Growing your business while keeping your profits healthy can be problematic.  If you have a small business, it can be overwhelming.  Here are three hassle-free strategies to help you grow and expand your small business.

The rapid expansion of a business of any size can cause some dramatic "pain points."  When you start with one person and one phone and suddenly you have 4 to 5 employees, life can get complicated.

1. Get a plan.

The sky is the limit.  Just because you are small business, doesn't mean you need to think small.  Most businesses grow in a milestone based way.  In other words, you accomplish one goal before you can move on to another.

You can get too busy reacting and "putting out fires" in your business. The "react and respond" mentality is one reason that there is a high burnout rate in small businesses.

Develop a comprehensive plan, before you become a statistic.  If you continue to change everything on an "as needed" basis, you are going to encounter what should be predictable, yet remain unanticipated roadblocks.

It may feel like you are just responding to the marketplace, and you may be right.  But there is the very real possibility that you are adding permanent staff for a seasonal bump in profits.

If you have a solid business plan in place, create an expansion plan.  Your planning should be flexible.  You don't want to staff up and invest in an expensive computer system too fast.  On the other hand, you need to budget for the technology and software your business demands.  Build your company like you are building a bridge to the future.

2. Get IT and/or cloud infrastructure in place.

No matter how small your business, it needs all the technological advantages.  We live in a digital world.  Business is fast-paced and cutting edge.  You have to compete.  You want to expand.  Make sure your hardware and your software supports your growth.

You may start out with one computer and a phone.  If so, make sure you have the right software and hardware to keep your sales, invoicing, accounting and marketing integrated in your system.

The importance of developing applications and the cloud technology are often underestimated.  There are cloud-based applications for all the systems in your office. Actually, the cloud continues to expand into new and integrated services and niches. You may want to find a cost-effective cloud-based office suite solution to fill your many needs.

Your plan for the future must include the ongoing cost of technology.

Hopefully, when expansion time comes around, you have a large, growing customer database and a website that is exceeding all your expectations.  Either way, in any sales and service business, you need a web presence and the right computer software to keep your vendors and customers organized and easy to reach.

Even if you have a small IT network, make sure you have the ability to stream live audio and video.  While you're streaming the meeting, you can record it directly to your network server for future reference. 

One final consideration: data is key to your development. Whether you are protecting your piece of the cloud or making sure the host to your website is reliable, secure your data.

3. Expand your business phone system.

If you are just extending the reach of your business or expanding to other locations, every employee needs a phone extension or a phone that is connected to the business.

Add the possibility of mobile and tablet technology to merge your IT with your phone system. Going mobile has dramatic economic and ease-of-use advantages.

Using telephone technology to increase your staff's availability and efficiency is a key to successful growth.  Upgrading and networking your business phone system should make your employees more efficient.

You also need to merge email functions with a unified and collective directory system to keep every employee on the same page.  The ability to access important company data from each phone has unique advantages. For more information, contact Quick-Tel or a similar company.

A realistic plan and the right technology features should be built in to your small business.  Growth and change don't have to be too stressful. Your plan to add new staff, streamline communications and upgrade your technology should match the fast pace of your growing office.

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