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How To Take Your Business From ‘Small Fry’ To ‘Big Fish’

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Right now your business is small. You love what you’re doing and where you’re going but you’re starting to wonder how you can progress your business success more quickly. Being a small business is great but if you’re someone who aspires to go from ‘small fry’ to ‘big fish’ then you’re probably wondering what it takes to give your business the boost it needs.

Growing and developing a business isn’t always simple or straightforward, as there is a lot to think about, from budgets to planning. You have to think about a wide number of things if you’re serious about expanding your business. It’s stressful growing a business, that’s a given, but if you get your approach right, it’s worth taking the time and putting in the effort.

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | How To Take Your Business From ‘Small Fry’ To ‘Big Fish’

So, what steps should you take to start growing your business? Below is a guide to some of the ins and outs of achieving successful business growth.

Create an action plan

First things first, if you want to give your business a boost and actually see results, you need to create an action plan. Your plan of action should lay out the approach that you are going to take to growing your business.

It’s best to set large targets with a number of small goals leading to each one – this approach makes achieving growth seem more doable. You don’t want to set overly ambitious targets as this can make them seem impossibly difficult to reach. Instead, aim to keep goals achievable – remember, you can always exceed them.

Speak to a consultant

If you feel like you could benefit from some professional advice about any area of your business and how to utilise that to see growth, consider booking an appointment with a specialist consultant. Whether that’s a general business consultant or with a consultant from a more specialised field, such as speaking to a finance consultant.

If you’re struggling with a certain area of your business, such as your brand’s marketing, for instance, then you might want to consider expert marketing consultation. You might find that taking the time to speak with a specialist gives you the insight and knowledge that you need to give your business the boost it requires to meet your goals.

Work smarter, not harder

Be a smart worker, not a harder worker. Yes, growing a business requires a lot of hard work, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t be smart about how you achieve business growth. Don’t be afraid to utilise smart tech as a means to an end for your business. Believe it or not, you can use smart tech to make managing your business processes simpler and easier – you can simplify and automate your entire operation.

There you have it, a simple guide to how you can make achieving business growth simpler, easier and more doable. Take note of the tips and ideas above, utilise them for your business and you should be able to make growing your business into a ‘big fish’ a little easier to achieve.

Why Traditional Invoicing Is a Bottleneck: Do These 4 Things to Remedy It

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article | Why Traditional Invoicing Is a Bottleneck: Do These 4 Things to Remedy ItThe accounts receivable departments must process incoming payments every day and keep financial records up to date. Unfortunately, some companies do not complete these tasks on a daily basis and create bottlenecks. The processes could lead to longer waits for profits, and some companies cannot wait that long.

By following better practices, the business owners can avoid bottlenecks and keep their cash flow coming each day. Several common mistakes made by AP departments can also create further unnecessary complexities.

1. Try An Invoicing Service

Many companies face difficulties with managing all invoices for their customers, and they often turn over some accounts to service providers that help the company collect the overdue balances. Unfortunately, many collection agencies use tactics that do not get the job done and alienate the customers. Even the best customer the company has could face circumstances that cause them to miss a payment, but this doesn’t mean they deserve to constantly get harassing phone calls.

Instead of using these more traditional tactics, many companies are using less invasive practices to give customers a more convenient opportunity to pay their outstanding balance without calling the company to complete the payment. These methods could allow the customer to follow a link in an email from the company that guides them through a more convenient payment process.

The collection efforts won’t interfere with the customer’s personal life or make them feel overwhelmed. The service provider sets up a link that redirects them to an online payment solution and the process is quite simple. Business owners can learn more about using instant invoices by contacting a service provider now.

2. Speed Up Invoice Processing 

Another issue that many companies face is a failure to process and send out the invoices. Companies may have a larger collection of clients and invoicing is a major task for the AP department. This could become a serious issue for the company and prevent cash flow from coming in on time. Some companies pick a specific day of the month to print a huge collection of invoices instead of processing an invoice immediately. Customers that don’t know how much they owe the company cannot send in a payment and update their account. They need an invoice right now.

In turn, the AP department becomes overwhelmed with the number of invoices they must send out at the end of a week or month. These slower processes just delay the payment process and make the company wait longer to get their payments from customers. If the company implements practices that invoice the customer immediately and sends out the invoice, the company receives more payments throughout the month and eliminates common cash flow problems.

3. Analyze Customer Payment Habits

Companies must also analyze their customers’ payment habits, and they must determine when it is time to let certain customers go. A customer with a persistent history of tardy payments isn’t just hurting their own credit or making themselves unworthy of using credit. They are also slowing down the business and preventing the business from collecting the money they are owed by the customer.

