3 Steps For Accelerating Business Growth

Three important strategies that, based on my experience, will help you hit your global growth stride and expansion goals with grace and ease.

As I boarded the plane for my first trip to the U.K. I couldn’t help but feel a little like Mary Tyler Moore. Had I been wearing a beret, I too would have tossed it up in the air in celebration.  

Looking back over 2016, I realize that everything that happened over the past year was preparing me for this massive step.  Every relationship and every opportunity to hone my skills and build my brand was a step that I needed to take to expand my business into new markets.  I am sure there are many women in the PowHERhouse community who are ready to take their business to the next level.  As a leadership coach and a woman, I am well aware of the many ways that we often hold ourselves back or do things the hard way and drain our own energy (I’m guilty of this too!).  

I’m also a firm believer in doing things differently – powHERfully – to create a different results, starting NOW:  

Leverage Strategic Partnerships

Women WE Celebrate partner, Corina Walsh, Shift People Development

I too have been guilty of ‘going it alone’ and taking the long road toward reaching my goals.  The reason that I landed a client in the U.K. in the first place was because of a strategic partnership with a local institution that I approached almost a year ago (note the lead time, yes a year ago).  They began sub-contracting some of their local clients to me and are really happy with my work.  When a large multinational firm contacted them for team development, they turned to me to work with this important client.  I had taken time to build their trust, develop our relationship and deliver results.  It would likely have taken years for a business of my size (small in nature, large in talent!) to attract a multi-national as a client.  

I have learned that I can go farther faster if I have the right partners.

By aligning myself with an established institution, I can now add ‘working with a multi-national firm’ to my portfolio.

Go For ‘The Ask’

In 2017, I also expanded my business into the U.S. market.  While prospecting for new clients in late 2016, I thought I would go out on a limb and approach a large conference planner in the U.S. to inquire as to whether they needed a speaker for an upcoming conference.  I thought it was a long shot, and I probably wouldn’t even get a response.  I received an immediate response and closed a deal with them the following week.  Getting in front of a large U.S. audience could lead to multiple opportunities for my business.  I attribute some of my motivation to ‘go for the ask’ to Charlene SanJenko.  Char declared 2016 the ‘Year Of The Ask’, and her message really stuck with me.  

If we want to grow our businesses, then we have to ask for what we want.  

This is so much more effective than attending networking events and hoping to meet the right contact.  It’s high-time we prioritize our effectiveness.

Recognize the Emotions of Success

When the success curve begins to kick in, you must be ready for how it will feel.   Each new level of success will demand more from you, and up-leveling can be scary. Feelings of discomfort will eventually become a little more familiar, and you will gain greater confidence each and every time you acknowledge them and then let them pass right on by.

You have to embrace the discomfort that often comes with growth and reaching new levels of success.  

Many of us lead our businesses and careers under the notion that if we work hard enough, we will eventually reach our goals.

My question is:  What if we didn’t have to work so hard?

What if we could accelerate the speed in which we reach our goals? Forming strategic partnerships will allow you to quickly broaden your influence and extend your reach, which help you get from A to B faster.  Remember that we get what we are ready for.  Being direct and asking for what we want is how we clearly communicate to the world – and ourselves – exactly what we are ready for right now.

Finally, take a moment to prepare yourself emotionally for success so when it arrives – you’re ready to acknowledge it and allow it to propel you and your impact forward, powHERfully.