How do you grow a small online business with little or no money? I believe this article will provide the basic answers you need.
Now it’s one thing to start an online business but growing the business is where the true business challenge lies.

I have started and grown several online businesses from scratch with little or no money. I believe in running a business on a lean budget.

1. Focus on the business mission
The first strategic step to growing your small online business on a lean budget is to focus on fulfilling your business mission. On the entrepreneurial journey to growing your business, I will advise you start from the business mission. Why?

“The thing I really care about is the mission; making the world open.” – Mark Zuckerberg

The reason is that the business mission is where the entrepreneurial spirit dwells. It’s the heart of the business; it’s core. Most importantly, your business mission is the reason why your business exists.


2. Develop a challenging vision

I will advise you set challenging goals; goals that will force you out of your comfort zone. Don’t develop a vision you are comfortable with; develop a vision that makes you uncomfortable, develop a business vision that forces you to use your critical thinking skills.


3. Reposition your business team

“Bringing together the right information with the right people will dramatically improve a company’s ability to develop and act on strategic business opportunities.” – Bill Gates

The third key to growing your small online business from scratch on a lean budget is to reposition your business team. To grow your business, the right people have to be in the right position.

Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your business team and delegate duties to them according to their strength. If there is a weak chain in your business management team; consider bringing someone in to fill the gap. A strong business management team is essential to business growth.


4.Emphasize the need for speed, effectiveness and efficiency
Are your employees aware of the need for your business to grow? Are they aligned with your business mission? Do they understand the vision? These are questions you must put to rest.

“The most important ‘speed’ issue is often not technical but cultural. It’s convincing everyone that the company’s survival depends on everyone moving as fast as possible.” – Bill Gates


5. Strengthen your business internally
What is internal growth? Internal business growth entails strengthening your bottom line, improving your employee’s effectiveness and machine’s efficiency. It may also mean repositioning your business team and automating your business processes. Once a business effectively grows internally, growing externally will be seamless.


6. Keep an eye on the cash flow
“Cash never makes us happy. It’s better to have the money burning a hole in Berkshire’s pocket than resting comfortably in someone else’s.” – Warren Buffett

Cash flow is the lifeblood of business. Remember that you are growing on a lean budget, so every penny has to be accounted for. You must know your numbers and above all, you must know your financial position at all times.

“The most important word in the world of money is cash flow. The second most important word is leverage.” – Rich Dad


7. Take care of your customers and encourage word of mouth
“Focus on your customers and lead your people as though their lives depend on your success.” – Warren Buffett

While growing internally, you can instigate external business growth by taking care of your customers and encouraging word of mouth. Customers are the reason you are in business so make sure they are not ignored during your growth process.

“The most important single thing is to focus obsessively on the customer. Our goal is to be earth’s most customer-centric company.” – Jeff Bezos

8. Go strict with employee performance evaluation
So you want to grow your small business on a lean budget? Then you must maximize every resource at your disposal, leaving no room for inefficiency and waste. You must also evaluate your employee’s performance rate at regular intervals and any employee that doesn’t meet your standard should be fired.


9. Seek strategic alliance
“Our success has really been based on partnerships from the very beginning.” – Bill Gates
Forming a strategic alliance is an effective way to grow big, while still remaining small. Look within your neighbourhood first for opportunities to form strategic alliances and if you can’t find any; create one.


10. Focus on the core and outsource the rest
If there’s any secret to growing a small business from scratch on a lean budget; then it’s definitely outsourcing. Outsourcing is the reason my entire business keeps growing; yet, I remain small. To the outside world, my business size is still the same but on the inside; my profit is doubling.


11. Re-invest the profits
Growing on a lean budget requires you re-invest every single profit into the business. Re-investing profits is essential to business growth.

12. Stick to the process; keep growing
The last but not the least step to growing a small business is to stick to the process. Building a successful business is not an overnight process; it’s a process that takes time and requires persistent. To stick it through to the end of the process, you need to see the big picture of where you are heading to; you need to envision the end point of that process.


“Press on. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” – Ray Kroc

ARTICLE SOURCE

Ok

Noted

Errrmm

Abi
We go look into the matter...





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I sell USA used Laptops
Free delivery within Lagos only and it's pay on delivery

Absolutely very informative.



Meanwhile ,DM me for our fast growing longrich Bioscience Business.

Let me read through

This is obviously applicable to even offline businesses.

I will only add to the last point. Every business should have a unique winning strategy, once you understand the market and target audience the next is how/mediums to penetrate. Once you figure it outrightly, stick to that process and grow with it.

Don't forget, be sensitive to market trend, yesterday's strategy might not be applicable in today's business.

Nice read @ OP

Isoright

Good one

Good tips

Noted

stories for the gods. the gods knows how to use it

Threads like this are always dry and we wonder why Africa is still in the doldrums.

whytediamond:
Threads like this are always dry and we wonder why Africa is still in the doldrums.

You can't expect it to be lively, social media especially is boring to study for those who want to engage in the online visibility. The growth is not like many writers will paint it without you using money to get the best of it.

Many people have tried but they are not getting result. And in this part of the world when people hear "online" they think of scam.

The truth is this, you cannot get the best result putting your business online without spending money.

You will only be lucky if you can get good social media strategist who will work you through.

I am a social media marketer, i expose the truth and walk anyone to get favourable online result.

We all want to make our business visible online, not all of us can study the techniques required just like not all of us will face same line of business.

I have trained students of institutions on digital marketing, the moments you get deep on social media they will start telling you "so, facebook is this large". Social media goes beyond the posting of pictures and those status update & social media promotion goes beyond clicking promote now, boost post.

Making your business go online is the in thing now, but if you cannot study it, get someone trained among your staff or just outsource to those that will get you the value for your money.

In all, if you cannot get yourself trained, just focus on your service while you just hire someone who can do it or just outsource like the Op pointed out.


Well done i2know2.

Guy your website has expired, and is currently parked by godaddy

Very informative, but how do one implement some of these points for a laundry house...Just trying to be practical

This doesn't sound like an online business you are teaching about!