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Maximum Time: 60 Minutes

1. Three Ways to Grow My Business

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Once your business has achieved sustained success in delivering a profitable service or product, it could be ready for growth opportunities. Growing your business may have been part of your plan from the beginning, or it might be a pleasant surprise brought about by your hard work and persistence. Most business owners grow their business in one of three ways, as shown below. In this chapter we’ll explore each of these ways in detail.

Three Ways to Grow My Business

2. Expanding My Services or Products

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One effective way to grow your business is by offering additional services or products that meet the needs of your target customers. New services and products create additional revenue streams that help provide stability for your business. Some examples might include those shown below.

Four ways to expand services or products

Note that each of the expanded services or products in these examples is a compatible extension of the core business.

Activity (10 minutes)

Step 1: Individually take three minutes to brainstorm and write down as many additional service or product ideas for your business as possible. Be creative and try not to limit your thinking. Write down everything that comes to mind.

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Step 2: Review your list and circle the three ideas that you feel are the most promising for growing your business.

Step 3: Have a few group members share the most promising idea they circled for their business. Group members should provide feedback to build on each idea.

3. Expanding My Target Market

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Another way to help your business grow is by expanding the size of your target market. This will allow you to focus on and communicate with more customers, which will hopefully lead to more business. Some of the ways you can expand your target market are shown below.

Six ways to expand target market 1

Six ways to expand target market 2

Discuss:

• What factors would you want to research and consider before pursuing any of these options?

• How would you maintain the quality of the services or products in your core business as you expand?

Activity (10 minutes)

Step 1: Individually identify one way that you could expand your target market. Write down your idea in the space below.

Step 2: Divide into pairs. With your partner, discuss your idea for expanding your target market. Each partner should provide constructive feedback.

4. Competing for a Greater Percentage of the Market

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You can also grow your business by competing for a greater percentage of the market. Business owners do this by focusing on their competitive advantage and increasing the quality of their services or products so that customers will switch to their business. For example, the owner of a movie theater might invest in comfortable chairs and upscale food options, which could attract people who might attend other theaters.

Activity (10 minutes)

Step 1: Think of a business that directly competes with your own. This business may not be identical to yours, but it serves the same customer needs. Write down the top selling points of your competitor’s service or product.

Step 2: Write down how your service or product would have to improve in order to inspire customers to buy from you.

Step 3: Divide into pairs. Assume that your partner is a potential customer. Talk with him or her about the idea(s) you wrote down for step 2. Ask questions to determine if he or she is interested in your idea(s).

5. Making the Most of Growth Opportunities

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We’ve just learned about three ways to grow a business. If you want to grow your business, you need to actively look for potential growth opportunities. Successful business owners learn by taking action (see D&C 58:26–28). They exercise wisdom when considering new opportunities to expand their business by carefully evaluating additional resources and potential challenges. However, they aren’t afraid to experiment and make mistakes. They see mistakes as opportunities to accelerate their learning, which can make them stronger and move them closer to their goals. They have the courage to shift the focus of their business, if necessary, to meet changing customer needs.

Man painting a parking lot

Discuss:

Imagine a business owner who stripes parking lots. He determines that he can gain more business by shifting the focus of his business. After talking with his customers, he learns that they would be willing to pay more if his business would black out old markings and install parking bumpers and speed bumps. He has analyzed this in detail and believes it makes financial sense, so he decides to pursue these new opportunities.

• What opportunities or obstacles have you noticed that might cause you to shift the focus of your business?

6. Developing a Habit of Contributing to Personal Savings

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Your ability to grow your business can be greatly aided if you have personal savings to draw on. One habit that distinguishes successful business owners is that they consistently save money. We have been counseled to pay our tithes and offerings first. Then we should pay ourselves by saving a portion of our money.

Saving money provides funds for emergencies and unanticipated needs. It also provides peace of mind, flexibility with life decisions, and resources for opportunities like growing a business. While there are many ways to save money, what is ultimately important is to save money every week.

Technology can help you save money. You can set up an automatic deduction from your paycheck or an automatic transfer from a checking account to a savings account. Automatic deductions or transfers can help saving become effortless. Some other practical ways to save money include:

• Building an emergency fund.

• Establishing a budget.

• Working toward a short-term savings goal.

• Depositing lump sum income, such as tax refunds, birthday money, bonuses, and inheritance money.

• Setting up savings accounts for missions, education, retirement, business opportunities, or other personal goals.

• Saving your cash or loose change.

Discuss:

What approaches have worked best to help you save money consistently?

7. Cutting Unnecessary Costs

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To maintain a healthy profit margin, business owners must often learn to operate with relatively few resources. Successful business owners are frugal and decisive in determining which costs are worthwhile and which are not. Sometimes they take bold action by committing to cut a certain percentage of their costs and then finding creative yet realistic ways to achieve savings. Some common ways that business owners effectively manage costs are shown below.

Be resourceful icon Be resourceful: Share or reuse equipment and supplies; be willing to buy used rather than new. For example, a graphic design shop was selective in buying used office furniture that met its needs.

Maintain focus icon Maintain focus: Use time effectively by focusing on priorities and projects that generate the most revenue. For example, an engineering firm specialized by focusing on its three most profitable services.

Use technology icon Use technology: Use technology to increase productivity, improve communication, and reduce costs. For example, to reduce travel expenses, a software development business used low-cost videoconferencing and teleconferencing services.

Use purchasing power icon Use purchasing power: Shop around or get cost estimates from multiple sources, negotiate expenses to get the best price possible, or buy in bulk. For example, a leatherworking business requested cost estimates from a variety of potential leather suppliers.

Activity (10 minutes)

Step 1: From the list above or using your own ideas, individually identify two ways that you can cut costs for your business. Write down your ideas below.

Step 2: As a group, share an effective way that you have cut costs for your business or ways that you’ve seen other business owners effectively cut their costs.