3 Strategies to Explode Your Business Growth Start planning your goals for next year before the days get any shorter.
By Kimanzi Constable Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
We're coming to the time of year when businesses typically switch to autopilot to enjoy time with family during the holidays. Once January first arrives, we hit the ground running toward what we hope will be a fantastic year.
Despite the economy continuing to tread water, the Information Age has opened the doors to unlimited growth opportunities for entrepreneurs today. You can create a lifestyle entrepreneurship based business, or add a new revenue stream to your offline business.
You need to implement the right strategies to take advantage of the opportunities to grow your business. Sadly, the Information Age has also brought on a lot of fluff and misinformation. Everywhere you look there's another guru who wants to sell you on their course or services they specifically designed to upsell you on another, more expensive product or service. Here are three tried-and-true strategies to explode your growth in 2016.
1. Start planning right now.
January is late to start planning what you will do to promote in your business for the year. By the time January hits, you're starting the year off behind. Today, right now, this month is the best time to plan out what you will do to grow your business in 2016.
You can get your plan in place before the holidays, and come to January first well ahead of your competition. With a plan in place now, you can focus on finishing out the rest of this strong, and have a seamless transition into the New Year.
Related: 5 Project-Planning Tips to Help You Meet Your Goals
2. Focus on growing your online presence.
Online retail sales recently crossed $1.3 trillion dollars. Whether you have an online business or simply sell online, your online presence is paramount to your businesses growth. The plan you put in place now should include efforts to grow your online presence.
Social media is amazing for entrepreneurs, but it's not the best way to grow, and should not be the primary focus of increasing your online presence. Email marketing and your website are still the best ways to turn leads into paying customers.
When you rely too heavily on using a rented platform (like social media), you're setting yourself up for disappointment. Look at what happened in the SEO industry when Google had several algorithm changes. Social media could very well go down the same road. Build an engaged email list and always direct people back to your company website.
Related: 10 Innovative Ways to Analyze Google Analytics Data to Increase Sales
3. Deliver value and avoid hype.
Customers and leads know the real thing when they see it. People hate being deceived, and marketing speak will only take you so far. Focus your plan for 2016 on how you will deliver undeniable value to those whom you serve.
You stand out from everyone else when you focus on the customer and providing him or her value. Too many entrepreneurs are only thinking about the money. Your focus should be creating products and services that impact people's lives.
The key to success in entrepreneurship starts with a plan that's been well researched. Don't trust your gut. Study the facts and figures so you can use them to form your plan. Once your plan is in place, take action. It's easy and comfortable to stay stuck in the research phase. All the research in the world means nothing if you don't take action.
Continue to learn, but filter the information you consume on a daily basis. Test what will work for you business, don't fall victim to the misleading Facebook ads. Your growth will explode with consistent, focused action.
This New Year can be one of the best years in your business, or a year that leads you to rethink why you became an entrepreneur. I write these words from a riad in Marrakech, Morocco convinced that the opportunity is available for anyone willing to go after it.
At the end of the day, entrepreneurship is about creating freedom. We do what we do to live life on our terms while still generating revenue. Your plan for the New Year should be focused on strategies that will help you create more freedom in your business and life. Working more hours in your business used to be seen as a badge of honor--that's not the case anymore.
