8 Tips to Become a Fast-Growing Small Business in the US

We all know the story of how Colonel Harland Sanders got his first fast food franchise after the age of 60, a point in life where most people normally hang up their hat. His life was not an easy one. His father died when he was only five years old and being the eldest among his siblings, he was left in charge of their home whenever his mother had to work. This was how he learned to cook, a life-skill that served him well decades later, when he came up with his famous fried chicken.

There’s also the fairytale story of Walt Disney. It’s simply remarkable how Disneyland, dubbed as the “happiest place on earth” started out of the back of a small apartment shared by Walt and his brother Roy in Los Angeles, California. Walt was rejected 300 times by banks, and even after achieving success through the cartoon characters he created, first of which was Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney suffered losses and mental breakdowns throughout his journey as an entrepreneur.

Let’s also not forget that Facebook, the largest and most popular Social Media platform all over the world, began in Mark Zuckerberg’s dorm at Harvard.

When you think of fast-growing small businesses in the US, you probably won’t have Sanders, Disney, and Zuckerberg in mind as none of them really attained huge success overnight. They all toiled hard, faced obstacles, and decided to keep going. To top it off, Sanders and Disney lived at an earlier time, where technology wasn’t as advanced, and they didn’t have the advantage of online promotions. Zuckerberg may have paved the way for all that, right?

Still, one can't help but wonder about what it takes for a small business to succeed in the US.

So let’s talk about that.

Success is Not Linear

It is a well-established notion that success is not linear. You win today, you lose tomorrow. The difference between those who make it in life and those who don’t is this: those who made it simply didn’t let loss and defeat stop them. They kept going. Whether the terrain they walk on is rough or smooth didn’t matter, they simply soldiered on.

For small business owners, starting out takes a lot of courage and determination. When you hold a soft opening and nobody seems to take an interest in your product or in that cute little café you spent months conceptualizing in your parents’ basement, you begin to question your decision. “Is this really a good idea?” You’ll have plenty of days asking yourself that.

Then again if you did your research on fast-growing small businesses in the US and you have a good grasp on what it takes for a small business to succeed in the US, you might have a great chance at becoming a success.

It would probably help if you scour the internet for tips to become a fast-growing business in the US. In fact you can check out our list below!

Tips to Become a Fast-growing Business in the US

#1 Have a Great System in Place

We have heard of a lot of successful people who are known to thrive in the chaos. Their offices can be a mess, and their desks, even more so. It seems the chaos around them exhibits the creative chaos that resides within their minds. While that all sounds inspiring and amazing, when you are starting a small business in the US, chaos isn’t your friend. It would be best for you to implement a workable and reliable system within your operations.

This will help you keep track of your records– whether it’s your expenses, the orders you have accepted, utility maintenance schedules, or basically everything else that running a small business entails. With all the demands of a day, structure is your friend.

You’ll thank yourself later when things get crazier, yet you somehow still survive because you have a highly structured and organized system to run with.

#2 Have the Courage to Compete

Running a small business means you will be up against other small businesses offering the same products/services, or worse, against a multibillion dollar company that’s been around longer than you have. However, if you have made the decision to put up your own small business, it means you have enough courage to compete, to prove yourself and beat others on your way to becoming number 1 in the industry you picked.

Keep in mind that to be number 1 requires that you make a habit of analyzing the competition. Make sure that whatever they are doing, you can do better. Running a business means you have to constantly compete. After all, if you started out a small business without aspiring to make it to the top, then what are you doing?

#3 Calculate the Risks & Rewards

Everything we do has consequences, sometimes they’re good, at times they’re so bad we lose all we have. Owners of fast-growing small businesses in the US understand this well. When an opportunity comes, it is imperative that you understand the risks and rewards. If the reward is bigger, then the risk might be worth taking.

Strike the perfect balance between these two and elevate your position in the market.

#4 Have Plenty of Room for Creativity

One of the most important characteristics of a good entrepreneur is creativity. This is crucial to making your business stand out. Sure, there are plenty of cafes in the US, but how can you make yours stand out? With all the Mediterranean restaurants lying all over the city, how can you entice people and make them prefer yours over all the other options?

What can you give consumers that other businesses that have the same offerings as yours can’t?

#5 Focus Focus Focus!

When bad days come, it’s easy to lose sight of your goal. You might even be tempted to give up and venture into something else. That might not be a good idea, because you never know when your breakthrough may come. If you constantly allow yourself to be distracted by your mindless hobbies that don’t serve your major goals, then you might never reap the rewards. Focus. Eyes on the goal, always.

#6 Give Your 100%

There comes a time when your small business will require more, and if you believe in it enough, then you must give it your ALL. You can’t pay the utilities? Selling your car might just be the only way to make ends meet, will you be able to make that sacrifice?

There’s a bulk order that can pay your business’ expenses well in the next six months, but you are not that liquid at the moment because you have a lot of money tied to the business. What little you have is supposed to be for that trip to Florence and the new iPhone. What choice are you making?

Simply put, if your business requires more than what you usually give to get by, be prepared to make the sacrifice. At times, this is just what it takes for a small business to succeed in the US.

#7 Be Consistent in Providing Great Service

Commit this to your memory:  The first rule of starting out a small business is to have products or services that are of great quality. The second rule of starting a small business is to be CONSISTENT in providing this quality products and services.

The first rule lets you earn customers. The second rule lets you keep them. The first and the second rule together is how you grow as a small business.

#8 Have an Open Mind

If you examine the causes for why most businesses close down, you will find at the top of the list that it was their refusal to embrace, let alone consider change, that has served as their demise.

Things change all the time. The needs of the people, the technology used, the environment we live in, and even our mere whims. Business owners must find a way to not bore people. If there is someone who can give people a newer and a better product, and this product revolutionizes the entire industry, the only logical step other businesses must make is to keep up. Staying stubborn, not being open-minded enough to even consider the possibility that their products have become obsolete, will be the downfall of any business.

Being open-minded and welcoming necessary change as it comes may just be the key to salvaging a business.

So there you have it, all the great tips to become a fast-growing business in the US. Take them to heart, and before you know it, you’ve made it to the top.