Growth is essential to any
business's success. For most entrepreneurs, growth is gradual and a little slow
at first. But with the right tools and techniques, some can make their sales
skyrocket quickly and sustainably.
This was the case for Bill Reilly, a
Milwaukee-based entrepreneur and co-founder of auto repair facility Hands-on Garage.
Reilly was one of 12 local business owners to participate in the first
Scalerator, a program sponsored by Scale Up Milwaukee. The multiyear project is
supported by the state of Wisconsin, Milwaukee's mayor, American Express OPEN
and private-sector leaders, and aims to drive entrepreneurial and economic
growth in the city.
"The goal of Scalerator is to
help existing businesses like ours get the tools and techniques to scale up
quickly," Reilly said. "Our participation helped us achieve an
additional 15 percent increase in revenues in the last two months of
2013."
To help ambitious businesses
accelerate their growth, Reilly shared five lessons he learned from his
Scalerator experience:
- Highlight your best asset. Your business may be great at a number of things,
but if you're like most businesses, it can truly be the best in one area.
To differentiate yourself and poise your business for growth, it's
important to refine your brand message to emphasize your best asset.
- Put yourself in your lender's shoes. You may have plans for what you want your business to
look like years into the future. This is great to tell your business
partners and customers, but when you're pitching sources of capital, they
want to hear about your business's potential for return on investment
right now.
"In the past, we would highlight our business goal to become a franchise, which didn't resonate with banks," Reilly said. "We learned to emphasize that there is a large market for what we do. This would pique a banker's interest because he or she cares about the return on investment more than your business aspirations."
- Focus on established revenue sources. Rather than trying to acquire new customers, direct
your attention to the core customers you already have. You can do this by
implementing a referral or customer loyalty program, or trying out
marketing strategies based on previous purchase behaviors to encourage
repeat business
- Make sales your top priority. As the company founder or leader, you are the person
who can best sell your business to customers. Reilly said that his company
used to outsource its sales force, but he quickly discovered that his
customers preferred talking to the founders rather than a salesperson.
Adjust your workflow to prioritize selling in-house, since sales are what
keep your business going and growing.
- Keep it local. Growing ventures make things happen in any market. Moving toward growth will also benefit the community: 92 percent of new jobs come from the expansion of existing businesses, according to the National Establishment Time Series, a database of regional industries and economies. By growing your business, hiring local people and working with local vendors, you can help your community thrive.
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