My Best Tips To Grow Your Small Business On A Budget

9 Of My Best Tips To Grow Your Small Business On A Budget

By Ken Varga

The following 9 ideas have helped me and will help you grow your business on a limited budget when you apply them.

1. If you don’t have a journal, I would suggest that you purchase one at your local Staples.  If not grab a sheet of paper.  It doesn’t matter what your business is, write down this question at the top of a sheet: ”How can I personally make my clients’ lives better?” 
   This is a very powerful question.  Think about it.   How many companies you know of, both offline or online, apply this model?
   Most of them are out to get the sale and then move on to the next “prospect.”  Can you imagine how effective they could be if they actually considered how they could help your life be better.
   For instance, I spend a lot on educational material for my grandchildren, and I never hear from the businesses after I make my purchases.  If they remembered the above quote and thought about how they could help me and my grandchildren have a better life, they would realize that they could offer me products to help us, and probably offer them on a monthly basis.
   I’m sure you’ve experienced this at some point in your life.  Think about how this applies to your business and what you can do.
   
   
   
   
2. Create your Stadium Pitch.  Someone once told me, “What would you say to a group of 50,000 people if they were in a stadium and you had 30-60 seconds to convince them about your offering?” How can you get your point across so convincingly that they would feel like idiots to say “no”?  
   Plus, consider the fact that any one of them can leave at anytime during your pitch.  Would your message change?  What can you say to make them stay?  What can you say to make them buy?  Some call this an elevator speech.
   Keep refining your stadium pitch (elevator pitch).  A great one can help you generate many new customers on a limited marketing budget. 
3. Look for valuable lessons in everything that you do, hear, or experience.  No matter if what you are doing fails or succeeds, write down what you learned from it in your journal. 
   Every person you meet, every person you listen to, has a lesson you can learn.  I try to teach with each blog and marketing tip I create. ..just for you.  But the lessons you learn from them are up to you; the insights you gain are up to you.  Whatever the lessons/insights are, write them down in your journal before you forget. 
   I carry my journal with me always.
   With a large repository of ideas it’s easier for you to find ones that readily meet your budget. 
4. Read your” Lesson Journal”.  Find out what lessons you can apply today to your next project or problem.  Then do it.  Find a way to apply and use that lesson today.  Now record your results.
   As you consistently apply ideas and track the results, you will produce bigger and bigger results with whatever money you have budgeted.
5. Referrals are one of the most important tools you can use to grow your business.  There are probably hundreds of ways to generate referrals.  Two of them are: pay for them per lead; bribe people in a fun way. 
   If you haven’t done your job on making your clients happy, you shouldn’t ask for a referral. The key is to start writing down the ideas you get, and then start doing them.
   Referrals are the least expensive way to grow your business on a budget.
6. Barter. Learn how to barter.
   Attend your local networking events, look around at the people you work with that need what you have to offer and you need what they have to offer.  What types of products or services do they need to make their lives easier?  Where can you find those products or services?  Apply this principle to people you want to work with and by helping them they will help you.
   Bartering allows you to grow with a minimum of cash outlay.
7. Dare to do what no one else does.
   Giving yourself permission to do what hasn’t been done before allows you to find new inexpensive ways to grow.
8. Ask what you don’t want in life and in business. Then decide what you do want (What you want is the opposite of what you don’t want).
   Knowing what you want shortens the journey to getting there, and therefore also lessens the expense.
9. Get rid of the “box”.  Forget about inside or outside the box thinking.  Don’t put parameters around your thinking.
   This is a variation of no. 7 above.  By removing parameters from your thinking, creative ways to use your budget open up.

The key in all of this is to be systematic and consistent.  By systematically and consistently applying these ideas, you are sure to see compounded results.

Source:  kenvarga.com