Are You REALLY Actually Serious About Your Business Growth?... Or Are You All Talk?

A lot of people say that they want to start a business, but for the majority of them, they never get past the ‘dreaming’ stage. WHY?

A lot of people also say they want to grow their businesses so that they can create financial freedom and get back time to do more of the things they love and to spend more time with the people they love. Yet so many business owners continue to struggle along, year-in, year-out, just making ends meet and just getting by, working 24/7 and having no time to switch off. WHY?

There are some key things that a lot of these ‘stuck’ business owners are doing (or rather, not doing) and I want to challenge you to consider whether or not you are doing these things in your business… whether or not you are taking your business growth seriously, or whether you’re just sitting tight and playing small.

Pay Attention…

Know what’s happening in your industry - For example, 2 years ago, online tutoring in Australia was not something that many parents were happy to do. They wanted face-to-face sessions instead. Due to the online schooling and the convenience that online tutoring provides, a LOT more parents are now open to the idea and some tutors are running purely online tutoring businesses. If you haven't been paying attention, and are still stuck with ‘Parents don’t want online tutoring so I must rent a physical space and do face-to-face’ then you are potentially costing yourself! This could be another service that you (very easily) now could offer!

Know Your Numbers - You need to know and understand your numbers, and if this is something that scares you, then book in time to meet with your accountant or bookkeeper and go through your figures! See what IS working in your business and what is NOT working. See where you are spending/wasting money. If you are in business, you have to learn how to interpret your numbers.

Know Your Marketing - You need to know how much you are spending on marketing. You need to know which form of marketing is working and which isn’t. You should be constantly collecting this information and data and regularly analysing it. If you aren’t doing this, I ask you, how do you actually know what is working?

If you aren’t willing to pay attention to your business, it will slowly die off.

You also need to be committed…

Invest in training - If you are learning how to better understand something in your business, then commit! For example, if you want to know how to analyse your business finances, invest in someone to help you (e.g. your bookkeeper or accountant) who knows what they are doing and can teach you so that you CAN pay attention, analyse and grow your business!

Do the work - If you have decided that you want to take your business seriously and you have invested in an expert in the area that you need help with… do the work! Follow through and implement what you have learned. Don’t waste the valuable skills you’ve learned and the information you have been given. You now have no excuse - put it into practice.

Hold yourself accountable - Whether it’s to yourself, a team member, a partner or a coach… find someone who can help to hold you accountable and check in on you to keep you going. It’s all too easy to just cruise along and let certain things slip off the radar, especially when you don’t have anyone to report to.

Ask for support - Business can be super lonely and very difficult at times. If you don’t have a support group or person who understands your situation and can relate to what you are going through… get at least one! It could be a peer group, mentor, coach or business friend… I would suggest trying to surround yourself with people who DO support you, and lean on them for different aspects of your business and life.

There are so many reasons why a business may fail, but I do truly believe that if you pay attention and commit to your business, you are setting yourself up for success!

Kirsty Gibbs