Growing Your Business
*If you are able to take notes as you read through this blog, my suggestion is to do so. Take the time to answer all of (or some of) the questions below. If time permits, use this as an opportunity to strategize & create a plan for growing your business*
THINK AHEAD: My first tip for growing your business is to think ahead. When you create a business or if you currently already have a business or businesses, think ahead. Think 1 year ahead, 5 years ahead,10 years ahead, 20 years ahead, 50+ years ahead.
What is your exit strategy? Are you going to keep this business? Is this a business that you can pass down to your family? Is this a business that you eventually want to stabilize and sell? Is this a business that's going to own assets? What is your plan? What are your goals?
Is this a business where you want to make $100,000 a year? $250,000 a year? Do you want to grow it to make 1 million dollars a year? Do you want to make 10 million dollars a year? Do you want to stabilize and sell a company for 50 million? Do you want to be a billionaire?
Think ahead and make sure that you're doing everything that you need to do to prepare and have a good vision for your business. A plan - a vision - so you can operate in alignment with what you're working towards.
BUILD YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE: Another tip is to build the infrastructure of your business. Take the time to build out systems and procedures. Even if you are not in a position to hire anyone at this time, take the time to build it out yourself. Look at your business and ask yourself, what are the different departments within my business?
Is my LLC or legal entity set up? Do I have an EIN? Do I have an operating agreement? Do I have a business bank account? Am I monitoring my credit daily? Does my business have access to personal and business funding? Am I taking advantage of reward points generated from credit cards? Do I have a team in place?
Do I have interns? Do I need virtual assistants? Do I have strategic advisors? Do I have mentors? Am I surrounding myself with experts in my industry? Am I keeping track of all my past / current clients and or customers? Am I keeping track of new leads? Am I cultivating those leads?
Am I investing in my continuing education? Am I researching what other successful companies are doing? Am I researching how successful companies set up their infrastructure, systems and procedures? Do I have all of my documents organized?
Do I have all my paperwork filed electronically? Am I handling my bookkeeping and my accounting? Are all of my businesses' expenses being charged to the business account?
Am I being intentional about the income that my business generates? Am I setting goals? Am I meeting those goals? Can I align myself with various organizations or nonprofits that have a similar mission or synergy?
POUR INTO YOUR FOUNDATION: Take the time to pour into the foundation of your business. Build the foundation of your business. In my experience, it complicates and delays the process to start building your business on an unstable foundation. It's so important to build out the foundation first and to identify who you need to align yourself with to be the best business that you can be.
PROVIDE A SOLUTION: It is very important that we are collectively taking the time to invest in providing solutions for our community.
Identify what solution your business provides and invest in learning who could benefit most from it. There are so many things that the black community could benefit from - that would improve our quality of life. Take the time to learn the demographics and the conditions within the community you serve.
Knowing where your consumers are at, what they need and what they are struggling with, will allow you to create products, services and opportunities that they can really benefit from. Do you know what solution your business provides? Do you know the impact of the products, services and / or opportunities your business provides? Making money is good but are you in tune with the problems your consumers have? Does your business resolve or address any of their issues?
I always use our community redevelopment project as an example when I am trying to drive this point home. The neighborhood we are investing in is a goldmine. There is an abundance of money to be made - but the community is also filled with poverty and the people are suffering.
As an investor, I could easily just focus on the real estate…but I know the neighborhood needs so much more than that. They deserve strategic / intentional investment that addresses the current conditions of the community. The people within the neighborhood deserve to be included in our plan. They deserve to thrive with the community as it transitions.
As an investor, I could easily just focus on building my wealth and developing our sites but it doesn’t make sense for me to solely focus on the money when the people within the community have been subjected to poor quality of life conditions, trauma, pain and suffering.
As much as I care about building my wealth - I understand that is only a part of the assignment. I am not okay with capitalizing off of a culture and community that is suffering. If I am going to benefit from a neighborhood that is suffering - I am going to do everything I can to ensure that they benefit with me.
I have taken the time to cultivate solutions that address the disparities within the community and instead of capitalizing on a neighborhood thats suffering - we are infusing it with wealth, abundance, programming, much-needed asset classes, streetscape improvements, existing resident home repairs, affordable housing, funding, food, goods, services, jobs, training, safety, security, technology and resources so the community can thrive and flourish with us.
When you focus on cultivating your business and identifying how you are going to make money - take the time to implement solutions that create change. Take the time to implement strategies so you can continue to be of value to your consumers.
BUILD YOUR TEAM: One of the biggest lessons i’ve learned is to hire interns, fellows and virtual assistants.
I have done a lot of hiring throughout my entrepreneurship journey and the process has not been easy. It was extremely challenging and in many cases compromised my mental health. I wish I knew what I know now when I first started my business and transitioned into preparing to grow my portfolio. I would have done things a lot differently.