By using data mining practices, the company can generate reports that show them which customers are late with their payments and which customers have a history of getting late charges. While companies do not want to discourage customers from buying their products or hiring them for their services, there comes a time when some customers becomd a major problem for businesses and delays the time it takes to get their profits.

Customers that never pay their payments on time create more of a problem for the business than letting the customers go. For example, if the company allows customers to buy products and pay later, the customer must pay later and settle their debt to the company. However, if the same customer is late persistently, they are not a valuable customer and are simply making it more difficult for the company to operate. It’s time to let them go by blocking their account.

4. Ensure Access for Workers Who Need the Information

Another major dilemma with companies that use outsourced customer service or collection services is that they don’t have the information available. All workers who will manage customer accounts need access to the customer files. If they cannot open a customer’s account and review the data, the workers cannot accept and process customer payments.

The business owner will need to review all connections to their database to ensure that the workers have the correct credentials for the task. Customers do not want to call in to make a payment and face one or more transfers to other departments. This takes up the customer’s time, and it will discourage them from doing business with the company. Companies that have automated systems must streamline these processes to ensure that customers’ payments are accepted and processed immediately.

By invoicing immediately after the service or order, the company can also make it possible for the customer service representatives to find the outstanding balance. If the invoices haven’t been processed, they will not show up in the system. This could lead to customers facing delays that are not convenient for them and make them want to get the same services or products somewhere else.

Accounts receivable departments must take on the task of collecting all outstanding payments for the company, and they must follow more streamlined processes. For many companies, slowdowns in invoicing make it difficult for them to collect the customers’ payments in a timely manner. Some companies do not have the time or resources to process invoices only once a month, and the process could prevent access to high volume of capital that they need during the month.

When reviewing strategies for processing invoices, the companies could find a more efficient option that makes it easier to collect now. By using immediate invoices with a direct link to the payment system, they can collect the money faster and update the customer’s files instantly.

Choosing the Right Fintech Partnership

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Choosing the Right Fintech PartnershipWithin banking and financial circles, fintech partnerships have become more common. Organizations have realized partnering with fintech companies will help them achieve more than if they try to work alone. When it comes to the banking industry, a partnership with a fintech company is a good idea. It lets the banks focus on what they do best while allowing a fintech company to provide extra value to customers.

In recent years, innovation in the fintech field has been growing consistently. New technology has been a welcome asset in all businesses despite their sizes. For instance, solutions that aim to advance technology in various fields, such as artificial intelligence, have been hitting the market in increasing numbers. Since they offer significant potential, a partnership allows access to financial institutions like banks that may lack the expertise or knowledge to develop such technologies themselves. In addition, this outsourcing gives banks insights offered by fintech companies. It is clear that banks can benefit hugely from such partnerships. However, how can a bank choose the right company to work with?

Pick a Partner That Is Established

Before a bank chooses a fintech partner, they need to understand the power that a brand name holds. If they partner with a fintech company whose name lacks credibility, that could be the beginning of their downfall. The bank should also factor in its history and reputation as it chooses a partner. To avoid damaging their name, the bank should ensure whatever the fintech company has said they can do, they have the capability of doing it. As advised by Cane Bay Partners, if they want to get the most from these partnerships, they should choose a partner with credibility, longevity, and the ability to meet the demands of the bank.

Innovative Technology

The advancement of innovation and technology witnessed in the past years is something that most banks have struggled to match due to the lack of expertise and knowledge in-house. That is why a bank needs to partner with a fintech company that offers them the edge they require to improve customer experience. When looking at the technology platforms offered by fintech companies, the bank also needs to ensure that the technology offered is compatible with its ERP solution.

Banks can benefit hugely from using technology platforms offered by fintech companies. For instance, a bank does not have to invest in the development of in-house technology. In addition, the bank gets access to current technologies that benefit customers as well.

Improve Customer Experience

Partnering with the right fintech company should give the bank an opportunity to understand the needs of the customer well to enhance the customer experience. One of the significant ways that fintech is shaping financial services is by increasing focus on a customer. Therefore, a bank should look for a fintech partner that gives them a better understanding of their customers. The fintech partner also needs in-depth knowledge of the regulatory requirements of the industry. This means they have standards in place that comply with the law.

Ability To Deliver

Another thing that banks should look at is that the fintech company can deliver. Just because the company has a shiny vision and roadmap, that does not mean you automatically partner with them. They should be able to accomplish whatever they claim in their vision.

In the end, choosing a good fintech partner allows a bank to tap into a sea of expertise, knowledge, and technology innovations that most of them lack. This gives them the opportunity to focus more time on their strengths while developing a more robust platform for offering products and services. By doing that, banks can enjoy the latest technologies, ensuring they are not left behind in an industry that is moving very fast.

