No matter how many years you have been in business you cannot be an expert at everything. Asking for help and surrounding yourself with people who are better than you in their areas of expertise is essential for your business to grow and flourish.
How many of us spend hours slaving away over the book-keeping, try to keep abreast of ever changing HR regulation or wonder about the most effective social media tool to use?
Those hours of time could all be income generating so rather than looking at outsourcing certain elements of work as a cost to your business, look on it as an investment which allows you to go out and do what you are good at whilst the other areas are dealt with by experts in their fields thus also protecting you from inadvertent breaches of regulation too.
Look on everything as an investment not a cost. If spending money on something will get you a return far in excess of the cost then it is worth doing rather than always going for the cheapest option. For example you are very unlikely to meet the CEO of that large company you want to target at a free networking event but may well do so at a corporate lunch
Business Support can be a minefield. However there are free services available to you to help you find what is relevant to you and what your business is eligible for. The Solent growth Hub is a good example of this helping businesses to source grants with one to one help in completing the application processes to give you the best chance of success.
Don’t forget your marketing plan. You could have the best product in the world but if nobody knows about it your sales will not increase. A strategic marketing approach is best – think about who your potential customers are, where do they go, what do they watch and read, If you take paid advertising then small and frequent is often a better strategy than one large spread – it is all about brand association so the more often your name and logo are seen the more people will think about your product and company when they come to purchase.
Lastly make sure you have a network of people to support you – networking events are not about making a quick sale but are about building up a network of complimentary business people who will refer and recommend you to others. The most successful networkers have a long term plan and
Over time become the first name people think of in their chosen field simply by their presence at a range of events
This guest article has been written by Maureen Frost, Deputy CEO at Hampshire Chamber of Commerce.