How to Make 2015 the Year of the Expanding Entrepreneur!

How do you become an expanding entrepreneur?

How do you make 2015 your best year ever as an entrepreneur? What trends are going to help you to grow and expand your business in the coming year? I’ve spent the past 30 years helping clients grow their businesses. I believe that 2015 can be an amazing year for expanding entrepreneurs and market leaders if we can leverage several trends to expand your business to the next level.

The first major trend impacting your role as an expanding entrepreneur is accelerating change. There are many ways to manage change, but all successful midmarket leaders thrive in times of change. I’m often asked if I think change is different in midmarket organizations. My short answer is yes, and over the next several weeks we have a new writer who is going to share the keys to mastering change in 2015. Expanding entrepreneurs need to know how to become masters of change. Look for blog postings from Jim Canterucci on starting Thursday to help you make the most out of your leadership strategies in these rapidly changing times.

The second trend impacting your role as an expanding entrepreneur is expanding your influence. The way we communicate is changing and our ability to influence others continues to grow.  How do you influence your many stakeholders? I believe we have reached an inflection point as leaders. With our multigenerational workforce and global strategic partnerships, it is critical for you to connect to these people in a way they are comfortable with, not necessarily you. Many of the ways we are used to using to communicate are changing and it is critical for you to connect.

The third trend impacting your role as an expanding entrepreneur is how you sell and go to market. Many of us are expanding our business development activities and this requires a more systems-based way of thinking. Social selling, key account development, and team selling are some of the ways organizations are changing how they go to market. Over 80% of the expanding entrepreneurs I’ve talked with believe something has changed in how they sell and market to clients. More sophisticated sales systems require better relationship and trust building skills. For many, it requires increased business capabilities.  Over the next several months, we share ideas that can help you win more business by developing leading edge business development capabilities.

The fourth trend impacting your role as an expanding entrepreneur is expanding global collaboration capabilities. I believe 2015 begins having many more midmarket organizations collaborating globally. Expanding entrepreneurs are looking to expand into growing markets. This means that you need to scale your team to meet this challenge. Increased collaboration doesn’t always mean increased full time head count, but it might require providing additional training for your current team members. Successful training and development entails looking for more cost and time effective ways of developing your organization’s capabilities.

We will be sharing ways to help you build your network so that you know the right people at the right time to help you prosper and grow to the next level. As an added bonus, many of my more successful clients are actively looking to grow through successful mergers and acquisitions in 2015. Many of these expanding entrepreneurs are looking to finish big.

To have a great 2015 and beyond, you need to be better connected than you have been in the past. If you’re looking for a great place to start, consider sending me a LinkedIn Invite.  Last year we helped many leaders connect with the right person at the right time.  I believe relationship capital continues to expand and change the way we collaborate and grow.

The final trend impacting your role as an expanding entrepreneur is that we begin seeing key individuals pushing toward their own retirement plans. Is your organization prepared for the retirement of key people throughout your organization? Expanding entrepreneurs are making succession plans. Are you considering retirement? I was surprised by how many people I talked with over the fourth quarter of the year are considering retirement or will be impacted by retirement of someone they work with. Many see great opportunities from this coming trend, but are concerned that they need to able to attract, develop, or retain key talent as many organizations see a large portion of their management team moving towards retirement.

The ability to compete moving forward is driven by your organization’s ability to adapt and change as the talent war heats up. Many of my recruiting and consulting partners have had their best years ever and the future appears even brighter.

Ultimately, all these trends are about people and, to different degrees, how we can leverage technology to increase and expand our market share. Successful organizations require extraordinary flexibility and agility in changing market conditions. This all starts with you, the successful expanding entrepreneur and leader.

We will continue helping you become a stronger leader by increasing your coaching and personal development activities. I believe that the best way to develop a future for your organization is becoming a better leader yourself. The next several months will help you become an expanding entrepreneur in 2015!

Tomorrow, I introduce you to one my favorite consultants on leading in times of rapid change, Jim Canterucci. See you Thursday.