 Nine things you must do today to grow your small business. As the renowned entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson rightly said, a big business starts small. Starting a small business is tough, but growing a small business is more stringent. Growing a small business means taking time and effort to increase profits and expand. To achieve this, every aspect of the business needs attention. Realistic and sustainable growth in business does not happen overnight. It takes time to grow small businesses. Things like flexibility, organisational skills and suitable planning methods are part of a successful business. Which, with effort in the journey of growth, gets built over time. This list of nine things you must do starting today to grow your small business answers the question as to what to do to grow and scale small businesses. One, know your target customer. The truth is that your business cannot cater to the needs of everyone, no matter how widely used your product may be. You must have explicit knowledge of who your customers are. You need to know how they think, what their preferences are, and if possible, get a glimpse of what they may want tomorrow. One way to form the right image of your customers is by being around them once in a while, spending time with them and gathering information. When doing surveys, ensure that the data collated are real and factual, only when you know your customer can you know how to satisfy their needs and solve their problems. Two, provide quality customer service. It is one thing to attempt to resolve your customer's problems and provide their needs and it is another to keep them loyal. One way to keep your customers loyal is by providing them with excellent customer service. Quality customer service means listening to your customers and treating them more than just customers. Make them friends and marketers. If they lay a complaint, attend to it as soon as possible. Everyone wants to be heard and your customers need to know that their grievances are valid and that you would do all you can to fix things. Also, they need to know they are more than a meal ticket. You can engage and educate them on social media, so they don't think they always have to part with their money to relate with you. Hold their attention, turn them into loyal customers. Three, focus on branding. Branding is such a broad word, but it can easily be defined as what your business is known for, your business identity. At the mention of your business, what comes to mind? What do people feel? What do they visualise? These questions determine if they relate with your business on a profitable level. Branding helps you fashion your business in a way which gets more and more attractive to your customers. However, branding is not only for your customers. Branding also determines the quality of the employees who want to work in your company and everyone knows that the quality of employees affects the growth of your business. Helping employees achieve professional development and allowing them to grow affects your brand. It shows that your company embraces a growth mindset. So, start building an overall brand for your business. Four, have a responsibility. In growing your business and building your brand, you need to figure out how you want to serve the society through corporate social responsibility, CSR. CSR helps you perform acts of service, which will be your business's contribution to the world. It will also show that you care for other people and not just your customers. CSR should revolve around some social challenges which you are passionate about solving and one of which you are ready to take responsibility for. Participating in CSR also gives you visibility and publicity. Five, be creative. This tip is a no-brainer but many small business owners forget it when the going gets tough and soon they are like every other small business in their niche. This is the last thing you want to happen. For every decision and move you make perform it uniquely and authentically as it aligns with your brand. Authenticity and creativity are the bedrock of innovation and innovation sets the entrepreneur apart from every other business. Embide the need for creativity and authenticity into the subconscious of your employees and make your customers know they can always expect something unique from your company. Six, get funded. Many small business owners are wary about taking loans or seeking other forms of funding. While this wariness is understandable, it is not altogether wise. Money is needed if you are going to bring your beautiful dreams to life. You and your employees may have the ideas but these ideas need funding. Do not be closed-minded about getting funding from the right sources. Fund your dreams by taking loans from the right places and seeking and acquiring investors. As the girls get funded, you'll be happy to see the picture in your mind come to life. Seven, collaborate and compete. You are unique and so is your business idea. But the truth which might burst your bubble is that you do not know it all. It will help if you learn from others in your niche and sphere. What this means is that you need to network. Many opportunities for growth and funding come when you show up. If there's a platform where you can meet others in the industry, show up. It would help you if you are seen and heard. It would help if you showed you exist and are a force in the industry. It will also give you insight. The insights gathered will also serve as a basis for you to use in building better services for your customers. You get to discover where you can create an edge against your peers because you know what the industry looks like and you know how to advance it. By networking, you allow yourself to learn more about your niche industry and you also get insights on how to break new ground. Networking gives you the platform to collaborate and compete, which is one way to grow a business. Eight, keep records. Record keeping is paramount to all forms of growth. Financial records, business deals, clients' preferences, events and whatever relevant information you gather in the day-to-day running of the business should get recorded. The financial records let you know where the money is going to and where it's coming from. It also helps you make a good case when you want more funding to scale as it shows your track record with finances. However, record keeping provides more benefits than just allowing more access to funds. Records kept also reveal what works and what doesn't. It serves as the business's memory on which it builds and makes future decisions. It reveals pathways, principles and maybe laws which may seem ordinary and coincidental without records. Keeping records may be the difference between the small business that grows and that which is stagnant. Be consistent. From your findings of what works, based on the records, build a habit of consistency. There are principles which promote growth and as you discover those for your business, stay consistent. Those little things, like the tips mentioned before, stick to them and watch growth happen. When it comes to achieving any form of growth in any area of life, consistency is vital and more so when it comes to making money in business. So, be consistent. Small businesses drive the economy of most countries. Dreaming big for your business means dreaming of making your business idea a relevant and profitable one and that involves growing your small business. The growth process is strict and tasking, but the rewards are worth the trouble. Finally, when the going gets tough, remember what the Wall Street Journal author, Nicole Snow shared with Inc.com. A small business is an amazing way to serve and leave an impact on the world you live in. So, using these nine tips, impact your world today by growing your small business.