“The harsh reality about being in business? It’s really tough,” says James Sinclair. And yet the entrepreneur and business owner is proof that it’s possible to achieve success when you know how to overcome five common obstacles.
Drawing on his experience as both a business owner and as someone who mentors other business owners, James has a theory as to why some businesses make it to the next level.
Watch this instalment of our video series Business Class with James Sinclair to understand the five reasons most businesses don’t grow and discover simple strategies to make sure you do things differently.
What stops a business from growing?
Starting with reducing the amount of time you spend operating your business – a pitfall that many people fall into. James discusses the risk of being a “solo-preneur”, which he describes as someone who is building a profitable job as opposed to building a profitable business.
“Smart business owners are the marketers of their business,” says James, which means that you should ideally spend 20% of your time operating your business and 80% of your time marketing your business. That way, you aren’t distracted from the all-important job of coming up with a business plan for growth.
Talking of which, James also dedicates a section of the video to discussing numbers and sharing the key performance indicators (KPIs) owners should track in order to be successful. Remember, knowing these figures isn’t just useful when you’re starting out, because it’s exactly these kinds of insights that will enable you to develop a clear strategy to manage rapid business growth.
And while growth might only sound like a good thing, you’ll need to ensure you’re prepared. Otherwise, you might leave yourself struggling to find the capital, people and resources you need to meet customer demand and continue to thrive.
Keep watching as James explains why “margin is magic” and you’ll discover the percentage of gross profit margins you should aim for in order to build financial resilience into your business and have the opportunity to invest in growth.
Finally, there’s a chance to explore the importance of recurring income as James shares customer retention strategies designed to retain and drive value from your existing base, which feeds into one of his key mottos for long-term success: “A little bit of money from a lot of people a lot of the time.”
Find more of James Sinclair’s Business Class videos here.