Welcome once again to the Wise Entrepreneur blog.
We are back to business growth and expansion today, after our last discussions about tax planning. In our last blog on business growth we dwelt on top issues such as considering the profitability of the growth and expansion program, manpower requirements, financing requirements, controlling the business, managing diversity and remoteness and also maintaining and improving customer satisfaction through quality and value creation and delivery. Today we would like to look at growth from a different perspective – that is – in light of identifying and making use of new growth opportunities. I guess the majority of entrepreneurs desire their enterprises to grow.
Quoting Albert Dunning; ‘Great opportunities come to all, but many do not know that they have them. The only preparation to take advantage of them is to watch what each day brings’. I believe you are a serious entrepreneur who is focused on building a credible and reasonably sized business. Of course when you just want to stay in your little corner shop and bequeath that shop to your descendants then you might not find much value in write-ups like this I’m doing. Do you get what I mean? I’m addressing entrepreneurs who are keen on growing and developing their enterprises. And I think these are the entrepreneurs who can really impact humanity and the world – hence the need to nurture them.
- Think globally but act locally. In this age the world has become very small. This is why we talk about the global village. Gone are the days when you would not have a product from a far country or continent readily available in your locality and competing with your local product. Gone are the days when information was exclusive to only the privileged. Gone are the days when people would prepare for months to make a journey across continents. Do you understand me? Your business today can only continue to make sense and grow if you act locally but think globally. It just takes you minutes on the internet to let the whole world know that you have a unique product or service. Isn’t it? It probably takes only a week for a competing product to move across continents. When thinking of growth you have to think global but act locally. Today a cattle keeper in a remote part of any continent probably has a mobile handset and can access the internet to know how much a kilogram of beef costs in the major capital cities.
- Look out for new business opportunities and convert them into viable and sustainable business ventures. You have got to develop your entrepreneurial ability to see opportunities even where the ordinary eye cannot. This could be the new business opportunities you will exploit. Don’t be so lazy an entrepreneur that you always copy what others are doing. Create your new path and let others follow you. Convert the opportunities you have identified into sustainable enterprises that create and deliver value to the market, even before every Tom, Dick, Kamau, Yao and Chika have don’t it.
- Do you have a new methodology? Simply put, the way you do something in your enterprise can be an opportunity for growth. The systems, processes and principles you use to create and deliver value can be the focal point for growth. Mr. Entrepreneur, you have got to think like a renaissance person sometimes. Don’t you agree with me? Growth is not going to come easy but you have got to work for it. Of course occasionally you find very easy-going growth in markets that are not saturated, or possibly where people are fed up with alternatives. But easy money comes and goes away quickly you know.
- Is it new technology you are showcasing? Now, what is your growth strategy? Is there some new technology that your enterprise is leveraging on? Can you take advantage of a technological gap in your industry to generate growth opportunities? It might relate to speed, quantity, quality, compatibility with other technologies in the industry, better process control etc. By the time the rest realise what is giving your enterprise growth momentum you could be miles away – very difficult to get again.
- Could you be considering and offering new products and services including product/service benefits? This is another area that can give your enterprise a good ride if managed properly. Do you know that many enterprises do not act quickly in the introduction of new products and services including benefits? In this strategy you could modify a product or product feature, come up with an entirely new one, distribute in a better way, price better etc. Mr. Entrepreneur; think! You can easily be ahead of the rest when you think. And you know what – there is better view and less competition at the higher level.
Surely, we could go on and on regarding these growth opportunities, but let us stop here for today. As I said earlier, these considerations are valuable to entrepreneurs who really desire and are anxious for growth. If you want to fly with the eagles you have to stop scratching the earth with the turkeys. Move on and explore. Don’t limit yourself and your entrepreneurial dreams!
Till then,
The Wise Entrepreneur