Intrepid Entrepreneurs > Entitled Entrepreneurs

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Entrepreneurs|Intrepid Entrepreneurs > Entitled EntrepreneursIt’s very important to consider what kind of entrepreneur you hope to be once you decide to go it alone. More than simply branding yourself and wearing a cool suit, its the values and virtues you bring to this role that will really sustain you.

Some people may misinterpret that fact as meaning that as an entrepreneur, you have to get everything right. That would be nice of course, but it’s usually far from the reality of how success is actually gound. Entrepreneurs that come into their own and feel as though their willingness to take risks should define their success are not entirely wrong, but with that comes a sense of entitlement that can make them inflexible, immodest, and less open to opportunities that come.

It’s much better to be intrepid than to be entitled. Does that mean that you have to fly blind and think that nothing wrong can happen? Absolutely not. But it does mean curating a certain willingness to not only being taught the path through foresight, but through error too, as it’s almost impossible to ignore the latter. How can you achieve this? Let’s consider:

Follow Similar Thought Leaders

It’s good to follow thought leaders that focus on fearless visionary thinking while also never allowing that optimism to render their practical assessments useless. Dee Agarwal is a great example of this, and a sterling person to showcase how resilient business leadership should operate not just in general, but also the world of today. Thoughts leaders like this can show you just how visionary thinking works, and why it’s so necessary.

Learn From Your Mistakes With A Clinical Attitude

Learning from your mistakes isn’t easy. It’s not nice to say ‘this is where I messed up, and wasn’t prepared enough, and didn’t realize the error I was making.’ But it’s essential to do that, because even the biggest CEO’s in business make mistakes from time to time. A good way to look at this approach is to learn from your mistakes with a clinical attitude. Just see mistakes as tools and stepping stones to help you get to where you want to go. Feel your way forward and dont’ be afraid of making additional mistakes. Your character isn’t defined by the mistake you make, but how you react to and what you do with it.

Know The Value Of A Risk

Intrepid entrepreneurs know the value of risk. Some entrepreneurs think that risk is something to be minimized in all areas. But outside of safety precautions, that’s never really what you should chase. A healthy understanding of what the risks are and how to properly deal with them is much better than trying to eliminate them entirely and failing to make any progress because of that. This can help you become motivated to accept an investment, or try a service offering never done in your industry, or champion sustainability in an industry known for its waste. When you can more readily approximate a solution like that, you’ll not only achieve potentially resounding success, but you’ll have learned something from the effort.

With this advice, you’re sure to become a worthwhile and intrepid entrepreneur.

Unexpected Costs of Running a Small Business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |Small Business Costs| Unexpected Costs of Running a Small BusinessRunning a small business may seem easy to do on paper, but there really are so many other things that you need to think about. One of them is unexpected expenses because this can easily be the downfall of your business.

Extra Office Space

Sure, a home office may work for your small business, but zoning and other related regulations may require you to have something a bit more official. When making the decision to rent or purchase a property, you need to think about how much space you have now and how much you actually need. A lot of companies will offer you temporary office space, which is great if you are not quite sure which direction you need to take your business in, or even the arrangements that you are going to have. Utility costs can also eat away at your budget. Leased spaces will often include these types of costs as part of your agreement too, so look into those and always make sure that you are getting the best deal.

Equipment and Maintenance

The tools that you need to run your business need to be maintained. You may also need to pay out for equipment you didn’t think you’d’ need, such as a scanner, copier or even a shredder. Stationary should also be included in your budget because this can also eat away at your money more than you realise. If you want to save money here, then consider buying equipment second-hand from a range of auction sites. You should also buy stationery or any other related equipment in bulk, as this will help you to cut down on the cost per item.

Employees

Salaries, medical leave, health insurance and even training can factor in a large amount of cost for your budget. If you fail to invest in your employees by providing them with a reasonable wage or even a clean office environment then they will leave and this will cost you even more in the long-run. The cost of replacing an employee can be extortionate depending on the avenues you need to go through, so make sure that you set aside a good amount of your budget to accommodate this.

StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |Small Business Costs| Unexpected Costs of Running a Small BusinessSecurity

If your business is not secure then you will be putting it at risk. It doesn’t cost a lot to invest in
CCTV installation, but you would be surprised at how much it could help you to prevent break-ins. You should also focus on securing your network as well. This can be done through encryption, which will cost you, but it is most certainly a worthwhile investment.

Shrinkage

Shrinkage refers to inventory loss at some point between the purchase you make for the items and the sale you make to your customers. Shrinkage can occur through vendors not shipping the required total of products, couriers losing packages or even poor inventory management. This expense can be entirely prevented by being diligent and by also making sure that you document and process every single step of the shipment until it reaches your customer.