Strategies To Help Scale Your Micro Business

Are you wondering how to take your business to the next level? Growing a micro business requires strategic planning, efficient resource use, and focusing on critical areas that can drive sustainable growth.

You will always need to dedicate time to working ‘on the business,’ even if that time is outside your usual work hours. Working on the business involves planning and analysis. You should plan your strategic moves, assess your performance, and then go at it again, refining or tweaking your moves to achieve higher performance.

Much of what you need to do to grow is sales and marketing. However, you must also monitor risk and compliance, so let’s start here.

Risk and Compliance

Now that your micro business has a future, it’s time to review its legal structure. Ensure your business is registered correctly and operates in compliance with local laws and regulations. We have an article on this topic, as it is more essential today than ever due to evolving technologies, vulnerabilities, and threats to networks and systems.

Risk management requires planning to reduce the threats to the business. There are internal and external threats, and they can include:

• Economic downturns
• Supply chain disruptions
• Shifts in market demand
• Cyberattacks
• Skills shortages
• Liquidity issues

Insurance

If you haven’t done so already, consider the various business insurance products available and choose those that are right for your business as you take it to the next level.  For example, professional liability insurance, workers’ compensation, and today’s cyber liability insurance are worthwhile.

Growing your micro-business will require access to funds.

Accessing the Funds

It takes money to make money and to move to the next level. Expanding your business from a small-scale operation requires planning and capital when the time is right.

Several providers offer help with working capital optimization, and most know exactly what needs to be done to secure business funding. Therefore, surround yourself with experts in everything, especially financing.

You won’t know exactly when you’ll need funding assistance, but when you do, the application process can be quicker than if you approach a finance company that doesn’t know you or your business.

Do you use a traditional bank for another type of lender?  Other types of lenders include:

• Crowdfunding – platforms like Kickstarter and GoFundMe
• Angel investors
• Self-funding
• Microloans and Grants – microloans, or government grants aimed at supporting micro businesses

Getting Your Business Out There

Having a sustainable business requires customers. How do you get customers without some sort of advertising?

Technology has made getting advertisements in front of many eyes more accessible.

Social Media Marketing (SMM) includes adverts on networks like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok that reach hundreds (if not thousands) of viewers daily. Showcasing your business offerings to a vast audience allows you to gain customers.

Scale slowly

Focus on hiring staff when you need them. Hiring additional help (even part-time or freelance) can allow you to focus on core business activities as you grow. However, hiring before you need them may stretch the cash flow, so plan your staffing requirements around your sales and prospective workflow requirements.

To keep costs down, use third parties whenever possible. Consider outsourcing functions like accounting, marketing, or IT to professionals instead of doing everything in-house.

Increase inventory using just-in-time. As demand grows, ensure you have the resources to fulfill orders without delays but manage inventory carefully to avoid overstock. Your business will likely need a loan to fund the extra inventory requirements.

Leverage Customer Relationships

Expanding your business does include relying on your existing customer relationships to propel your business forward.

When you deliver excellent customer service, your customers will likely return and recommend your business to others.

However, not all experiences are favorable, so ensure you have an after-sales initiative to ask customers for feedback to improve your offerings and customer experience. This will make your customers feel valued and connected to your business’s success.

Reward your customers with a loyalty program that encourages them to purchase additional or higher-value products/services.

Summing Up

Taking your business to the next level is exciting but comes with challenges, from financing to managing cyber threats and other data-related vulnerabilities. Additionally, growth can only happen with more sales and customers.

The Strategies mentioned here can consistently be applied to position your micro-business for steady, sustainable growth. To remain competitive, focus on your strengths, listen to your customers, and adapt to changing market conditions.