More than 95% of small Businesses won’t survive past the first five years of operation. This is a grim statistic, there’s no lying, but it’s also one that gives us a glimpse into how hard running a small Business is. 

So, when you’re starting a business, you should be prepared to meet the grind, hard work, and failure that’s coming your way. And if you want to be truly successful, you should learn how to thrive off of failure, something that very few people can do. 

But that begs the question, how do you grow a small business? What things do you need to know in order to thrive? Well, there’s a lot you can do. From hiring a B2B growth agency to focusing on improving the industry you’re in, these are all things that can help you start a successful business on the right foot. 

So, without wasting any more time, let’s get straight to the topic at hand, namely, what you need to know to start and grow a small business. 

The most important thing that you can do is build great relationships with other businesses you’re working with every day.

Every business thrives off of relationships. It doesn’t matter how big a venture is or how much money it has if you don’t work hard on building strong, meaningful relationships with vendors you’re working, or any other businesses you’re dependent on. 

And this is something that all companies know. Having friends in business can help you in the future when hard times come, and as history never lies, tough times will come. 

So, do nice things with other businesses you work with just for the sake of it. Strive for building good relations, and don’t be afraid to go the extra step with them. 

Returning business clients are the best clients that you can acquire when running a business. 

And while we’re on the topic of building great relationships with businesses, we should also talk about going the extra mile to retain big Business Clients. 

If there’s one this every successful business does, it’s to make sure that they keep their business clients happy. 

Why? Because business clients make you the most money and tend to stick with you for the longest amount of time. In other words, it gives you a somewhat predictable cash flow, and it allows you to build a business without wondering where your next paycheck will come from. 

Focus on improving the things that will be the same in ten years’ time. 

Have you ever wondered what made Amazon from a simple online bookstore to one of the world’s most powerful companies in just twenty years?

It’s the fact that they spend their time and energy building the really important stuff. So, ask yourself, what’s really important in your industry? Do people want rapid fast delivery? If yes, work on that. 

Do they expect a high-end, out of this world service? If the answer is yes, spend time and money on training your employees on how to be stellar customer service experts. 

The trick is to find what your customers are really looking for and giving it to them. That’s what makes you a better alternative than all your other competitors. 

Growth should only come after you’ve made sure everything else in your business is in order. 

And then comes the topic of growth. How do you make sure your business is thriving, and then it has the potential to scale quickly and start making money? 

Well, the answer is simple (but not that easy to do). You should focus on making your business self-sufficient, meaning that you should limit outside investment as much as possible. In other words, bootstrap your venture.

This won’t scale your business, no, but it will help you learning a lot of valuable lessons when it comes to growing and using what you have to the maximum. 

So, while it will be hard, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go that way. Bootstrapping and growing without taking in outside funding is one of the best ways to ensure that you’re keeping full control of your business. 

Word-of-mouth will be your greatest marketing channel you could ever invest in. 

And finally, it’s important to understand from early on that word of mouth marketing will be the strongest marketing channel you could every built. 

That means that you should focus on all things above, excel in the products or services you’re delivering, and do so repeatedly in order to make this thing happen.

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