Growing a Recently started Business
Growing a Recently started Business
(OP)
I started my geotechnical consulting company three years ago. I have gotten decent growth, but looking to step things up in terms of building a strong clientele, increasing revenue, and hiring employees; but cannot figure out how.
What are some steps one can take to grow company exposure, earn more potential client trust, and push annual revenues deeper into the 7 digits? What are some good ways to meet developers, architects, and engineers who can assist in this growth?
What are some steps one can take to grow company exposure, earn more potential client trust, and push annual revenues deeper into the 7 digits? What are some good ways to meet developers, architects, and engineers who can assist in this growth?
RE: Growing a Recently started Business
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RE: Growing a Recently started Business
My quick tips:
1. Priorities: Focus on important stuff, not urgent stuff. Important things are for long term growth. Urgent stuff can be handled by your employees.
2. Networking: Need to do it consistently, and follow up. You never know when you meet someone.
3. Branding: It's important to make your company seem respectable and larger. Things like custom domain email address, website, logo, phone system, and paperwork.
4. Goals: Set your goals to be the best geotechnical consulting company in your area, not just one more option for bidding. This will get repeat business and referrals, which is good for exposure.
5. Expenses: Profits can be increased with operational efficiency, not just revenue growth. This is a whole huge topic itself.
RE: Growing a Recently started Business
Finding good people is the hardest (impossible) part. I'm still alone. I've got the work, and the money, but just can't find the people.
RE: Growing a Recently started Business
Based on what the business development types do at my engineering firm (pharma industry specific), I'd say go to industry events on a consistent basis to build rapport with potential clients. Give some presentations if you can so people can build confidence in you. This mirrors milkshakelake's point on networking. Also, to further milkshakelake's point on branding, make sure your LinkedIn, website, Facebook, etc. are all speaking the same design language; spend a little money to make things look nice, because it gives people confidence to reach out when the "packaging" doesn't look odd.
In terms of getting people to remember your name, try to help people even if you can't give them the final answer. If people come to you with questions often, it increases the chance you'll get a question you can answer (and charge for). I know this technique has helped me as an employee with building relationships with my colleagues over the years, hopefully it scales up.
RE: Growing a Recently started Business
One salient aspect might be the younger folk who work in those companies. They're not decision makers, but I can see them being more active on LinkedIn and Facebook. Once they're project managers, they could have more sway.
RE: Growing a Recently started Business
For Facebook, I think of it as claiming internet space so that it's under your control - pre-emptive protection against brand dilution. You never know when someone will Google your name (one person shop) or your company's name even after they get a referral. I see some individual consultant types use LinkedIn to essentially advertise their services by writing short case studies or the like and posting them. To me, it helps keep your name out there because you can get a little help from the website's algorithm if you post things prospective clients find interesting.
RE: Growing a Recently started Business
Good luck with growing your practice.
RE: Growing a Recently started Business
RE: Growing a Recently started Business
Structurals like to trash talk when they use a factor of safety of two to three on man-made objects that are routinely tested for their properties. That's after applying a live load that won't be seen more often than not. I bet the average factor of safety for allowable bearing is around three to four for a product placed by mother nature. Get off your soap box.
RE: Growing a Recently started Business