Business growth results from a number of strategies.

• Internal or organic growth - Where capital is generated via profits and reinvested in your business for further growth.
• Acquisitions or Mergers - Where your business acquires or merges with another, the resultant synergies increase the  profits, lower the costs and add to the human/intellectual capital of the business.
• Capital Raising - Where your business goes to the public or investment community and seeks equity investment in your business venture.

There are many other alternative strategies within these broad groups that are available to SMB's

All too often I see businesses struggling week-in-week-out eeking out an existence, when there is unqualified support for their products and services that outsiders would willingly invest into.

The challenge for many owners seeking to create a bigger future in conjunction with others, is that they are now accountable to those others. Being accountable to yourself isn't really being accountable, because all sorts of excuses are acceptable and there is little consequence for inaction.

The directedfocus approach to strategic growth for businesses seeking to invest with others is a three step process.

Getting your house in order

• Where are you now? - A business GPS helps assist with this
• Where do you want to go? - A visioning question which invariably stumps people
• How are you going to get there? - The all important plan.

Getting your message clear

• Why are you in business?
• Who are your customers/clients?
• What value does your business offer them?

Building your relationships

• Shareholders/Investors
• Clients/Customers
• Possibilities/Prospects

These steps aren't consecutive, and you may have them partially or fully completed, either way they need to be ticked off the list.

Before you begin you need to have a strategy, a plan, a pathway to move forward.
But you don't need to stop your day to day work to do that.
Find out how?

If growing your business strategically, is on your "to do" list, then contact me here and I'll provide you with a link to the GPS questionnaire (outlined here) and you can take the first step.

Andrew Young