By Susan Chive

Once you have achieved a certain level of success in your small business, the next step is to grow you’re the company. There are some key steps to take in order to get your business to the next level. Here are six tips for small business growth:

1. Create a brand

Having a recognisable brand is important to any business and to successfully expand you will need to make sure your brand is right. If the public can identify with your brand, your sales will improve. There are key points to consider when creating your brand. Firstly, you need to identify your target market and base your brand around this. Secondly, you should consider how you can inspire and influence the public with your brand. Next, consider how you can build an emotional connection between the public and your product. Finally, reinforce your brand throughout your organisation and make sure the way your employees behave is a good reflection of your brand.

2. Perfect your timing

The market is constantly changing as trends come in and out of fashion and people’s needs change. Launching your products and services at the right time can make all the difference between success and failure. Follow market trends and try to find the best time for product launches to optimise your chances of success. In some instances, this may require you to play a waiting game while you wait for the market to move in your favour.

3. Develop leaders

As your business grows, you won’t be able to manage everything yourself. You will need other leaders on your team of employees. Developing these leaders is important so that they can do their job well, motivate others and make a positive contribution to your business. Leadership development courses will teach them the skills they need to become good managers.

4. Scalable sales

To create a scalable business, you need repeatable sales. To achieve this you will need to create a repeatable and scalable sales model and this may take some experimentation on your part. When you have this model in place, it should help you to forecast sales, revenue and profit for your business.

5. Make good use of technology

There are many ways that the use of technology can benefit your business and help it to grow. It can help you reach a wider market, save you time, reduce costs and solve problems. Technology can also be used to help you market your company and improve the efficiency and productivity of your business. It is important to consider which forms of technology will best meet your needs and help you to grow your business.

6. Reduce your stress levels

As stressful as it is to grow your small business, your performance will suffer when you are stressed. This will impact on your success. To make sure you are functioning well and can give your business your all, it is important to reduce your levels of stress. To do this, make time for yourself to do the things you enjoy and make sure you get plenty of rest. Also, don’t be afraid to delegate tasks to other people to reduce your workload.

Taking a small business and then growing it requires hard work, focus and dedication. By using these tips, you should gradually see your business expanding and you will achieve a greater level of success.

Susan Chive is former Professional Editor of Business Owner Magazine, where she worked for over 6 years. As business owner, Susan savvy marketing mind helped develop custom publications, online content and other outsourcing article products for B-to-B marketers seeking to reach small-business owners. Along the way, she has learned a lot about everything from publishing, design, outsourcing and project management. @SusanChive.