Energize Growth NOW

Here's a familiar scenario for successful entrepreneurs: You start a company and fuel its growth with your own passion and hard work. But after you expand, the company takes on a life of its own. Systems, procedures, politics, and financial pressures compete for your attention. Those demands begin to undermine your passion and your purpose. Your company culture changes, your profits are strained, and your own health and happiness suffer. You either give up, sell out, or drop out. But it doesn't have to be that way. With thoughtful planning and guidance-and with the contrarian wisdom you'll find in this book-you can combine strategic planning with smart marketing to spur intelligent, long-term growth without working 100-hour weeks. Energize Growth NOW is the perfect resource to help you transition your company from a growing start-up to a successful, wealthy business. Growing a business is difficult, demanding work. Keeping your business on the right track over time can be tedious, difficult, and boring. In a business world filled with headlines touting the latest business planning models and cool new marketing ideas, it takes real commitment to focus on the fundamentals that help you build a sustainable business. Energize Growth NOW is the resource you need to help you achieve just that. It shows you how to build deep relationships with clients and customers, stop obsessing over the numbers so you can think about the big picture, and build systems that free you to focus on more strategic activities. It takes clear vision and enduring principles to succeed over the long term. Energize Growth NOW shows you how to: Avoid the pitfalls of running a growth company Tackle the common misconceptions that distract from your goals and sabotage good ideas Create a vision of your business's future that keeps everyone focused and energized Develop a strategic growth plan thatactually works Adapt quickly to changes in your market andyour business Link your brand to your growth plan to maximize market traction Launch online communities and social networks that foster long-term relationships and develop true customer evangelists Most importantly, Energize Growth NOW helps you stay connected to your customers, partners, and yourself. After overcoming the start-up hurdles, it's easy to stray from the vision and values on which you founded your business. This book shows you how to continually grow-without losing sight of the principles that got you here.