Kimberly Reddington asked:
When we are growing a business, we can sometimes lose motivation or feel we the business is heading where we want it to go. Growing a business can be a slow process, but it should be a steady growth. Below are 10 important ways to determine if your business is growing in the right direction.
1. Your clients/customers are happy with your products or services, and they keep coming back for more.
If you have customers who purchase products or services from you and then never come back, there might be a reason why. Ask them! Did you solve their problem in a way that they understood? Did you answer the driving question or reason why they came to you in the first place?
2. New customers are buying your products and services.
It’s important to maintain your marketing efforts and have a continuous stream of new customers. Customers come and go. If you are always finding new ones, then you will remain successful, even as more seasoned customers move on.
3. You have an email list and that list is steadily growing.
Sometimes it seems like our list just isn’t growing fast enough. As long as your list is growing and not shrinking, then you are on the right path. Is there a new marketing method you could adopt to help bring your email list up a notch?
4. You are enjoying the time you are spending on your business.
This is the number one criteria. If you are enjoying your life and your business, then you are on the track to success.
5. You have a steady stream of visitors coming to your website.
If you have a website, it’s important to know that new people are finding your site. Not marketing your website is the same as opening a store at the end of a long dirt road that comes to a dead end. There is plenty of material on-line that discusses how to market your website to obtain new visitors.
6. You are able to charge the going rate compared to other products/services in your target field.
If you’ve done your research, then you know what your competitors are charging. Are you able to charge the same rate or price? If not, in what ways can you improve your image or quality of work to be more competitive? In what ways can you stand out?
7. When you are networking and telling people what you do, they understand what you are saying and oftentimes know someone who could benefit from your business.
When you tell people what you do, do they come back with questions and smiles, or do they just stare blankly at you like they don’t understand? It’s important to have a 30 second speech that explains what you do in words that anyone can understand. They shouldn’t need to be in your field of expertise to understand what you are saying you do.
8. You have a steady stream of income.
You should have a fairly steady stream of income. If it’s not, is there some product or package you could develop that would bring in some passive income? Is there a marketing tactic you could implement that will bring in a steadier stream of customer?
9. You are focusing on your mission and have a defined target market.
Do you have a core message that defines what you do? Do you have a defined market that you are targeting? Do all of your services and products fit with your core message and target market?
10. Your business is keeping you busy, yet it’s also not taking over your life.
Do you always have enough income? If not, what can you do to take your business to the next level? If you are too busy, is there a way you can package some services into products, so that you aren’t always reinventing the wheel? Are there some tasks that you can delegate to a virtual assistant? Are there some clients that aren’t paying well that you could just eliminate?
What areas does your business need work on? Did you score a ten?
If you are happy with all 10 of these areas, then you are on the success track! You may realize that there are some areas in your business that you could take to the next level to grow stronger.