This was the year! The year you wanted to grow your business. However, you’re just not seeing the results. You started the year out strong with high hopes but quickly got busy in the day to day activities. Being busy turns into exhaustion and before you know it you’re burned out. Then the last thing you want to do is think about growing a business you’re burned out in. Unfortunately, this is pretty common for business owners. Several (aka: a million) things went wrong in the business growth.
Here’s the top 3 reasons I see for a business not growing:
- No Clear Plan. When growing a business you should have a clear, concise, and communicated plan in place. And not just an annual plan. You need a plan that is broken down into quarters, then into months, and then into days. Yes, I said DAYS! You and your team should know what needs to be done each day to move you one step closer to the target.
- Competing on Price. Unless you happen to be Wal-Mart, you should NOT be competing on price. Wanna know why? Because Wal-Mart will win on price every time. EVERY TIME. Competing on price is a race to the bottom. If you offer a low price this week, next week the guy down the street will go lower, then the following week you’ll go lower, and so on. Before you know it you’ll be wondering why you’re not making a profit.
- Shiny Object Syndrome. So you did happen to have a written plan for growing then… SQUIRREL! Letting yourself get distracted by the latest and greatest will stall growth. I know new technology is fun or a new business opportunity sounds terrific, but if you constantly get derailed and can’t stick to a plan already in place, you won’t be able to grow your business. Strategy is about what you need to say NO to.
So do any of the above reasons sound familiar? If so, don’t beat yourself up over it. Recognize the issues, make a plan, and move forward. Make today the day you start growing!