Simple Tips, Smart Ideas

“Your business’s size is not a weakness but rather its greatest strength — if you know how to use it strategically.”

1. Business Plans Are Temporary, Business Maps Evolve

Traditional business plans often get forgotten once operations begin. Instead, think of your business plan as a "business map" that evolves with the company. A business map captures internal strengths, team potential, and external trends to guide growth.

This map begins with an internal review. Gather your team to evaluate individual strengths, past experiences, and skill overlaps. These insights might reveal hidden opportunities for collaboration and markets you hadn't considered before. Then, focus on external factors like your market position, competitors, and emerging trends that align with your agility as a small business.

The map gets updated regularly. Analyze both successes and challenges from the last 18 months. Take time to revisit and revise your map every few months to ensure it stays relevant to your evolving business needs.

Examples

• A team discovers untapped skills in podcast production, launching a new service.
• A catering business expands by leveraging local festival trends revealed in their map.
• A boutique winery updates its marketing after realizing shifts toward organic wine demand.

2. The Value of Your Product Goes Beyond Its Surface

What you sell isn’t always what customers buy. The core value lies in the emotional or practical benefits your product or service offers. Fully understanding this can reveal new products or services to diversify your business.

Take a picture framing business, for instance. While they sell glass and frames, clients are actually buying preservation for meaningful memories. Expanding the value means offering photo workshops, art exhibitions, or conservation tips. Observing client needs can spark innovation.

Feedback is key. Ask your customers about their motivations and unmet needs. Digging deep into this value generates ideas for services or side businesses, like the car parts company Unipart expanding into logistics training.

Examples

• A bakery discovers clients value workshops, sparking a cooking class revenue stream.
• A tailoring service starts merchandizing eco-conscious fabric after client feedback.
• A landscaping company offers garden design software for DIY customers inspired by their work.

3. Intellectual Property Can Be Your Company’s Crown Jewel

Small businesses often underestimate the value of their intellectual property (IP). Whether it’s a new process, design, or strategy, securing ownership of these ideas can protect you from copycats and create additional revenue streams.

IP includes copyrights for documents or materials, trademarks for branding symbols, patents for unique inventions, and design rights for the shape of your product. Many small firms thrive by licensing or selling their IP rather than products alone.

For instance, a knitting business might license patterns to craft stores. Or, consider leveraging a unique delivery process by teaching it to other firms, like car-parts distributor Unipart. Once secured, IP provides income while safeguarding your work.

Examples

• A small brewery trademarks its unique branding to stand apart.
• A yoga studio licenses its teaching methods to other instructors.
• An artisan coffee chain patents its brewing equipment for use in third-party cafes.

4. Small Businesses Can Outsmart Big Competitors

Small businesses can outmaneuver larger corporations by leveraging their agility. The OODA (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act) method helps small businesses quickly respond to trends, ensuring innovation and grabbing fresh market opportunities.

Start by observing — keep tabs on consumer behavior and industry trends. Orient yourself by identifying how to position your business in response. Decide quickly because your nimble structure allows for fast actions without layers of decision-making. Finally, act decisively to implement changes or new ideas before competitors catch up.

This cycle ensures small firms harness their flexibility as a strength, just like David defeating Goliath with quick thinking and a slingshot.

Examples

• A skincare brand capitalizes on a viral natural beauty trend faster than big players.
• A niche restaurant pivots its menu to adapt to increasing vegan demand.
• A boutique travel agency launches local staycation packages after spotting pandemic-era travel shifts.

5. Expand with Multiple Revenue Streams

Relying on just one way of earning money limits your business’s growth. Understanding your revenue model and actively diversifying it makes you financially stronger.

Offer subscription models, access fees to niche networks, or even license fees for using your custom products or designs. First-look and exclusivity fees can help you monetize new concepts. For instance, an ice cream business could license recipes abroad or charge exclusivity fees to avoid selling concepts to competitors.

By utilizing different models, income stability increases, and new opportunities emerge.

Examples

• A fitness coach starts a subscription for online workouts in addition to in-person sessions.
• A small fashion designer earns income by licensing patterns to manufacturers.
• A tech consultant charges first-look fees for initial brainstorming meetings with clients.

6. Your Team is Your Strength

A business is only as strong as its team. Keeping employees motivated and supported ensures better productivity and loyalty, even when competing on tight budgets.

Extravagant office perks might not be feasible, but recognizing employee contributions through meaningful gestures, flexible benefits, or future partnership opportunities secures their dedication. Skill-sharing events and internal promotions build long-term culture while offering opportunities for growth.

When employees feel valued, they’ll go the extra mile to help make the business succeed.

Examples

• A start-up hosts bi-weekly team cooking nights to foster camaraderie.
• A small creative firm sets up stock options to sweeten salaries.
• An online tutoring app promotes a junior intern to full-time lead instructor.

7. Client Relationships Need Nurturing

Long-term, successful client relationships require sustained effort. Just as romantic relationships take work, businesses must foster client trust, value, and collaboration.

Gather client feedback regularly and adapt where needed, but also maintain clear boundaries. Polite pushback when facing unreasonable expectations creates a respectful partnership. And when seeking partnerships, aim for decision-makers to simplify processes.

Choose clients whose goals align with your own so your partnership thrives rather than feels forced.

Examples

• A design studio sends small thank-you notes to clients after every successful project.
• A new PR firm declines an aggressive, mismatched client in favor of smaller, aligned businesses.
• A tech start-up engages monthly with corporate clients, adapting software based on use.

8. Your Business Story Is What Sells

A powerful business story connects with clients, making your offering memorable. Convey who you are, your passion, and what sets you apart for authentic marketing.

Icons like Selfridges choose artisanal foods based on compelling stories about their origins. Similarly, boutique businesses with unique identities can stand out in crowded markets when they craft narratives that excite potential customers.

This story must also inspire your team and continuously remind you of your purpose.

Examples

• A bakery brands itself around century-old family recipes, sharing its creators’ history.
• A designer salon aligns its marketing to its punk-era roots as a symbol of individuality.
• A niche bookstore decorates entirely around a classic literary aesthetic for strong character.

9. Physical Reminders Make an Impact

In an increasingly digital world, physical connections stand out. A tactile reminder — like a memorable business card or thoughtful gift — cements relationships better than online-only interactions.

Simple gestures like handwritten thank-you cards, branded notebooks, or holiday gifts create lasting impressions for clients and partners. These tangible elements evoke emotional responses and increase loyalty toward your brand.

Examples

• A sustainable brand sends reusable bottles as subtle advertising for their products.
• A lawn care business sends clients festive cards, keeping relationships warm.
• A gourmet chocolate shop includes handwritten packaging notes to thank patrons.

Takeaways

1. Revisit and update your "business map" quarterly to stay adaptable and strategic in a competitive market.
2. Use storytelling as a tool for relationship building, making your brand relatable to both clients and your team.
3. Explore additional revenue models to diversify income streams, including subscriptions, license fees, or exclusivity arrangements.