Growth

The process of increasing and becoming larger or more important is known as growth. In the business sector, it is defined as the process of increasing the measure of a company's performance. A growth plan is a road map that an entrepreneur can use to steer and decrease risks as their business grows and expands. A growth plan, according to Shehan (2016), is a collection of strategies and detailed procedures to implement the plan in order to help reach corporate goals. The growth plan will be critical in supporting the entrepreneur in identifying more growth prospects and avoiding common hazards. Essentially, it is the game plan to reaching the enterprise's growth targets and an important tool in growing the business. It allows the entrepreneur to plan and track the growth of business revenue and increases efficiency in generating the revenues. A good growth plan enables an entrepreneur to differentiate him/herself and stand out from competitors.

Milestones and Implementation

Most entrepreneurs start small and stay there simply because they fail to identify important business milestones and flop in the implementation of their growth plan. The four basic milestones that are important in the implementation of a growth plan include establishing a business model, developing a market strategy, identifying the need for employees, and maintaining customer loyalty (Prilliman, 2016). When establishing a business model, an entrepreneur turns a good idea into a business by first identifying the need for a particular product(s) or service(s) and matching it with the expected outcome. They critically pay attention to the enterprise's product since it is the main thing that identifies their business with customers. Product development is an indispensable part of the implementation process that supports growth in sales and market share. It includes the improvement of existing products and introduction of new products into the market.

Marketing and Growth

Marketing is the lifeblood of all businesses. It involves creating awareness and communicating the value of a product to consumers. It is used to create, keep and satisfy a customer. A satisfied customer will always come back, and this leads to growth in sales in the short run and growth of the business in the long term. Smart marketing can actively bring in new customers by increasing the market share hence general business growth. When marketing, an entrepreneur should first determine the key demographics, develop strategies of marketing to the identified demographics, choose wisely the marketing medium to be used, and avoid marketing pitfalls that are results of either underspending or overspending.

Staffing and Financing for Growth

Starting off as a sole proprietor is great, however as the business grows, it will require an addition of staff. The entrepreneur should hire good people and trust them, and they will work while he/she spends time thinking about further growth and laying down strategies. The available forms of growth financing for small businesses are equity from the entrepreneur, retained earnings and external borrowing. The entrepreneur should consider whether they need external finance because borrowing will require the business to service the debt.

Business Operations Interconnectivity and Growth

Business growth is desired by every company, but few know how to sustain it. In today's business world, it is hard to achieve growth without digitally transforming your organization. This will see the organization expand faster, master swiftly new customer engagement and distribution channels, and enjoy more access to increased data intelligence leading to better products/services. Interconnection of business activities will lead to greater growth because it will bring together customers, partners, and employees across geographies through secure, virtual, physical and direct connections thus creating new opportunities and accelerating the business performance (El Sawy & Pavlou, 2008).

References

El Sawy, O. A., & Pavlou, P. A. (2008). IT-enabled business capabilities for turbulent environments.

Prilliman, A. (2016, October 03). 3 Milestones to Include in Your Small Business Marketing Plan. Retrieved March 27, 2017, from https://blog.fivestars.com/marketing-advice-small-business-owner/

Shehan, W. (2016) The 9 Steps Blueprint to Grow your Business.Sydney: Laurusmark.