business growth engineering

Growing your business is as much a science as it is an art.

Business Growth Engineering

Idea → Action → Validation → Business

Growth comes in stages.


Here’s the thing about moving from one stage to

the next…

It can get crazy.

Idea Ideas!

Idea

Idea

Idea

but where do we go from the last step?

You’ve already started a business.

That’s why you’re here now

you’re watching this video

you want to grow.

I’m going to show you how.

We’re going to talk about growth in 2 parts:

Part IGrowing from an idea

Part IIScaling your business

Growing from an idea

Part I


at the most basic level, you’re repeating the same steps that you

did when you started your company

with one big revision…

it’s no longer a linear process.

but do you notice a problem with this cycle?

You’ve already started a business. You’re working on building out how your value can be delivered.

This requires a more involved process to ensure:● Customer needs are still met

● The growth is always being optimized

● Despite any failure, you can build on what you’ve already created.

how can we adapt this to our needs?

We use the Build - Measure - Learn

framework

and the cycle now looks like this:

much better.let’s take a look.

The Business Growth Cycle1. When you have an idea, you

take at least one action.2. That action needs to be

validated.3. Once validated, the action

must be implemented across the organization.

4. Once implemented, the new offering needs to be measured and optimized to ensure ROI and product-market fit.

this is what we’re going to look at more closely.

if you want to engineer growth, you need to

engineer this process to fit your business and lifestyle.

THEN populate it.

the idea

Step 1

If you’re an entrepreneur, ideas are a dime a dozen

You need to qualify ideas intellectually and then get excited about them.Most people do the opposite, and in some cases forget to qualify them altogether. These are usually the ideas that either flop or have the founder lose interest quickly.

How do you qualify an idea?

You need to answer 3 questions:1. How does this idea further my overall vision?2. When will this idea start to financially support

me instead of me supporting it?3. How will this idea increase my knowledge and

exploration of my areas of interest?

Ex: Mastermind Group

You need to answer 3 questions:1. Gives me the relationships I need to enact

change2. Cash flow positive in 6 months3. Gives me experience networking

Ex: Mastermind Group

You need to answer 4 questions:1. Gives me the relationships I need to enact

change2. I’m not going to make money on it3. Gives me experience networking

not making the cut on these 3 questions doesn’t mean it’s a

bad idea.

it means it’s not as good as it can be.

Notice that none of these questions ask about the

company.

Your business provides a launching pad.

A good idea stands on its own.

The Action

Step 2

Once you have your idea, you need to ACT!

but not blindly.

there’s a way to track down the highest leverage

action you can take for an idea.

I’m going to show in just a second.

but before I do, here’s my forewarning.

you can’t rationally decide that an idea is BAD in this

stage. Thus, you can’t rationally STOP pursuing it

while taking action.

it’s okay to jump ship in the idea or validation stages, but in the ACTION stage

you’re simply putting the pieces into place.

you’ve already qualified the idea, now it’s time to

execute.

begin with an idea statement.

Idea Statement: A 2-sentence description of what your idea is and what it will take to begin seeing it to fruition.

here’s your Idea Statement template...

My idea is to change _____1______ by building _____2____. To achieve this, I need to first learn _____3______ and then find someone to _____4______.

Pretty simple, right?

But it’s powerful.

My idea is to change _____1______ by building _____2____. To achieve this, I need to first learn _____3______ and then find someone to _____4______.

1. What are you going to change?2. What will you build to change it?3. What do you need to learn to build it?4. Who do you need to work with to build it?

Each of these questions is an action step for you to take.

1. What are you going to change? Research2. What will you build to change it? Competition3. What do you need to learn to build it? Technical4. Who do you need to work with to build it?

Partners

This is how they translate into actions:

Take each action sequentially.

Move from 1-4.

When you feel that you’ve taken sufficient action to be informed enough to validate your idea, you can move on.

Validation

Step 3

Creating a pilot

To test your idea, you need to roll out a pilot to one of two groups.1.Your most loyal clients2.Your target market

Use your clients if the product can apply to them.

Otherwise find the target audience and build a

relationship with them for the pilot.

What to do...

1. Explain what you’re trying to achieve and how they can benefit.

2. Give it to them for free under the agreement that they give you honest feedback

3. Provide the new service as you would a paying customer

4. Provide opportunity for client feedback at EVERY step

Survey MonkeyPhone Calls

EmailsGoogle Forms

How to measure feedback

Just collect the data!!

Once the pilot is over, review the data.

1. Assemble positive comments and negative comments

2. Review what was best and worst about the pilot3. Send them a final NPS (Net Promoter Score)

survey

(seen this before?)

“On a scale of 1-10, how likely are you to recommend

this to a friend?”

You won’t have much volume so the data won’t be

significant, but it will give you an idea of who in the

pilot would pay money for it.

8-10 1-7

“On a scale of 1-10, how likely are you to recommend

this to a friend?”

Implement! Fix/Scrap It

Take the average...

which leads us to…

Implementation

Step 4

Beta → Beta 2.0 → Full LaunchBeta → Full Launch

Full Launch

You have options now.

It depends on the technical requirements of scaling up

the new product/service

It also depends on if you need to build a new audience or if you’re

appealing to your existing one.

If you’ve done everything right up until this point…

Marketing is ready from the pilot

You know your margins

You have a track record & testimonials

Now it’s just a question of distribution...

So here’s where things get exciting.

Once you implement and distribute your new offering,

you can measure and optimize it going forward.

