Jump-Starting Your Startup's Growth

“Starting and growing a business is as much about the innovation, drive and determination of the people who do it as it is about the product they sell.”  -   Elon Musk
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Starting your own business can be an exciting time. But with the launch of every great startup follows the pressure to survive, succeed and grow. Marketing and growing your business may appear to be a daunting task at first, especially for a small startup, but fortunately there are a number of practical ways to accelerate your company’s growth. Regardless of what industry you are in, following these few simple steps are sure to help your company progress and succeed...

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​Network 
As an entrepreneur, networking is one of the most valuable ways you can use your time. Business networking offers exceptional opportunities for you to expand your knowledge, build strong relationships, gain new clients and get the word out about your company. The best and most obvious way to network is to attend networking events where you’ll get the opportunity to talk with creative, motivated and like-minded business owners. But for those that would like to go above and beyond, you may also try building an online network with key entrepreneurs and influencers within your industry to further extend your reach and network connections.
 
Content
Content is key! You want to make sure that your company is regularly creating and sharing valuable content to promote your business and attract customers. Wherever you post content - website, social media platforms, blogs - make sure it is relevant to your customers, your business and your industry. The goal is to create content that people will appreciate and be inclined to share so don’t be afraid to get creative and have fun!
 
Social Media
Today, social media is one of the most effective (and cheapest) digital marketing techniques, which means it is a great platform to increase brand recognition and engage customers! But that doesn’t mean that you have to have every social media site out there. Find out which platforms work the best for your company and use those as a way to boost your content!
 
Productivity Tools 
The secret to being productive is productivity tools! For those that are easily distracted or find that they are inefficiently utilizing their time, productivity tools are here to help make your life and work easier, clearer and more efficient! Productivity tools are applications that allow you to create, modify or organize general office documents, images or video clips and are the key to presenting unique, creative content. Many can also often boost collaboration and mindsharing, which is an essential part of growing your business. To help you stay focused and build your business, here are a few productivity tools that are guaranteed to increase your productivity and jump-start your collaboration efforts! 

• TopTracker – A tracking tool that is designed to help you effortlessly track your work and progress.
• Slack  - The ultimate team communication tool! Allows your team to communicate and collaborate through real-time messaging.
• Proucteev - An application that helps assign, schedule and manage all your tasks so that no task is left behind!
• Appear.in – A video conferencing app that allows your team to communicate and collaborate with your team when working remotely!

 
Create Urgency 
Achieve more with urgency! It may take some time to get things going in the beginning, but once your business is in full effect you need to set specific timelines for your goals and actions or you will be stuck in startup mode forever. The pressure to perform will push your company to improve, advance and grow.
 
Continue to Innovate and Improve
The world is changing every day so it is important to continue to create and innovate in order to stay relevant. Your business should be constantly working to improve - whether that be new procedures, programs, products - you need to encourage a philosophy of improvement to help your company evolve and thrive. 

Written by Benita Izu-Alcobia