How to Grow a Small Business

Many startups fail by not planning their second stage growth. To help startups thrive and grow in their second stage, we've designed the May 17th seminar above. It you are not in the FL west Gulf Coast area, it will be recorded and available afterwards on the Current in Entrepreneurship blog https://clintoneday.com and ERI site https://opportunityeri.com/resources.

There are two excellent methods to uses a guide to grow a small business larger. First, the BMC, business model canvas, can serve as a guide by working to expand each of its nine component sections of the business. Of primary importance is the product-market fit or the relationship between the value proposition and the customer segment (product or service related to the end-user market).

The SCORE chapter in San Luis Obispo created "BMC Plus", the use of a separate task sheet ranked in order of priority and listing a deadline for each task. By working specific growth projects for the block of the canvas, expansion can become an ongoing process. Each new venture experiences new demand such as a new market not planned or a new partnership that increases revenue. They should be fast listed, given a priority in the overall scheme of operations, and assigned a realistic deadline. The team then works the task list each week, and reassigned priorities according to changing needs and circumstances.

The other method comes from Don Miller's (bestselling author of Business Made Simple and Building a Story Brand) new book, How to Grow a Small Business. In the book Miller uses the "Airplane Model" using the engines to represent revenue, one marketing and the other sales, the cockpit leadership, the wings as product, and the body of the plane as overhead and operations. All has to balance for the growth to be successful. The process has a guiding principle framework consisting of a mission statement, key characteristics for each team member, critical actions for each day and another worksheet for guiding it all.

Another option is to employ both methods together, possibly using the Airplane Model for overall planning, and the BMC Plus task worksheet for individual projects. Regardless, the expansion must always be underway for as a Coach Lou Holtz said, "in this world you are either growing or dying so get in motion and grow".

Please attend the seminar in person if you are in central Florida or suspense watching the after-the-event recording one one of the two website above.