Growing your Business

In business, you can’t stand still for too long. The aim of most businesses is to make profits, and expand - be it hiring staff, moving into larger premises, expanding into new countries, embracing new technologies or exporting products. If you don’t do any of these things, you’ll soon find your competitors are catching up and the market running away from you. But if you grow too fast you risk over-stretch. So what’s a business to do? Read our experts top growth tips for those starting out, three-year old businesses and companies trading after five years.

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Mike Pywell and Bill Hilton, authors of Working for Yourself offer some advice on how to grow a business.

If your business is new…

If you’re starting out, thinking about growing your business is probably way down your list. It’s more than likely you’re bogged down with finding finance and getting your head round tax issues. But for your business to flourish you need to get ready to grow from day one. Here’s how:

1. Plan for growth right from the start. It’s vital you have short, medium and long term targets. Have a clear vision of where you’re going to be in five years’ time.
2. Do your research right now. Although start-up can seem frantic, you actually have a fair amount of flexibility with your time compared to how things might be a couple of years down the line. Read up on employment law and business finance.
3. If you start doing well quickly, don’t let it go to your head. If the cash starts rolling in, don’t eye up the new Jag straight away. Of course, you need to pay yourself in your first few years, but only lash out big bucks if you’re investing in necessities or future growth.
4. Get some support. It’s a good idea to be a bit wary of your bank manager - listen to the advice by all means, but remember the bank’s number one job is to make money out of you. Try online forums such as the UKBF. Veteran forum posters can be great sources of help, and will give you advice on planning for growth right from the start.
5. Get the support of family and friends. If you’re going into a rapid period of growth, you’ll need them behind you. Be open with them, involve them if you can, and get them onside now!

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When you reach the three-year mark you can give yourself a pat on the back - you’re at a milestone that many don’t reach. From here, your chances of surviving in the long term start to get dramatically better. This is the time to review your strategy. Here’s how:

1. Delegate. If you don’t have the cash flow to take on staff right now, build a trusted network of subcontractors that can take on some of the work. Consider a virtual PA. Freeing yourself from the little jobs gives you time to focus on growing the business. Check out services like Moneypenny and contractor sites like Elance.
2. Growth needs finance. If you can’t raise enough capital yourself consider forming a relationship with an outside investor such as a business angel. Websites like Angels’ Den are great for finding this kind of help.
3. Don’t forget to market yourself. Many young businesses fail because the people in charge focus on operations rather than marketing. In other words, they give lots of attention to making widgets and not much to selling them. Market your goods using the most suitable medium for your business.
4. Make sure you stay in the public eye, at least as far as your target market is concerned. Growth opportunities often come along by chance, so the more people who know about your business, the better. Have a PR plan, and make the most of online social networking services like Twitter.

Watch out! The energy that has sustained you through five exciting years might be running out, and you might be getting restless. This isn’t unusual - the people who have a bit of entrepreneurial spirit about them often get bored easily. Here’s what you need to do to keep the momentum going and prosper:

1. If you’re happy in your work, the five-year mark is the point where you need to start thinking about serious growth – else you risk hitting a plateau. The chances are you’re already delegating some of your work to others, possibly contractors. Consider bringing the skills in-house and hire some staff. Employment can be a bit of a minefield, but there’s plenty of sound advice available.
2. Not sure what to do? Look outside your business for expertise. It’s not too late to take mentoring support. Alternatively, consider working with a business development team to inject some fresh life into your operation.
3. You might want to sell up, get out and grow a new business from the ground. Again, that’s not at all unusual. The type of fired-up people who are good at starting businesses aren’t always the best to manage the humdrum job of daily management. Even if you’re happy with the business for now, this is the time to be developing an exit plan.
4. Finally, you can’t grow your business if you’ve reduced yourself to wreck. It’s often difficult to grab a holiday in the first few years of being your own boss, but you won’t make and carry out plans effectively if you’re exhausted. Get away from it all for a week or two!

Want to find out more about running a successful business? Check out Entrepreneur of the Year 2009, Barbara Cox’s top business tips. Plus read about Emma Jones, founder and editor of Enterprise Nation.

Louise Birchmore become disillusioned with corporate life after 15 years working as a designer for high street retailers. So the 38-year-old Brighton-based designer is founder of Believe You Can selling Fair Trade fashion and home accessories for children.

"I wanted to use my creativity rather than being told what to do and I’d spotted a gap in the market for fair-trade children’s gifts. There were plenty of children’s gifts and plenty of fair-trade gifts around, but not the two together," she says.

Louise is passionate about fair-trade and her collections are designed by her and handmade by Fair Trade producers in India. "I’ve visited India five times since starting up. I love that 40% of the producers’ profits go to support local community welfare projects. " Louise sells her collection in 250 shops, via her website and at trade fairs. She plans to expand by developing a range of organic cotton children’s clothes and moving into the European market.

5 things I learnt that I didn’t know before

1. It’s very hard work.
2. Have to be good at multi-tasking.
3. I only get to spend 5% of my time on my passion: designing.
4. The costs involved. I have to buy up a lot of stock to be able to sell it on.
5. Companies do go bankrupt and you lose stock and money.

5 things I wish I had known

1. So stressful not having a regular income.
2. That I would have to work seven days a week for the first two years.
3. That I would have no social life when I was starting out.
4. More about importing from overseas.
5. Costs involved such as shipping and duty on imported goods.

5 things that're great about being self-employed

1. Can fit round new baby!
2. Being able to work from home.
3. It’s so rewarding.It’s lovely to know people like my designs from the repeat orders.
4. The potential’s there to earn more.
5. That I’m able to give something back to the people who work so hard for me.

"The education sector is a real growth area for my business during this recession."

Former IT sales manager Adam Norton didn’t have the best start to his ICT solutions business in July 2005. When he set up Manchester-based Dataspire with two former business colleagues, he was diagnosed with cancer and his wife found out she was pregnant: "It was a fraught time," says Adam.

On the plus side, the 30-year-old from Yorkshire didn’t have to finance or market research his business idea. "Myself and my business partners already had the expertise having worked in ICT for years. Existing customers from our former employer also wanted our services. Contractually, we had to hand over some money to our old employer for this but in the long term this was worth the money."

Adam’s business covers the education, government and corporate sectors. He says the recession hasn’t had too much of an impact on business. "We’re currently implementing our IT solutions in 26 schools in Guernsey." Dataspire now employs 23 staff and has plans to develop its own software.

5 things I learnt that I didn’t know before

1. Cash-flow management.
2. You have to know every single aspect of running a company well.
3. Basic business and employment law.
4. You must have a clear business plan.
5. It’s incredibly rewarding - I don’t know why I didn’t do it sooner.

5 things I wish I had known

1. How much work would be involved.
2. How difficult it is to take time out.
3. How difficult it can be to manage a workforce.
4. How hard it is to delegate.
5. The value of clear training programmes for staff, rather than just throwing them in at the deep end.

5 things that’re great about being self-employed

1. Being your own boss.
2. Learning new skills.
3. Rewards of seeing the business grow.
4. Enjoying each working day.
5. Creating jobs for others.

Visit www.staplesforbusiness.co.uk to see how our products and services can help to make the lives of businesses easier. Plus enter our competition to win business essentials to kit out your office.