Are you looking to grow your business? Do you need a few tips to guide you along the way? Well you’ve come to the right apple! Keep reading to learn our top five tips when it comes to growing your business.

Trade mark your intellectual property

As your business grows, you will need to start protecting your intellectual property so that you reserve the sole right to use, sell and license them. You can do this by applying and registering your intellectual property for trade marks. A trade mark is a business asset which may help identify a unique service or product.

In Australia, you can apply and register for a trade mark with IP Australia. There are many types of trade marks you can apply and register for, such as:

* A corporate logo

* A product or service name (can be used on signage)

* A sound or music tune for advertising purposes

* Packaging design.

Budget and prepare your finances for business growth

To increase your chances of successfully growing your business, you also need to prepare for growth by budgeting. Managing your finances accurately and effectively can enable you to pursue your business goals. This is because you will have enough funds to invest in whatever growth strategy you may prefer (from purchasing another store location to developing new products and services).

You can work with an accountant to conduct a cash analysis on your business or a cashflow forecast so that you can better budget and prepare your finances for your business growth.

Work with independent contractors and freelancers

In some cases, working with an independent contractor or freelancer may be more financially efficient than hiring an in-house employee for the same purpose. This is because you may not have the finances to train a new employee, while also paying them a salary. Contractors and freelancers are often experts in their field (hence do not require educational investment from your end) and can be paid per job rather than with a constant salary. Before working with a contractor, make sure you draft an independent contractors agreement with a lawyer.

Change your business structure accordingly

If you are operating your business under a sole trader business structure, you may eventually need to transition into another business structure to better facilitate your growth. This is because there are limitations to operating under a small business structure and more tax benefits and government incentives to take advantage of with larger ones. You can transition into a partnership, company or trust. A lawyer or business consultant may be able to help you with this transition process.

Invest in contemporary marketing strategies

Traditional marketing strategies will simply not be as effective as contemporary ones for today’s modern day audiences. Rather than marketing strategies such as television and radio, business owners may instead invest in online and digital strategies such as social media marketing and search engine optimisation and even internal blog content creation. In fact, according to statistics from WP Forms, companies with blogs get 55% more web traffic and 57% of businesses with blogs have acquired a customer.

Growing your business successfully

To increase your chances of growing your business successfully, make sure that you keep our tips in mind. Registering for trade marks, budgeting and working with independent contractors may help propel your business growth. Likewise, changing your business structure and investing in contemporary marketing strategies may also help you with the growth of your business.