How I Grew My Business (By Over $250K ARR in 1 Year) with Automation
Updated: Nov 29, 2023
Introduction
Growing a business is difficult. It takes time, dedication, and energy. But it can ABSOLUTELY be made easier by automating your tasks. Automation can help you save time and focus on what's important to the growth of your business rather than dealing with the mundane day-to-day tasks that have nothing to do with growing your company.
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This is a short list of a few things that helped me grow my consultancy by seeing an increase of over $250K annual revenue in only 1 year.
1. Know your why
First, you need to know what you want to achieve and why.
You have to be clear about why you’re doing this. Maybe it's for money, or fame, or just because your friends are doing it too. Maybe it's because building a business from scratch is an interesting challenge for you as an entrepreneur. Whatever the reason may be, write it down and look at that goal every day so that when times get hard, which they inevitably will at some point in your journey—and they will—you can remind yourself of why you started this crazy journey in the first place.
When I started my first business back in 2010 there were several reasons behind my decision: I wanted financial freedom; I wanted control over my schedule; I didn't want 40 years of hard work being rewarded only with a gold watch on retirement day; and most importantly (and somewhat surprisingly) I didn't want another boss telling me what to do or how to do it anymore!
2. Focus on one thing at a time.
This is my number one tip for growing any business. It might sound counterintuitive, but you need to be focused on one thing at a time in order to grow your business.
You’re probably thinking “But what about all the things I have going on?” or “How am I supposed to only focus on one thing?”
I know, it feels impossible because there are so many opportunities and things that you want/need to do within your business. But when you try and do everything at once, nothing gets done well or fast enough. You end up with unhappy customers who feel like they are being neglected (even though they aren’t), low-quality work being produced by underpaid staff who get bored easily (and quit), or products that take forever just because they keep adding new features unnecessarily instead of focusing on what matters most first which then delays other projects even further down the line... All while running out of cash flow which means eventually shutting down temporarily or permanently depending on how much money has been lost due to lack of focus over time!
3. Make use of the automation tools available to you
There are a variety of tools available to you. Some are free, and some cost money—but they’re all worth investing in if you haven't already.
For example:
[Zapier](https://zapier.com/) – This tool connects web apps by allowing them to “talk” to one another, so they can work together without any additional programming required. This is especially useful when automating repetitive tasks or adding automation where it didn't exist before.
[Zoho Flow](https://www.zoho.com/flow/) – I use this everyday. Zoho Flow has default access to over 150 applications, within each we're looking at roughly 20+ triggers per plus custom functions using their Deluge language. Automate anything...literally anything with workflows.
[Alteryx](https://www.alteryx.com/) – Prep, blend, analyze, and interpret data faster with hundreds of no-code, low-code analytic building blocks with a scalable infrastructure and advanced AI capabilities. I personally love the tool (still waiting on my partner application to be processed 😂).
4. Dare to be different in your business
Dare to be different in your business. Here's what I do...I focus on being disruptive. Applying analytics to businesses and writing was what made my consultancy different in 2017 when we launched and now, process automation is what takes me to the next level.
Don’t be the same as everyone else. Don't do what everyone else is doing just because they're doing it and it's easier than coming up with your own idea, or because you think that's what works best for you. Do something when it makes sense for your brand and your audience, even if that means taking a more difficult path to success.
If you want to be successful at growing a business, you have to stand out from the crowd by being one of the few brands that does something different than anyone else out there (and actually gets noticed).
5. Ask for help
I can't emphasize enough how important it is to ask for help. I've seen people grow their business alone, and they'll make all sorts of excuses not to ask for help. They'll claim they don't have time or they're too busy working on their business, but we all know that's total BS. There's always a way to squeeze in an hour here or there if you really want something badly enough.
If you need help with anything at all, don't be afraid to reach out! The worst thing someone can say is no (and even then, it's not the end of the world). Here are some examples of people you can reach out to:
Your customers or clients
Employees
Other entrepreneurs in your industry who have already built successful businesses from scratch (they're called mentors)
Former coworkers or friends who might have some free time on their hands
Our businesses are made up of an endless list of small tasks that, when done efficiently and consistently, lead us towards our goals.
In order to get these tasks done, you need to focus on one thing at a time. This can be stressful if you’re trying to do too much at once.
There are so many tools available today that can help with automating the execution of your daily tasks in a more efficient manner. It's important that we learn how they work so we can use them effectively in our businesses!
The best way to grow your business is by being different from everyone else - finding out what makes you unique and focusing on those things exclusively. People want something new; something fresh; something exciting! If someone sees another business offering the same services as yours then it will be very difficult for people to see why theirs would be any different than yours unless there was something else about them worth mentioning or offering up as an additional benefit (I'll talk about this another time).
Conclusion
There’s nothing stopping you from taking action on your dream to grow your business. You can start by asking yourself what it would take to get there and then taking positive steps towards those goals every day. You know who you are and what you have inside that makes your business special; now it’s time to get started! If you'd like to sign up for a free trial of Zoho One (with Flow) and take advantage of my partner discount sign up here.
For more information about putting this information to work at your organization contact Bryan at (203) 954-5121 or bryan@tangibleconsult.com.