Optimization

Step 5

First, find the top KPI’s for the initiative you’re running...

Impression Metrics (Volume)● How many people are seeing your product

Engagement Metrics (Conversions)● How many people are expressing interest in your

product

First, find the top KPI’s for the initiative you’re running...

Impression Metrics (Volume)● Traffic, Time on Site, Bounce Rate, Open Rate,

etc.

Engagement Metrics (Conversions)● CTR, Conversion Rate, Upsell Rate, etc.

Second, prioritize them according to your target benchmarksImpression Metric Targets● Traffic: 1,000 hits per day● Time on Site: 2 minutes● Bounce Rate: 50%● Email Open Rate: 40%

Second, prioritize them according to your target benchmarksEngagement Metric Targets● CTR: 15%● Conversion Rate: 25%● Upsell Rate: 40%

As you continue to measure these KPI’s, the ones

furthest from your targets are the highest priority.

Ex: If traffic is way off from your target, increase content marketing efforts and your

advertising budget.

More ideas fuel the evolution of what you’ve already built.

At this point, the process is in a position to repeat.

But what if you don’t have an IDEA but an urge to scale

what you already have?

Reach more people

Have a bigger impact

Make more money

Scaling Your Business

Part II

A business that’s ready to scale can grow simply through more volume.Many businesses, however, are not built to scale.

(Actually, most aren’t.)

Here’s what you need to know in order to create a scalable business.

Hierarchyof a ScalableBusiness

Cash Flow Simplicity

Standardized Procedures

Cultural Buy-in

Farm-ready

Automation


Set up the following:● Automatic invoicing● Outsource accounts receivable

collection (if it’s a problem)● Stable vendor contracts


Set up the following:● Standard operating procedures for

repetitive tasks● Defined responsibilities for each person● Defined workflows for each business

process

● Integrated back-office software

Establish:● A culture focused on growth● Excitement for entering new markets

and making a bigger impact (and more money!)

Cultural Buy-in

Ideas…Weekly brainstorms - Retreats - War roomsMonthly in-office competitions - Bonuses & Incentives

Set up the following:● A network of freelancers and contractors

● Send them your SOP’s using SweetProcess

● Manage projects with Trello or Basecamp

How to find a freelancer...1. Use a reputable site (elance.com, freelancer.com, vworker.com, odesk.com)2. Post a job and make it clear that you’re going to provide ongoing work (they prefer

this)3. Take applications and have them perform a test for their services (be willing to pay

them for this- it’s an investment that will pay off when you’ve found the right person)

Farm-ready

Here’s what you need to do:● Create an automated sales process (upcoming

video)● Route new orders

● Combine all human input into one step

Automation

Automation

Email from prospect

Run QuoteSales Rep Calls

Sales Rep

Emails

Record in CRM

Human processes Computer processes

Prospect fills out form

Notify Sales Rep

Sales Rep Calls

Record In CRM

Human processes

Computer processes

Run Quote

Automation

there’s always a delay with a human process.

automation eliminates that delay

Automation

Farm-ready

Automation

Cultural Buy-in

Farm-ready

Automation

Hierarchyof a ScalableBusiness



Cultural Buy-in

Farm-ready

Automation

once you make your way through the hierarchy, the

next step is to push VOLUME!

like I said before...

A business that’s ready to scale can grow simply through more volume.

so how do you get volume?

well, it depends.

If you have a strong and loyal audience...

Your best bet is to grow through your network.

Utilize the following:

● Social sharing

● Creative referral incentives (Dropbox)

● Competitions

● Partnerships with industry leaders

If you don’t have a strong or loyal audience...

Your best bet is to create a network for yourself and leverage it as it grows.

Utilize the following:

● Strong content marketing

● Competitions

● Forge relationships with industry leaders

● Hustle!

“what about advertising?”

you should be advertising in both of these situations.

the reason I don’t mention it in these lists is because it’s

useless by itself.

advertising without content marketing, competitions, etc. (anything of value)

leads to traffic that’s dead before they reach your

landing page.

you wouldn’t throw a dinner party when your house is

still being renovated.

why would you invite people to your site when your

backend processes aren’t fully developed?

that just wastes ad spend.

in closing…

Part IGrowing from an idea

Part IIScaling your business

Don’t ever lose sight of why you started your business.

They knew when things were out of scope.

They didn’t get distracted.

There’s a reason successful serial entrepreneurs have multiple companies doing

different things.

Don’t grow in a direction that isn’t sustainable for

your company.

Idea Ideas!

Idea

Idea

Idea

You’re the one person who can see where your business

is headed.

if you find these steps to be helpful, then you’re going to

enjoy what I have coming up...

● Collaborate one-on-one and develop a personalized growth strategy for your business

● Automate your entire sales cycle, from lead generation to follow-up

● Architect a client relationship system that scales with your business

● BONUS (10 available): I’ll help you validate your next big idea

I’m opening up 20 spots in an upcoming program to:

most people sit down and think...

“hmm… if only there were a structured way to grow my

business”

“hmm… if only there were a structured way to grow my

business - that I can afford!””

● Collaborate one-on-one and develop a personalized growth strategy for your business

● Automate your entire sales cycle, from lead generation to follow-up

● Architect a client relationship system that scales with your business

● BONUS (10 available): I’ll help you validate your next big idea

All of this...

business growth engineering

Small Business & Entrepreneurship

bad idea

good idea

idea statementtemplate

business growth cycle1

action mustbe

youve takensufficient

ideaor validation stages

youre repeatingthe