Growing your business is hard, but then starting anything is hard, if you do not have an idea where to start. My advice is to just do it. Starting anything is the most difficult thing to do and it is because it is you who have to do it. If you think you cannot do it yourself, then find a business partner or a mentor who shares your belief.

There are plenty of books and resources on the internet on marketing, but none will tell you a step by step guide to growing your business, a fool proof way to obtain new and profitable customers or clients. However you will gain ideas and methods of marketing your business that work, but unless you implement them and persevere, the research will be for nothing. Experience in this area or any other aspect of your business cannot be bought but it needs to be earned by hard work and trying things.

This may seem old fashioned, but all good businesses have been built by leaders who have learnt the hard way from trial and error. Anyone promising you a quick fix solution or something that is too good to be true, the likelihood is that you will be left very disappointed. Before embarking on the journey of starting to build your business, take stock of where you want the business to go and your personal aspiration. As a leader, (even if the business at the present only contains you), the success of the business you set up, rests fairly and squarely on you.

One of the most useful tools that you can develop is a realistic plan with a time line, which will help you focus and overcome inertia. The starting point should be to find yourself a great accountant, who will be willing to take the time to understand your business and provide important input during the year and not just after the horse has bolted. That is, just preparing your year end accounts and tax return.

Growth for the sake of itself is insufficient, as it can suck limited resources. When you are starting out in business, you are the most vulnerable and you have to keep so many balls in the air just to survive. Growth should be planned to ensure that cash resources are not being depleted rapidly. As the popular saying goes ‘turnover is vanity, profit is sanity’. But then, in business you need a good dose of vanity, sanity and luck. Find the right mixture and you will be on your way.

Ibrahim Aziz Numerion Associates

Why not contact us to discuss how we can help you. Mail me at Ibrahim.aziz@numerion.co.uk