Every business owner’s dream for his company is to see it grow. Of course, growth doesn’t come without some growing pains, and it can sometimes be risky. But stagnation can be just as, if not more risky. Few company’s can make the transition from small to big business, but the main thing to keep in mind is that you don’t go from small to big, you go from small to a little less small, to slightly bigger than small, and so on, until you get to big. With that in mind, here some strategies employed successfully by other companies that could come in handy:

Segment the Market

Market segmentation means picking a part of a market and concentrating your sales efforts on it. Focused effort has always been a driving force in human achievement and the same applies to companies. Trying to please everybody or spreading yourself too thin is just as bad as not putting yourself out there. We’ve talked about the 80/20 rule where 20% of the effort brings in 80% of the results and 80% of the effort brings in the other 20% of the results. Find your 20%, your most valued customers, or potential customers and focus on them, while reducing your investment in the other 80%.

Minimize Wasted Effort

This strategy follows the same 80/20 rule, but it applies to your efforts as a manager and the processes within your company. Focus on the most productive process and try to find new ones constantly. If a process is wasteful, influence the factors that are making it so, or outright get rid of the process. This of course brings me back to how you spend your time as a manager. Is refining a process part of your 20% or do you need to:

Invest in Talent

One of the biggest influencers of growth in a company is talent. First of all you as a manager cannot do everything yourself, and second, finding and bringing in talent is definitely part of the 20%. A CFO, an accountant, or any number of people that could help shape up your company are a great investment. There is the old saying of “a good manager delegates.” Well, delegate and you not only improve your efficiency, but you also increase your company’s chance to grow, while allowing yourself to see the bigger picture.