Growing your small business can seem borderline impossible, especially when just launching it seemed to take everything you had. When most people think of business growth, they automatically think of increased profits when it is actually quite the opposite at first.

Growing a business takes money, time, and tons of hard work. It won’t happen overnight, but with near-perfect planning and the best team imaginable, you can achieve significant growth in under a year.

Below are five impressively effective ways to grow your small business.

1. Be Fussy With Your Team

Before you can grow your small business, you need to make room in your team for growth. That doesn’t mean you should go out and hire people when you’re still servicing the same two clients (and one of them is your mom).

What that does mean, is you should plan your ideal team and make note of which roles still need to be filled so that you can grow. Do you need a bigger production team or just more salespeople?

Whoever you need, ensure that you only hire the best. Be fussy with your team because those people will ultimately make or break your business. Pay more if you need to, just get the best people for the roles.

2. Encourage Repeat Business

Business growth doesn’t have to come from the outside. Before spending thousands of dollars on advertising to attract new customers, implement a referral system instead. It is infinitely harder to attract a new customer than it is to retain one.

The psychology behind that is simple; once a consumer has decided to buy from you, they will be more open to doing it again – provided you made a good first impression.

3. Boost Productivity

You are only as good as your worst product or slowest employee. This age-old adage, of sorts, hits the nail on the head. If your business gets limited by poor productivity, you need to make some changes to the way your business operates. All businesses – big or small, require productive growth to succeed.

That doesn’t just stop at production lines; it also includes the productivity of your employees and company processes. Modern services such as Service Now Employee Center will alter the way you look at productivity and enable you to make the necessary changes to boost your business.

4. Mentally Embrace Growth

Many businesses cry wolf when it comes to growth. They talk a big game, but when it comes down to making room for growth, they cower in a corner. The bottom line is that growth is change – you can’t grow if things don’t change.

Find a way to get excited about the growth and all the changes that come with it. If you’re not mentally and psychologically prepared for growth, you won’t embrace it – that is just human nature.

5. Boost Customer Service

Growing your business means more customers and more orders. That leaves more room for mistakes and disappointed customers. Keep your service game strong by implementing regular employee training programs for your service departments. The more they know, the better equipped they are to shine.

It isn’t rocket science; it’s just striving for the best experience possible for your customer. Some things are as simple as that.