Three things that make business growth super easy!
Someone said “Business growth is ridiculously easy”. When I heard it first, I thought this person should be in my shoes and then speak. It takes a lot of hard work, long hours, and sacrifices like time away from family. Right?
Well, after working on my own set up, and with several entrepreneurs; and evaluating over 50 businesses, I learnt that many businesses experience growth pains and feel stuck because of a few fundamental gaps. To find out, Ask yourself these questions:
- Are my actions as intense as my desire to take my business to a high level?
- Am I doing the same thing or taking the same action, repeatedly? In other words, are my actions those that I am comfortable doing?
- What actions do I need to take that are not in my comfort zone but are needed if I must grow my business?
If the answer is a Yes to the first; No to the second; I salute, you. However, if you did not, then there is good news- Business Growth is ridiculously easy. These are not newfound truisms but something we do not reinforce or something we forget to leverage. Let’s get to them.
The “Why”
There is a saying that a person is born twice. First the day she/he physically enters the world, and second time when the person discovers the WHY of her/his life. The questions to ask yourself-
- Why am I doing what I am doing?
- Who am I doing it for?
- What’s the ultimate outcome of the WHY? How does it look, feel?
Ask the same questions in the context of your business. I am not going to preempt any answers because that is deeply personal to you. I will, however tell you this- it will give you the energy, the drive, the motivation to works towards it. The WHY also brings immense clarity and clarity helps create outcomes. It becomes an expression of who you are deep inside, regardless of where you are in life or what your current situation is.
The Goal
A goal is a target that more often than not, aligns with The WHY. It is an expression of what you want to achieve. Goals help you create actions that you will take and measure your progress. Many businesses fail to set goals or fail at setting goals. In the context of your business ask yourself-
- What are my goals?
- What are the actions I am taking to meet my business goals?
There is a ton of material on the web that can help one set goals and how to ensure that the goals are SMART. My limited point is- if you do not have goals, growth is impossible.
The Focus
Often people say time is your biggest asset and reams have been written on how to manage time. My take is that Focus is your most important asset. Focus is what brings direction to your energies, passion & helps you take meaningful actions till you meet your goals.
Of course, one will have to create a strategy, a plan, and work towards taking a series of actions to achieve your goals. However, if you miss any of the above three aspects, there will be struggles and you may end up taking longer to reach or lose the battle mid-way.