7 TIPS TO GROW WITH NO INVESTMENT

You need to grow your business to make more money BUT you don’t have money to invest in growth.

It’s the chicken and egg scenario every business owner dreads.

It can feel like there’s a noose tightening around your neck, suffocating all that focus and confidence you used to have and leaving no room for your visions of success.

It may feel pretty bleak, but there ARE things you CAN do to grow your business efficiently WITHOUT investing heaps of cash you just don’t have.

The answer is to keep it lean and market wisely, and here are my top seven tips and techniques for doing just that!

KEEP IT LEAN

A lean business relies on very few resources and keeps overheads to an absolute minimum.

Question and research every purchase to make sure (a) it’s necessary and (b) you are getting the best quality at the best price.

Review all monthly outgoings and assess the return on investment they deliver.

Analyse the contracts you are on, such as phone and utilities to see if you are on the best rates and getting the best deals.

Eliminate waste in all it’s forms – wastes of your time, money, and all material resources. If you waste less and make better use of what you have you’ll be saving those pennies.

KEEP IT TIGHT

Get a very firm grip on all of your incomings and outgoings. Always print your bank statements and go through them every month.

Are there any small direct debits slipping through for things you no longer use? Are you being charged for overdraft facilities you don’t use? Are late payment penalties wracking up?

The more you are aware of how much you are spending the better.

Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves.

KEEP IT FOCUSSED

Spend time working on your messaging, offering, and brand; and putting systems, strategies and process in place – and then stick to them.

Don’t waste time on bright-shiny-object syndrome where you flit from strategy to strategy or constantly tweaking your offering.

Get it right first time and focus solely on marketing what you have for at least three months, then measure results and analyse performance.

Build review points into your business plan so you aren’t distracted from your mission – solid and steady business growth.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Getting to know your ideal client as well as you know yourself will save a huge amount of wasted time and effort and will attract high-value clients directly to you.

All of your marketing activities will become easier when you know your niche and talk directly to them.

When you understand their pain points, you can focus all of your efforts on solving them – this will draw them to you and prime them for purchase.

DELIVER VALUE CONTENT

Create content that is focused on educating and helping your audience rather than talking about yourself. When done right, you won’t need to talk about yourself as your customers will be doing that for you (aka customer advocacy).

Either way, by sharing helpful information you’re showcasing your value throughout the customer journey and it’s more likely to lead to an authentic – and unprompted – purchasing decision.

KEEP IN TOUCH

Keep in touch with your audience regularly (but please don’t be an email earworm!!).

Give them real value content and remember – they need what you are offering, so keeping them in the loop is good for both of you.

Engage with your audience on social media. If necessary, reduce the time you spend sharing content and increase the time you spend on engagement.

Engagement will yield a higher return than sharing loads of content no-one is reading.

LEVERAGE EVERYTHING

Leverage existing customers by asking for testimonials and recommendations.

Never leave money on the table – always follow through with dropped baskets and have an up- and down-sell ready for use in all circumstances.

Ask your wider networks for referrals and to share your content.

There you have it – some cost and time effective ways to grow your business with no additional investment.

I really hope you have found this useful. If you did you may also enjoy reading When Will I Feel Like A ‘Real’ Business Owner in which I also share some techniques and strategies for business success.