As an entrepreneur, your priority is almost always the growth and improvement of your business. Regardless of what sector you are entering or what stage of the business development process you are in, there is always room for more investment or more opportunities to engage in.
This post is designed to help all entrepreneurs, new and experienced, leverage the situations they are faced with to increase the number of opportunities they are presented with, helping your business grow.
Investigate Online Options
In today’s digital age, almost everything is available on the internet. There are countless services that help seekers find providers, whether you’re looking for a member of staff on a specialist jobs site or contacting angel investors to support your new business venture.
At the heart of success in the online space is tailoring your proposal to the audience of your platform. For example, creating a job description on a website dedicated to tech start-up job opportunities is going to be very different when compared to a casual inquiring post on Reddit. It’s essential that before you carefully formulate the posts about your new venture, job opportunity or investment needs before posting them online; remember, whatever is put online is publicly accessible and will stay with your business.
Before moving on, it’s important to talk about crowdfunding. Over the last decade, crowdfunding websites have skyrocketed in popularity and what started as a way for individuals to turn their dreams into reality has become a viable and successful strategy for larger businesses. Whether your business is in its infancy or not, your next product or service can definitely receive funding via a platform like Kickstarter or IndieGoGo. The previous point still stands though, always research the audience and history of the platform you are using, then shape your campaign accordingly. When it comes to crowdfunding, preparation is the most important factor impacting a campaign’s success.
Always Be Prepared to Network
Moving away from online space, networking is a traditional and invaluable method of discovering more opportunities and talent for your business. Whilst networking events are undoubtedly the easiest way to extend your feelers and create a stronger network, most entrepreneurs make the mistake of thinking this is the only opportunity to network successfully when that simply isn’t the case.
The most successful entrepreneurs are those who treat every conversation they have as a networking opportunity. In casual conversation and everyday life, it’s much easier to make meaningful, impactful connections with people, making networking much easier.
To ensure success, always be prepared for a networking opportunity. Ensure you have business cards with you at all times and that you have a method of recording the contact details of others, too. Whilst many might consider business cards to be outdated, the act of having a well-designed, physical piece of paper can have a serious effect on how successful your networking is, so it’s worth investing in some. Furthermore, business card printing in the UK is actually quite affordable, so you won’t find yourself out of pocket afterwards.
By consistently being ready to talk about your venture and give out your details, it becomes much easier to create an effective network that can be leveraged when needed. What you know matters but who you know is equally important for growing your business.
Social Media
Finally, with the birth of social media, entrepreneurs have been given a whole new way of reaching out to their target audience, as well as potential employees and investors. Each of the social media platforms presents a different opportunity for you to find the right people and achieve your goals. Facebook and Twitter are brilliant branding tools, allowing you to give your business a voice and personality; whilst LinkedIn has more of a business audience, making it much more suited to professional business and investment proposals.
As with all things business related, the key is research and planning. Take these strategies and adapt them to your own situation and business. Discover the normal behaviour for startups in your industry, then implement these systems into the existing strategy to help your business stand out. The key to success has always been a willingness to try, fail and try again – you can keep your business growing with this mentality.