5 Ways To Jumpstart Your Small Business

We live in an entrepreneurial society where women launch approximately 1,200 businesses a day in the U.S. Many of these businesses, fueled with beginners’ energy, enjoy upward momentum and growth to a certain point and then growth begins to stall. If you are among this group, fear not because I’ve helped more than 50 small businesses successfully regain their momentum and scale up. By incorporating these five tips into your small business strategy, you take your business not just up to the next step, but up a whole flight.

1. Focus on sharing your value instead of instant gratification.

Connecting with small business partners, investors, and even customers, is really done by demonstrating the value of your expertise and your network. As you share your knowledge with others, they can experience the benefits of being connected to you. If they like working with you, they will more likely refer you business, connect you with the right people, and give you warm introductions when necessary. Share your value with others by being a panelist at events. Open your schedule for an entrepreneur who needs advice, knowing that if the innovation ecosystem is stronger, you and your small business will be stronger and more successful. Just exchanging business cards won’t get you the results you truly need to scale your business.

2. Build bridges of collaboration before you need the money or the talent.

Many small businesses rely on connections they already have from their existing network of wonderful business connections. But, you should also begin to expand your network by developing new collaborations and strategic alliances. Take time for small business development, which can be fun if you enjoy connecting with other like-minded individuals and groups. Once you have cultivated relationships, it will make your job much easier when it’s time to ask something from them – be it money, a favor, or talent. For example, if there is a conference or event you would like to organize, identify some strategic alliances and ask them to co-sponsor the event. This allows you to create a stronger bond with businesses you might need to work with in the future because you are working together on a single goal. Another tip is to invite your target market to the event and have them enjoy the benefits of your expertise before you have them pay for it. Give cold contacts time to warm up to you. It’s much easier working with warm contacts.

3. Stay softly in front of your target market.

Remind your target market that you have the perfect solution to their pain point. Staying softly in front of this group of people is key to growing your business. How do you do this? We call it the “bookend theory”. When you reach out to your target market, it’s usually a personal approach, enticing them to buy your product or engage in your services. Then, to keep them interested and liking your offerings, stay softly in front of them by sharing articles and wisdom on social media, engaging through e-blasts and newsletters. Make sure you attend events that your target market enjoys and be present at locations they frequent. Does this mean you will be selling to them constantly? No. You will become the thought leader in your industry and/or area of expertise and they will seek you out for the next product or service you create.

4. Value customer retention over customer acquisition.

Customer retention is more important and actually easier to achieve than customer acquisition. Many entrepreneurs think customer acquisition will allow for them to grow in leaps and bounds. This is true to a certain extent, but customer retention is much more important and here’s why. Customers who have bought something from you, if taken care of, will talk favorably about the product or service to their social spheres in a way that is more genuine and robust than you could do on your own. Turn “early adopters” into “brand advocates” that will excitedly share your brand with the larger customer segment. This is the key that will allow for scalability of your businesses.

5. Now that you’re ready to scale up, think 10x!

If you believe you have already exhausted your possibilities, it’s time to break through that barrier. If you think you are making enough money on the product lines or services you are providing to your target market, what would it take to increase that revenue tenfold? One QVC appearance? Project your 10x revenue jump, then go after it! If you think you’re reaching out to as many customers as possible, multiply the reach by 10 and that’s your new goal. If you think you have enough strategic alliances to help you reach out to more customers, multiple the outreach by 10x. Now you’re truly scaling up your small business.

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As founder of business accelerator HERA-Labs, Dr. Mah’s primary focus is on empowering, nurturing, and sustaining women-owned businesses in San Diego and nationwide, investing in socially relevant new ventures that will allow the next generation of women entrepreneurs to grow, and accelerating university discoveries through the commercialization pipeline. Prior to her current endeavors, Mah was Director of the Teams in Engineering Service program at the Jacobs School of Engineering, UCSD, and an instructor to over 200 students on social entrepreneurship, project management, and leadership. Mah holds a Ph.D. in Marine Molecular Biology from UCSD Scripps Institution of Oceanography and an M.B.A. from UCSD Rady School of Management with an emphasis on business strategy and marketing. A Carmel Valley resident, she is originally from Caracas, Venezuela, is an advocate for special needs children focusing on ability with modifications, enjoys traveling with her husband, and delights in beach days with her three children.

About Hera Labs:

Helping entrepreneurs rapidly accelerate (HERA) through our women-focused business accelerator Hera Labs, we have taught more than 20 workshops, educated more than 300 female entrepreneurs, helped more than 50 startups form, taken more than 50 businesses to the “next level”, and helped create 45 new jobs. For more information, visit hera-labs.com.