Over the years, i’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars training people and investing in people that ended up quitting or getting let go. Here is my insight on why I think focusing on these three areas (Interns, Fellows, VA’s) initially is a game changer:
Internships are a great way to build your infrastructure on free labor. There are a lot of people that need to gain experience and you providing free internship opportunities is providing a solution for the community as well as your business. When you are growing your business, it's important to save as much money as possible. It takes time to build out training so your employee or independent contractor on boarding process is smooth, efficient and affective. Take advantage of the fact that an intern can assist you with creating and implementing these things. Another benefit to creating an internship program within your business is that you are cultivating talent and there could eventually be opportunity for advancement for the intern. Who better to hire than someone that has proven to you they are good to work with and add value to your organization?
Fellowships are similar to internships but more sophisticated - generally with individuals that have completed higher education and are very experienced within specific industries. I managed a group of 20 fellows last year that joined the program for temporary unpaid positions and was blown away by the talent we had an opportunity to work with. They were amazing and I am so grateful to have a business that was able to provide training, experience and value to them. Although they were working for free, the fellowship allowed them to gain experience within the private equity / social impact space and for us it provided the extra support we needed to take our private equity funds and programming to the next level.
Virtual Assistants are extremely beneficial because it is not always feasible to have office space or work with people in person. Creating an infrastructure where team members can assist you anywhere in the world gives you options to hire talent in different areas and exposes you to more opportunity. As you grow your business, you will see that you need support within different departments and having someone that can assist you with administrative, sales, marketing, design, finance, etc will give you more time to do what you are best at and enjoy the most. There's people all over the country and all over the world that are looking for work, and that are talented and could provide value to you and your organization. Make sure that you are being intentional about building out the infrastructure with your interns and fellows so you can onboard your paid positions.
CULTIVATE YOUR WORK ENVIRONMENT: I studied hospitality and tourism management in college, so I learned a lot about employee / contractor turnover.
I learned about the benefits of maintaining good, quality team members because it could be detrimental to your business if you consistently have a high turnover.
It makes it so hard for the business to stabilize and thrive if you're constantly in training mode, constantly pouring in to new people that don't have any intention to stay within the organization. Investing in people is important but it has to be done strategically.
If your business isn't set up for people to thrive, people could not be a good team member and you could have high turnover because of you, because your business is unstable, and it's not a good environment for people to work in.
I know this because there were many times within my own business where I was able to recognize that I wasn’t cultivating the best work environment. Many scenarios where I was able to accept that I was the problem and that I needed to create the change to be a better leader and boss.
There are a lot of reasons that companies can have high turnover, but in my experience it is such a waste of resources to constantly be pouring into people that don't stay with your organization for a long period of time or that don’t do good work.
DON’T GIVE UP: The next tip is, don't give up. Keep going. Keep working hard. Identify your exit strategy. Think ahead. Build the infrastructure out for your business. Bring strategic partnerships to the table. Partner with companies and organizations and individuals that can help you push your agenda forward.
This is not about you doing everything yourself. This is not about you creating a job for yourself. This is not about you creating more work for yourself.
This is about generational wealth and abundance. You deserve that. You deserve to have the freedom and to not be playing every single role, in every single position, within your organization.
PLAY YOUR POSITION: If you're the CEO, there's a specific role that the CEO plays, and it's not always being the director of every single department within your organization. The administrative assistant, the business strategy analyst, the project manager, the bookkeeper, the graphic designer - you don't have to play all those roles.
I have played every position, but as my business continues to grow, and as I build my infrastructure, I've taken the time to segue out of those roles. If I am not completely removed from a position, I have a plan, a timeline and an exit strategy that I am working towards. This process is going to look differently for everyone. Take the time to create / cultivate YOUR process.
I didn't want to be the administrative assistant forever. I didn't want to be the graphic designer, the web designer, or the content creator. I didn't want to be the social media manager. I did it - it was important that I learned it, and that I was able to identify what I'm good at and what I'm not good at, but my exit strategy was, and still is, always for me to operate as the leader of the organization - empowering other leaders.
Once I get closer to retirement, my position will change and the leadership I've cultivated will step up and assume the responsibility. I will not work forever, but it's important to me that I build my businesses in a way where they are sustainable and can continue to thrive / flourish without me.
I applaud you if you have a business. I applaud you if you're working to create and cultivate a business. Us creating businesses and putting ourselves in a position to scale those businesses and to grow - to thrive, is game-changing. It's necessary and much needed. You deserve it. Your family deserves it.
Take those businesses and acquire additional funding. Go leverage yourself into more assets. Build your wealth. Use business as a strategy to break the cycle of poverty and create generational wealth. You deserve abundance.
You deserve the freedom.
You deserve to have a business that's thriving and flourishing. Don't give up. You're one change away from leveraging yourself into a better situation.
It's going to be a journey. Be intentional about building out that infrastructure - take your time to build out the training. Take your time to hire and build your team. Be patient if you do have turnover. Take your time to create systems and procedures. Be patient if you don't always experience a smooth process in your business.
