Do you want to see your company grow? This question may seem silly, but some business owners are happy where they’re at. Some of them are content with the size of their business and don’t want it to get any bigger. For whatever reason, they are in their “comfort zone” and they like it there.

Then, there are other business owners whose answer is an enthusiastic “Yes!” but they don’t know what they need to do to reach their goals. Our guess is that since you’re reading this, you do want your company to grow. To see your desires come to fruition, you need to focus on these four things the majority of the time.

1. Continuous learning.

When is the last time you read a book that would directly improve your business? Sadly, a lot of people stop reading after they graduate college, but if you research the world’s wealthiest and most successful entrepreneurs, you’ll discover that they’re avid readers. They read non-stop and they’re always learning new things.

In the business world, technology is evolving at a rapid rate and you have to keep your finger on the pulse. As an entrepreneur, you need to stay abreast of the latest advances in technology. You don’t want your competitors to leave you in the dust.

When you surround yourself with the most successful business owners, you’ll notice they’re self-proclaimed learners. They’re in the practice of reading daily. They’re members of mastermind groups. They work closely with their own business coaches, and they attend numerous conferences every year. In fact, the most successful people actively seek out coaches and education that will help them reach the next echelon of success.

They know that if they were to be idle, if they were to lose focus, they’d be doing themselves and their team a disservice. Business owners cannot expect to grow if they are not constantly working on being the exceptional leader their company needs and deserves. 

2. Create the company’s vision.

As the business owner, you are 100% responsible for the company’s vision. You can’t expect your employees to do it for you. Where do you see your company in five, ten, or fifteen years from now? Will you develop new products and services? Will you hire more people and move into a bigger building?

You are the one who is going to set the vision for your company’s future – this is not one of those tasks that can be delegated to an employee. If you don’t have a clear destination, you’re sailing a ship on the open sea with no idea where you’re going. This will get your company nowhere fast, which is why it’s up to you to set your company’s short- and long-term vision. You have to be at the helm. 

3. Strategize on behalf of the business.

Visions are great, but they’re useless if you don’t create a strategy and follow that up with action. If you haven’t a clue where you’re going, that’s okay. You have two critical tools in your arsenal: 1) you can hire a business coach to help you, and 2) you can utilize others’ strengths to help you; for example, you can hire a marketing company to help you create a killer website and a powerful digital marketing campaign.

You do not need to be an expert at everything – that would be asking way too much of yourself. That’s what hiring employees with complementary strengths is for. You hire the experts, but you keep yourself closely involved in the planning processes. This includes hiring, teambuilding, sales, marketing, and product development.

Not only do you want to hold monthly, quarterly and annual strategy meetings with your leadership team and key decision makers, but you also want to utilize trusted mentors and coaches who you can bounce your ideas off of and who can ensure you’re on the right track. 

4. Keep your eyes on the cash.

You may have taken on a CFO, but your job as CEO never changes: You must ensure that your business never runs out of cash. You may think, “That’s a no-brainer,” but you’d be surprised how many business owners don’t have a good handle on their company’s finances. Even if you hired someone to handle the money, still check in on the financial records and do it often.

If you want your business to thrive and grow, you need to be fully aware of the cash flow starting now. The other 20 percent of your time can be spent on the everyday parts of the business, getting new clients, developing new products, or even being a celebrity. It can be spent testing marketing ideas and churning out great blog content. But, the sooner you meet with a business coach, the sooner you can successfully manage the above four aspects of your business.

Are you ready to have a conversation with a business coach? Contact AdviCoach to learn how our coaches can help your company thrive and grow.