One of the questions I hear often is: How do I take my business to the next level? If you’ve reached a plateau in your business or are looking to play a bigger game – attract more clients, work smarter, not harder – then the following tips will help you grow your business.

1. Join A Coaching Program or Get One-on-One Coaching: A business coach has been the key to explosive business results for many of my clients.  Whether they join a Group Coaching program like Mark Joyner’s Business Coaching program or  coach one-on-one with a business Coach like JP Micek or Coach Deb, a business coach helps define clear business targets and focuses your attention on the short-term things you need to do to grow your business. Having a coach who can guide you, keep you on track and motivate you is invaluable.  You don’t need to do it alone.  Think of it this way: Olympic Athletes all have coaches.  You can’t achieve a high level of success without one.  You should think of your business in the same terms. If you can afford to coach one-on-one with a reputable coach, then I highly recommend it.  If you’re not at that level but still need a bit more guidance then I encourage you to check out Mark’s program.

2. Outsource: This may sound so simple but there are so many entrepreneurs who do not understand that outsourcing is the key to growing their business.  If you’re busy doing all the work in your business yourself, then you’re not going to have the time to dedicate to what you do best: serve the people you’re meant to serve.  Whether it’s offering them coaching services or creating information products or software products or other services to help them, you’re not going to have the time or the energy to help if you’re caught up in the administrative tasks of running your business.

I have a former client who started in his business doing everything himself: HTML, graphics, newsletter layout, bookkeeping, shipping and fulfillment, customer service, etc.  He did it all… poorly (let’s just say programming and graphics were not his strongest skill).  He thought he couldn’t afford to hire someone to do these tasks for him. When he finally did outsource, he quickly realized that the hours he was saving in hiring me to manage his websites (and eventually his entire business) were invaluable in terms of freeing his time to dedicate to product development and helped him build a bigger business.

Take a good look at your business, are there tasks you can outsource? For example:

  • Editing and proof-reading
  • Graphic design
  • Shipping out orders
  • Answering customer service e-mails
  • Writing checks and paying bills
  • Website programming and updates
  • Copywriting

The most successful entrepreneurs learn the secret of outsourcing early in their business.  The sooner you start to think like an entrepreneur, the sooner you’ll reach your goals and grow your business.  Your can build a business that runs independently of you with the right support.  Sadly, too many entrepreneurs do not know the value of their time.  There’s a great report available at http://iquansite.com (scroll down to the bottom left of the page and opt in for the Insider list) that helps you calculate the value of your time.  Go there now and sign up to receive this bonus.

I’ll be honest with you, if your time is worth more than $50 an hour or more, then you shouldn’t be doing any task that you could outsource to an expert (expert web programmer, graphic artist, professional bookkeeper, etc.) for less than $50 an hour.

Here are some tips for outsourcing:

– Find great vendors: Some vendors can be difficult to work with.  There may be a language barrier or the vendor may not be as experienced as you’d like.  You have to find vendors who understand what you want and follow your instructions clearly.

– Hire a VA (Virtual Assistant): A VA is a freelance assistant that you hire to complete tasks or work from their own offices.  Types of tasks that you can outsource to a VA include: building your site, integrating it with your shopping cart, answering customer service e-mails, etc.  The average price for a competent VA ranges from $35 to $45. hour.  Some VAs specialize in Online Business Management.  You can expect to pay upwards of $50/hour plus a percentage of your profits to an Online Business Manager

– Outsource the Tasks That You Don’t Like First: Start outsourcing the frustrating tasks that take up too much of your time aren’t part of your skill set.  If you’re not a good web programmer or don’t have an eye for design or spend hours updating your books, these are the types of tasks you can and should outsource.  Focus only on the tasks you like doing and are best at.  Focus on your strengths!

Have you had any experience with a Coach or a VA that you’d like to share?  Be sure to comment below.