, only half survive their first five years. Those statistics can hit home for small businesses just starting out, especially with the current financial climate. That’s why it’s incredibly important to start your business on the right foot by being very specific and flexible with your company goals. For instance, one small business owner might say, “I want to offer my yard maintenance services to everyone nearby.” While this is a great place to start, small business owners will want to narrow their focus. Something like, “I want to show homeowners in a 50-mile radius of the Spokane area who don’t enjoy doing yardwork how my services can bring peace and harmony by simplifying and organizing their yards.” This second goal is much more refined and easier to attain.
Additionally, you’ll want to be sure that your goals are flexible. It can be very common for small business owners to shift their goals as their business grows. For example, a small business that offers spa services may succeed more with hot stone massages than with Swedish massages. Or they may find that their 90-minute therapies are more popular than their 60-minute services. By leaning into what customers are favoring and being flexible with business goals, small businesses can continue to grow and scale their companies.
2. Build a Support Network for Your Small Business
Building a small business is hard work! After all, you know how many hats you’re wearing and the many tasks you need to manage. From daily operations to marketing to payroll to human resources, you’re handling it all. So having a support network of peers to lean on for support and encouragement for your small business is vital. Support networks can include colleagues, complimentary businesses, family, friends, geographically-close complimentary small business owners, or a regional Chamber of Commerce. In a nutshell, anyone who can help you network with a group of people could be the support network you’ve been looking for.
So how exactly do you find and build your support network? There are a few different ways to approach this. First, you’ll want to check with your contacts. Word-of-mouth is the best way to network; After all, you never know who knows who and how you might be able to support one another’s small businesses. Next, you’ll want to search online or in your local newspaper. Take a look at the businesses in town that could complement what you’re offering and regional Chamber of Commerce groups. For Chamber of Commerce groups especially, memberships often include free paid advertising and exclusive networking events.
3. Know Your Unique Value Proposition
Your Unique Value Proposition, or UVP, is your overarching marketing strategy. It sets you apart from your competition and gives your ideal customers (more on this in number 4) a clear understanding of what your offer and how it can help solve their pain points. For example, Apple’s Unique Value Proposition is: “Every iPhone we’ve made – and we mean every single one – was built on the same belief. That a phone should be more than a collection of features. That above all, a phone should be absolutely simple, beautiful, and magical to use.” Apple defines what their customer is looking for and addresses that with what they’re communicating to its customers. After all, who’s intentionally looking for a phone that’s complex, confusing, and frustrating to use?
So how exactly do you know what your UVP is? The best way is to brainstorm. Open a new page of a lined notebook and jot down a few ideas. First, you’ll want to think about your customer’s pain points. You can add these as bullet points. Now, how does your offering solve that issue? Think through all the benefits of your small business offerings. Add those to your list. Next, you’ll want to think about why each of these benefits adds value to your ideal customer. After you’ve completed this step, you’ll want to look through your notes and start connecting some dots. How can what you offer solve what your customer is looking for? Once you have this information, you’re ready to write your Unique Value Proposition.
As a quick recap, you can find your Unique Value Proposition by:
- Think about your customer’s pain points
- How does your offering solve that issue?
- What benefits does your offering have?
- How can what you offer solve what your customer is looking for?
- Connect the dots and write your UVP
4. Identify and Reach Your Target Audience
I hear this all the time: “How do I find my people?” Learning how to identify and reach your target audience can make all the difference for a small business. First, it’s important to narrow your focus from “I want to sell to everyone” to “I want to sell to [this target audience], and here’s why.” Focusing on one type of customer in one geographic location with one set of interests increases your chances that when they are feeling a pain point and see how your offering will solve that pain point, they’ll be much more apt to jump on board.
Recently, I came across a LinkedIn post that summed this up brilliantly. The gist of their idea was:
- Create your audience’s persona
- Google their characteristics to find at least one such person
- Do some online research to know more about them. Alternatively, you can get creative here and write a one-pager about their personality and interests.
- Then craft your copy as if you’re writing only to them. Remember that from your perspective, you’re casting a wide net, but from their perspective, you’re only reaching out to them.
5. Find and Define Your Competition
While you’re focusing on your own small business, you’ll also want to remember to take a glance over at your competition. This helps keep your industry rates in check and also gives you a competitive edge for making sure that you stay ahead of your opponents.
Learn from your competition and lead the way for the best:
- Customer service
- Branding strategy
- Marketing
- Networking
- Collaboration
- Rates and package offerings
So now that you know why it’s worth paying attention to that man behind the curtain, you’re probably wondering how to find your competition. Likewise to searching for your network, you’ll want to use those same general strategies for searching online, in your local newspaper, and at your Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, you may want to ask your customers, search on your favorite social media network, or, especially for those in the hospitality industry, you may want to check with your city’s visitor center.
6. Develop a Growth Strategy that Fits Your Small Business
Not all growth strategies look alike. For one small business owner, their growth strategy may include hiring employees to take some burden off their shoulders and give themselves more opportunity to pursue specific clients or projects they’re highly vested. For another small business owner, they may find that they’re more content with growing their business through passive income, including monthly memberships, gated downloadable content, and exclusive webinars. A third small business owner may prefer taking a magnifying glass to their pricing structure and increasing rates and packages to keep up with inflation and market rates. And a fourth small business owner may prefer a mix of the above.
It’s important to look ahead to the next six to twelve months and plan for a growth strategy that works best for you. To find a growth strategy that works for you and your small business, break it down into manageable tasks you can actually achieve while running your business, and add it to your calendar along with reminders.
As a quick recap, a growth strategy can include:
- Hiring employees
- Adding passive income
- Increasing rates, and adjusting packages
Your actionable next steps to achieving your scaling goal:
- Pick a strategy that works best for you and your business in the next 6-12 months
- Break it down into manageable tasks you can achieve
- Add it to your calendar and set reminders.
