Generating Momentum For Your Business

As the world starts to wake from the enforced stagnation resulting from the pandemic, business owners are facing the challenge of how to kickstart or generate momentum for their business. The pandemic has been a great leveller for businesses large and small, in this blog my focus is on smaller businesses who don’t have the luxury of the resources enjoyed by larger organisations.

So, what exactly is momentum, what does it mean? Depending where you look, you’ll find slightly different definitions. If you study(studied) Physics, you’ll be familiar with something along the lines of “the quantity of motion of a moving body, measured as a product of its mass and velocity”.?

From a business perspective, momentum is the impetus that drives a company’s growth. Momentum in business is built when you accumulate a series of successes, one following another in quick succession without stopping.?

As the co-owner of a small business, I’ve started to spend time researching momentum, what’s needed to create it and maintain it. What follows are some of my initial observations on what I’ve learned so far.

Do you truly understand what it is that your company does best?

Have you spent some time reflecting on what makes your company stand out from the crowd, what makes you unique? It’s only when you truly understand this that you can start to sharpen your marketing messages, ensuring potential customers understand why they should buy from you. If not, it’s time to find your Market Dominating Position (MDP).

Share your message

Once you’ve established your MDP, it’s time to make sure that your team fully understands what it is and why it’s so important. Ideally you should include them in the discussion, especially those who interact with customers, as you refine and agree on what it is that makes your business unique. This will help you be more focused in what you say to prospective customers and to ensure that it is consistent across all their interactions with your company.

Make a plan

Understanding what makes you different is a great starting point and this shared vision will help ensure your team’s view is consistent with yours as the business leader, but this is only the starting point. You need a plan, as a small business owner with limited resources this doesn’t have to be detailed to the nth degree but it is vital in helping you stay on track and to generate positive momentum. Ideally it should cover:

• A sales target
• A profit target
• A marketing plan
• A people plan

Having this plan will help you when you refer back to it and are clear about what needs to be achieved throughout the course of the year.

Set objectives

To keep the team focused on what you have to achieve, it’s important that you set objectives for your team, ideally objectives which are measurable where possible. Through setting objectives, you can ensure that elements of your plan are implemented effectively.

Be consistent in what you and your team do

Daily habits help to sustain momentum, keep on top of what needs to be achieved on a daily basis. Avoid micromanaging but consider starting the day with a short team meeting, simply to allow your team to explain what they’re working on and where they may need your support.?

Motivate and Inspire

It’s your role as business owner or leader to keep people motivated and inspired, reminding them what you are collectively working towards and what success will mean for everyone. Be sure and celebrate success no matter how small it may seem.?

Be open to support

As the owner of a small business you can’t do it all, that’s why it is so important to build a motivated team around you. Creating a team that helps you manage your business will not only make your life easier, it will improve your customer experience and help generate loyalty. There will however, be occasions when you need outside expertise, consider working with a business coach to help you as you grow your business.

One of the biggest challenges for small business owners is taking time to work on your business as opposed to in your business. This is so important if you are to create or sustain momentum. Hopefully these basic observations will give you some food for thought, I'd welcome any of your comments about what you think it takes to generate momentum.