Small Business? Think Big!

Every small business owner creating a start-up out of their spare bedroom dreams of one day becoming the next Amazon or NastyGal and hitting the big time, but when you’re trying to make a mark in a crowded global marketplace, it can feel like that is a very distant aim. How can you hope to compete against blue-chip concerns with all the resources, manpower and technology on their side? Well, this is just the same concern that start-ups from Apple to Starbucks have faced at some point in their development. And the good news is, that starting small is no barrier to how far you can go – in fact, the agility and innovation that small companies are able to achieve is their greatest asset. Small businesses are sometimes able to think in the biggest way of all.

Create A Niche

By virtue of their very size, large companies have to cater to wide, generalist customer bases – it’s the easiest way to find the volume of revenue required to keep such a big business ticking over. This always means that certain audiences are excluded by default – which is right where a smaller, more agile business can step in and make a killing. Learn to identify your points of difference and make them a driving force, not a handicap. So you can’t operate like the big boys. How can you make this a positive? What are they missing that you can provide? Develop your branding and expertise around this point and work on attracting a loyal following within these parameters. Avoid diversifying too early on in your journey – you don’t want to grow too much for your support structure to cope. Focus on what you can do well and master it completely first.

Scale Up Your Technology

Having the best tools to do the job isn’t purely a matter of budget. There are scalable IT solutions that don’t cost the earth and can put your business on the same footing as larger competitors. A package like virtualofficesolutions365.com gives you the security, access to instant updates, and unified communications to give your operations the corporate touch without you being a big corporation. You can effectively future proof the growth of your business if you invest in the right IT support at the beginning.

Innovate And Celebrate If you can find out a problem that the big boys in business seem to be ignoring, you’re on to a winner. You don’t need to convince layers of hierarchy to green-light a concept – you can make innovation happen in the here and now. Use your social media following to scope out ideas, source collaborations, and canvas opinion – and when you get it right, use your channels to celebrate and spread the word. Embrace the agility you have as a smaller concern, and create a reputation for listening to your customers and acting swiftly on their feedback. That is a great way to develop brand advocates who will give your their loyalty and great, genuine word of mouth marketing.