Money Saving Monday: Small business growth tips

The Arizona Commerce Authority says there are more than 650,000 small business in Arizona and 12News found strategies to help owners gets their businesses bigger.

PHOENIX — According to the Arizona Commerce Authority, there are more than 650,000 small businesses across the state, making up 99.5% of Arizona’s total businesses. They employ more than 1 million people.

So on this Money Saving Monday, 12News is focused on helping small business owners adopt some new strategies for growing their business even further in the year ahead.

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While traditional methods like digital marketing and strong customer service are essential, innovative techniques can drive growth even further.

“We work with companies of all sizes to really develop and expand the culture… to expand their leadership skills, their communication skills,” said Jodi Low, founder and CEO of U & Improved, a corporate leadership training and development company.

Low started her business in 2008.

“It was during a recession and not a great time, but my philosophy has always been that things that go up must come down and vice versa,” said Low.

Despite challenges, she found a way to keep business going.

“It’s all about being adaptable and being able to pivot,” she said.

And that’s one of the things Eduardo Borquez with the Better Business Bureau says is key to helping small business owners reach success. It’s also something he grew up watching his own mom do as a small business owner.

“She was a single mom on welfare, and she was hustling back in the 80s,” he said.

For small business owners to thrive, Borquez says it’s key to focus on innovative, low-budget, high-impact marketing strategies.

“There’s a lot of tools out there that we’re able to use, such as Mailchimp or Canva,” said Borquez. “There’s a lot of tutorials… it’s not how it used to be back in the day, where you actually had to maybe go to school for it or get a certain certification or maybe hiring an organization.”

Borquez says it’s also important to diversify your offers.

“How else can you go ahead and diversify and develop new products and new services with the resources that you already have?” he said.

And be sure to practice social responsibility by prioritizing ethical practices and community impact.

“Consumers know that… not only are they serving the cup of coffee, but that those proceeds are going for something that is bettering that same community,” said Borquez.

And finally, he says business owners should know their limits and shouldn’t be afraid to take breaks.

“It allows us to be able to have a better mindset,” he said.

By incorporating these techniques, small business owners like Low have discovered new ways to achieve long-term success, taking her business to the next level with a target audience.

“And make sure that our authentic message lands with them,” she said.

As always, if you have any money-saving or money-making topics you would like us to cover, send us an email at [email protected].

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