Undoubtedly, High Growth Potential SMBs continually innovate to maintain a unique competitive advantage and ensure market space for growth. Through the effective exploitation of novel ideas, and the integration of a forward-thinking culture, SMBs are able to capitalise on improved processes, commercialisation of new products and services, increased profitability and enhanced efficiencies. SMB leaders who foster a culture of innovation ultimately highlight their commitment to developing capability and resources, maintaining competition, and ensuring high growth. 

Tip: Maintain a curious mindset and consider ‘thinking outside the box’ when it comes to your business, market and competitors!

High Growth Potential businesses focus on the long-term, not just the day-to-day. These businesses seek to successfully adapt to changing consumer needs and market environments. Notably, these businesses maintain a healthy balance sheet to support future growth, with key decision makers aligning about the future direction of the business. Certainly, in the fast-paced, ever-changing SMB sector, management teams often find themselves focused on the operational day-to-day survival of the business. However, those SMBs who manage to maintain a future focus, prime themselves to achieve high growth. 

Tip: Short term pain for long term game. Think into the future and play the long game – to win.

SMBs who prioritise digital enablement are able to efficiently and effectively scale, thereby harnessing their High Growth Potential. Whilst many SMBs may consider adopting and adapting to digital as an afterthought, those companies seeking a competitive advantage to harness their growth potential ensure the prioritisation of digital enablement. Certainly, digital disruptors are slowly encroaching on the territory of traditional industries, thereby illuminating and expediting the requirement for SMB leaders to weave digital transformation into the fabric of their companies. 

Tip: Do you have a Digital Strategy? What is your next digital move?

High Growth Potential SMBs maintain a focus on diversity to ensure creativity and innovation. For these successful businesses, diversity is a pre-requisite, whereby different people, skills and ways of thinking combine to create immense value. Diversity at the SMB level presents through a number of themes including diversity of composition, approach and style, understanding of biases and behaviours, and inclusive leadership. SMBs that display and uphold these characteristics are able to benefit through the provision of different perspectives, enhancement of their talent pool and enrichment of company culture, thereby strengthening efforts to grow and achieve success. 

Tip: Remember, two heads are ALWAYS better than one. Read: https://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/human-capital/articles/creating-high-performing-leadership-teams.html to find out how to create a culture of high performance in your team.

High human capital, education, and entrepreneurial and management skills are essential elements for High Growth Potential SMBs. For such successful SMBs, there is a key understanding that the company’s greatest asset is not its financial capital, it is its human capital. When businesses prioritise their workforce development, in order to optimise staff performance, they may yield increased profits, income, and high growth outcomes. 

Tip: We are all in the business of people. They are your biggest asset – so look after them!

High Growth Potential SMBs have a clear value proposition which is widely recognised by market. It is critical that SMBs seeking growth clearly understand what they want to achieve and have a realistic and relevant strategy to achieve these outcomes. Such SMBs utilise their clearly articulated vision and mission to support company plans and prioritise decisions about product and service delivery. Through these focused efforts, SMBs can create a strong differential between themselves and competitors, attract relevant opportunities and increased customer engagement, ultimately yielding high growth. 

Tip: What do you stand for? Why would people buy from you?