Every business owner wants their business to get off to a flying start. But this desire to grow can get you in trouble if you’re not careful. That old adage “it takes money to make money” is just as true today as ever, which is why the fastest growing businesses out there usually have a roster of wealthy investors behind them throwing fuel into the growth fire.
But it doesn’t really need to be that way. You may need to spend some money to grow your business, but this does not mean you need to spend a lot of money to do so, especially if you follow the principles outlines below.
It Doesn’t Need to Happen All at Once
Setting aside a big budget for growth is usually done by companies that want to grow fast. These budgets go towards expensive marketing campaigns that put the company’s messaging and images in front of lots of different people. This usually includes television advertisements, media placements, referral programs and so on.
And while these things work, always remember that more revenue means more expenses. And because these firms have investors willing to spend money to help them keep up with growth, this type of approach works. But it does not need to be this way. In fact, for most businesses, gradual growth is going to be a much better path to take.
Growing slowly not only allows you to absorb the increased overhead that comes with expanded volume, but it also gives you chance to more intimately know your customers, which you can use to develop a brand that resonates with people and that will help keep you in business for many, many years to come.
You Can Get Cheap Help
Another expense to consider when you grow is labor costs. Expanding your business usually requires you to hire more people, and recruiting, hiring and retaining employees can be incredibly expensive. But once again, it does not need to be that way. There are alternatives that will allow you to increase the amount of help you have without having to invest hundreds of thousands, or millions, in acquiring a workforce.
The first thing you can do is hire independent contractors. They tend to be cheaper than full-time employees, largely because you don’t need to worry about offering them benefits, but also because you only pay them for the work they perform. And if you are able to hire remote workers, then you may be able to find people located in other countries where the cost of living is lower, meaning you can get similar work for much less.
Another thing to do is to outsource and automate. Paying an outside firm to take over some of your operation, such as customer service, will allow you to scale your business without having to incur proportionally increasing expenses. They may bump you up to a new plan, but this pales in comparison to how much you might have to pay to expand your customer service operation to meet your business’ growing needs. And automation can do the same thing. Using computers to help you do things such as payroll and accounting will reduce your need for human capital, keeping labor costs down and making it less expensive to grow.
Word of Mouth is Still Rules the Day
Another reason why growing your business doesn’t need to be expensive is that the fundamental principle that makes all marketing work—word of mouth—can still be achieved for free. The only difference between companies that spend a bunch and those that don’t is that those with big budgets are able to shout more loudly and draw more eyes. Of course, there’s a bit more too it, but the principle of what they are doing and what you do is really the same: you’re trying to get the right messages in front of the right people.
So if you have the patience to see how things play out, then you don’t need to spend a fortune. For example, you can:
- Focus on creating viral content. Think about what your audience likes and will click on, and then dedicate your time and energy to creating it. Make sure it’s visual and highly-shareable, and eventually something will go viral. It’s just a matter of time.
- Team up with influencers. Piggybacking off of other people who have built a strong following is a great way to win people over. You can focus on micro-influencers, those who only have a few thousand followers, and use this to get followers of your own. And this can usually be done in exchange for not much more than some free stuff, a link back to their site, or in some cases a small fee.
Again, this is what the big budget companies are doing, but they are just trying to do it more quickly and on a larger scale. You can easily do the same thing, but it will just take you a bit longer. But what’s that saying? Good things come to those who wait.
Start Growing Now
However, if you’re going to take the slow, less expensive route, then you’d better get started. The goal is still to grow, so start developing and implementing a strategy that will get you to where you want to be. Then, after a while, if you feel like upping your budget, you can do so confident that your investment will produce returns and contribute to even more company growth.
About the Author: Kevin is the founder and CEO of two different companies. A lead generation service, and also Broadband Search, which is a service dedicated to helping people find the best value internet in their area. He started both companies with small budgets, and he believes this is the best way to grow, especially for businesses still testing out their markets.
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