The economy depends on the ingenuity and courage of individuals to make their dreams a reality. Industry-changing business empires often come from humble beginnings. So how does a tiny seed sprout into something great and lasting? Here are a few pointers to help your company grow to meet its full potential.

Attract the Right Customers

Understand the audience you want to reach. Ask yourself, who would your perfect customer be? Be as specific as you can—think about their age, income, employment, hobbies, preferences, and even worries or concerns. What kind of life do they lead, and what kind of life do they want? This can help focus your marketing and make you much more efficient in reaching people who will turn into clients.

Fund Growth Quickly

Waiting on customers to pay off invoices? That valuable capital should be reinvested into building the company as soon as possible. Consider factoring, a loan type in which invoices are used as collateral to obtain short-term loans. This process can help you move the funds promptly back into the business. Factoring loans can be accessed quickly and paid off as soon as the invoice is paid. It can be stressful to sit on your hands, waiting for profits to come back for work already done. With factoring, that time doesn’t need to be wasted and your business can continue to grow unencumbered.

Be Good to Your People

Consumers and employees alike appreciate kind treatment. Great customer service includes attentiveness, attitude, compassion, and respect. Be quick to respond to questions or needs. Communicate with honesty and transparency. These same actions work to boost relationships with anyone you might employ, thereby increasing retention rate and improving work quality. A reputation as an excellent employer will attract the talent needed to exponentially increase your company’s revenue.

Take Stock of Your Progress

It can take maturity and humility to be honest with yourself about your successes and failings, but examining your efforts goes a long way toward making improvements. Make your company a safe place for others to offer insights into how your team can improve. Be brave and take risks—and use the information gained from those experiments to adjust your approach going forward.

A business’s growth depends on myriad factors, both internal and external. With the right combination of targeted marketing, funding strategies, customer service, and personal insight, your company can develop from its beginnings as a hopeful dream to its potential as a prosperous reality.