As they are trying to grow their small businesses, many entrepreneurs find that they don’t have the time or the money they need to really do the job right. And that’s ok.
You need to remember to temper your expectations. So many entrepreneurs get paralyzed when brainstorming growth strategies because there are so many things that they believe they can't do rather than can do. And a lot of the business advice or blog posts you read are sensationalist and too out of reach. This can be frustrating for someone who wants to grow their business but is busy or in their own way.
Start by defining growth in bite sized chunks.
Ask yourself: How many prospects do I speak with monthly? Try to increase that number by 2-3 each month. Speak to more people who are in your target market. Don’t feel pressured to close more deals, that’s a completely different goal. For now, just explore ways to talk to more strangers who are potential customers. Spark momentum to get some easy wins.
Running a small business is a challenge, but these small increments of bonus work will help you grow. By putting an achievable goal in place, you will see a snowball effect. You will gain confidence in speaking with prospects, which will lead to opportunities presenting themselves, and you will ultimately win more business. The revenue that is generated through this is incremental and pivotal to early growth sprints: it can be reinvested in order to attend a conference, run a marketing campaign, tweak your website, or any other bite sized growth oriented goal that will speed up that snowball.
Much like going to the gym when you're trying to get in shape, don't aim for the seven minute mile one week in--that will kill your motivation. Make sure to get moving, take action, do something, and set a realistic goal