One day at a time.
Anticipate that your business is going to be extremely successful and you will have an influx of demand.
Take the time to build your foundation and to build good habits so you can handle the demand once it increases ( I lost a lot of money by not being prepared for the influx)
Form strategic partnerships (It's not necessary to do everything yourself)
Identify your exit strategy. What is your long term objective?
If you want a brick and mortar location…buy land that’s suitable for multi-family mixed use affordable housing (You can design your storefront on the ground floor, residential rental units above, joint venture with a developer and use the land as collateral / leverage to get your space free and clear. Consult with someone that understands this strategy before you execute. This is not a tip for inexperienced investors)
Evaluate your circle often (Associating with the wrong people can be detrimental to your business and your mental health)
Apply for grants regularly. Free funding is crucial at any phase of your business.
Understand the value in having good credit (I had terrible credit for a long time and blocked a lot of blessings and opportunities because of it. Learn how to repair your credit or work with an expert that can assist you.)
Monitor your spending (The more money I made, the more I invested in my business… without proper monitoring you can easily waist money / unused monthly subscriptions / too much eating out, etc )
When you start making more money, practice spending less (It's common for people to increase their lifestyle as they increase their wealth. Practice NOT doing that. Maintain living below your means so you can save, build up your reserves & invest aggressively)
Before spending money on hiring a bunch of staff, learn how to be a leader towards free labor (interns and fellows). People need opportunities to gain experience. Free labor can be mutually beneficial.
Build out training, systems and procedures - workflows. This is important and will make your hiring / on boarding / operations process efficient. Don’t wing it. Take the time to build your infrastructure.
Outline different departments within your organization. Even if you are not in a position to staff the departments - create an outline.
Secure funding for your business (Business Line of Credit / Business Credit Card/ You will benefit significantly from having operating, reserves, contingency capital)
Organize your business materials electronically. Take the time to create folders, spreadsheets and files so you're able to refer back to what you need quickly. It can be frustrating when you need something and you can't find it.
When you decide to invest into systems, technology, people, etc stick with it for at least 90 days (I started using management tools and fell off after 2 weeks, bounced around to different technology and never got the hang of anything / ended up wasting money, wasting time and wasting my team's time. Consistency is key. Give yourself time.)
Take care of yourself. As the leader of your organization if you're not good it’s hard for the business to be good. Invest in self care and schedule time off.
Automate your business (How can you simplify your process? What do you need to do to remove yourself from the equation? Can your business still thrive without you handling day to day operations? If not, what would need to be implemented or who would need to be hired in order for that to happen?)
Scale Your Business! Dream BIG! If you are a chef and you specialize in a specific food product, maybe your exit strategy is to get your product into the stores? If you are a teacher and you have a solution for students, maybe your exit strategy is to get your solution into every school or college throughout the country?
Example: I am rebuilding one neighborhood but my exit strategy is to package up the model so it can be implemented globally. I don’t need to be hands on in every single black neighborhood as they are being rebuilt but I have a solution and want to make sure I do everything I can to get it to the people that will do good with it.
Incorporate your retirement plan into your business. Is your company one you want your family to inherit? What needs to be done for it to be built on solid ground so it’s sustainable and can be passed down?
Save money / build up your business reserves. Income fluctuates. You want to be able to stay above water when it gets tough or business has to shut down.
Create multiple streams of income (Whether you have multiple streams from different businesses or within your business - make sure you are investing in knowing how to make money in different ways)
Create a digital product (Easy money & Instant gratification for your consumer)
Create Google ads / Facebook ads, etc. to drive traffic to your digital product and business. Make sure whatever you are driving traffic to, that your back end is set up and you can handle the demand. Automate the process so you don't have to do anything but monitor the money as it comes in. (I don't use ads but I have a lot of mentors / partners that have extreme success with this strategy)
Build your team ( Mentors, Accountant, Bookkeeper, Bank Contacts, Credit Repair, Real Estate Experts, Industry Experts, Subscription Based Businesses, CRM, Mailing List, Virtual Assistants, Interns, Fellows, Non Profit Organizations, Attorneys, Partners, etc)
Building your business is going to take time. Don’t get overwhelmed by all the things that need to be done. One day at a time. Every step is a step forward towards growth and development. This will continue to be a forever process . Commit to it and do the work. There will be good days and bad days. Show up the best you can and take action towards your goals.
Remind yourself of your why.
Create your estate plan. Create a will or trust. Life insurance. Retirement preparation. Create a generational wealth plan. Create business and investment projections.
Think ahead.
Set your personal and business infrastructure up so you and your family are good for generations. The goal is for it to be sustainable - for the wealth, freedom and abundance to last forever.
I appreciate you. Thank you for reading this. I hope that this information was helpful. I hope that it inspires you to take action and that you know your business building process is going to be a process. If you have any questions, feedback and blog requests please let us know!! I am grateful for your support and look forward to connecting again soon!
