Planning to grow your business is about planning to change — for the better. It’s about constantly monitoring yourself and your competitors for growth opportunities.Â
And that growth can take many forms such as:Â Â
- Growing your customer baseÂ
- Taking on new staffÂ
- Tweaking your products and servicesÂ
- Targeting a new market (perhaps exporting)Â
- Moving premises. Â
Learning a new skill and providing training for staff are also good strategies for growth. Encourage your staff to think about and share ideas for innovation. Â
Networking events, workshops and seminars are a rich source of advice and information, as is finding a business mentor. All will help you make invaluable contacts who may either put business your way or let you know about new opportunities. Â
Another source of both funding and advice for growth is the Federal Government's Entrepreneurs’ Programme run by CCIWA. Â
This grants program gives SMEs that have been operating for three years or more access to a range of specialists to audit their business processes, help with research opportunities and implement changes to improve efficiencies or reach new markets. Â
CCIWA can advise businesses interested in the program. Â
The program is divided into three areas:Â Â
1. Business Management
Business advisers analyse your business processes and opportunities for growth to come up with an evaluation report, growth plan and action plan. Co-funding of up to $20,000 is available for eligible businesses to engage a consultant to implement recommended changes.
2. Accelerated Commercialisation
These grants aim to help entrepreneurs and researchers find the right commercialisation solutions for a novel product, process or service. Co-funding of up to $1million is available.
3. Innovation Connections
This aims to help businesses develop new ideas with commercial potential, or to identify knowledge gaps preventing growth. Co-funding grants of up to $50,000 are available to place a specialist researcher with a business for up to a year.
