There's no surefire formula for instant success, but you can boost your business's growth with these tips from startup founders. New business owners have numerous goals when they're starting out, including rapid growth and recognition for their fledgling venture. But overnight success isn't often the standard: There's no specific "special sauce" to add to the recipe for instant results, and nothing is guaranteed. However, there are ways to reach growth milestones that can catapult a business to success. We asked small business leaders to share their tips for accelerating growth.

Hire the right people

Before you can even think about your company's growth trajectory, you need to ensure that you have a solid staff that can help you achieve it. "With a small business looking to grow, it's important to have the right players at the table," said April Davis, founder of online dating service Cupid's Cronies. "They need to be people who aren't afraid to roll up their sleeves. The words 'That's not my job,' do not exist in their vocabulary. They have to be dedicated to the mission." "Hiring the absolute best people you can is a surefire way to ensure fast growth," added Christian Lanng, CEO and chairman of business software provider Tradeshift. "It's all about having the right team."

Focus on established revenue sources

Rather than trying to acquire new customers, direct your attention to the core customers you already have, said Bill Reilly, a Wisconsin-based auto repair entrepreneur. You can do this by implementing a referral or customer loyalty program, or trying out marketing strategies based on previous purchase behaviors to encourage repeat business, he said. This focus on your established market is especially important if you're trying to get funding. "In the past, we would highlight our business goal to become a franchise, which didn't resonate with banks," Reilly said. "We learned to emphasize that there is a large market for what we do. This would pique a banker's interest because he or she cares about the return on investment more than your business aspirations."

Reduce your risks

Risk is an inevitable part of starting and growing a business. It's impossible to control everything, but there are plenty of ways to limit internal and external threats to your company and its growth. One important resource to help you accomplish this is your business insurance provider. "Small businesses need to manage their growth to avert disruptions that can bring business to a grinding halt," said Mike DeHetre, vice president of product development at Travelers. For example, "the theft of employee data, customer records and product designs can destroy a small business, generating significant costs and eroding customer confidence and loyalty," he said. "Not every business owner's policy covers data breaches or other cyber losses. Small businesses should be prepared by seeking insurance products that help them recover, including those that cover the cost of remediation and lawsuits." As small businesses grow, they may add space or equipment, create new products or services, or increase their operating and distribution footprint, so DeHetre advised periodically reviewing your policy to ensure you have the right coverage. "It's easy to forget this step amid rapid expansion, but you don't want to find out that you've outgrown your coverage just when you need it the most," DeHetre said.

Be adaptable

One trait that successful startups often have in common is the ability to switch directions quickly in response to changes in the market. Lanng noted that an agile approach to development, both in terms of your product and your company, will help you grow more quickly. "By allowing yourself to adapt and change quickly, you're able to test different approaches to business and find out what works best," Lanng told Business News Daily. "It allows you to fail, pick yourself back up and keep going." Chris Cornell, founder and CEO of Manhead Merchandise, said his company has found adaptability to be key in expanding its client base beyond the music industry. "Look to current pop culture trends for an opportunity to become part of the movement, when it makes sense," Cornell said. "In an era of internet-fame, we looked to expand our horizons beyond the music industry. We partnered with 'The King of Pop Culture' and insta-famous pup, Doug the Pug to release his new gear. Recognizing the reach and popularity of Doug, we were able to take his merchandise to the next level, extending our business model beyond bands."

Focus on your customer experience

Customers' perceptions of your business can really make or break a business. Deliver quality experiences and products, and they'll quickly sing your praises on social media; mess it up, and they'll tell the world even faster. Fast growth depends on making your current and potential customers happy with their experience, DeHetre said. "Compared with large companies, small businesses are nimble, and often better able to see, anticipate and respond to their customers' needs," DeHetre said. "The most successful small businesses exploit this advantage, by bringing new and innovative products and services to market more quickly and developing and nurturing long-term customer relationships."

Dennis Tanjeloff, president and CEO of Astro Gallery of Gems, agreed. He said listening to your customers and giving them what they want is of utmost importance. "Diversify your offerings so you can best cater to the customers' changing tastes," Tanjeloff said. "Remember, you are here to serve the customer — it's why you are open for business." Cornell noted that engaging with your audience is crucial, but personalizing the experience can boost and strengthen that relationship. "At Manhead, we come up with unique creative designs, customized storefronts and pop-up shops personalized for each band [we work with] to help them engage with fans in a new way," Cornell said.

Invest in yourself

In the early stages of your business, you'll likely see a very lean profit margin (or no profit at all), so any money you do make should go directly toward helping you grow. "A startup's ability to invest in itself [helps] accelerate growth," Lanng said. "In those early years, it's critical to make sure that you're redirecting any revenues back into the company. It's vital to invest early and heavily in order to grow quickly."

Always think ahead

While agility is an important quality for a startup, you can't fly by the seat of your pants when you're running a business. Planning your next step, even if that means anticipating all possible scenarios, is the best way to stay grounded and secure as your business evolves. "Set the foundation in place, water it and watch it grow," Davis said. "If you do the foundational work, when you experience growth, it won't be that difficult to adjust, since the hard part is already done."

Boost customer service

According to Small Business Trends, another great method of growing your business quickly is by focusing on providing superior customer service. When you exceed customers' expectations, they are likely to tell their friends, family and followers about your business. Further, when you go out of your way, such as offering discounts if a customer has a poor experience or following up to ensure a client was satisfied with your product or service, you establish a reputation for having great customer service.

Focus on social media

Another method to grow your business is to create profiles on all of the major social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.). Creating a profile allows you to better market your and interact with far more potential customers. Too, when your business has an account (and is updated regularly on each site) on the major platforms, consumers can find your business more easily, and they are likely to share your business with their friends.

Attend networking events

Attending networking events allows you to connect with like minds, many of which have unique perspectives and insights that you wouldn't find elsewhere that can help you grow your business. The connections and relationships that come from attending networking events can be beneficial for years to come.

Work on corporate social responsibility

Consumers want to buy from businesses that are passionate about causes that help make the world a better place. Whether you choose to donate to cancer research or support a nonprofit providing solutions to homelessness, look for ways to provide a meaningful contribution to the causes you support and share that with your customers.

Your industry is growing

If your market or industry is poised for growth, it might be time to grow your business along with it. According to a report from financial services company Fundera, some of the fastest growing industries in the United States right now are real estate, hospitality and consumer retail. Jim Patterson, the managing editor of The Kiplinger Letter, shares a handful of other industries he expects to grow quite a bit over the next five years, including cannabis, online grocery delivery and health care.

Cash flow is steady

Make sure you’re financially prepared for growth. Before you take any major steps, you should have a few years of steady revenue and a steady flow of new customers. “A consistently growing base of people who want to be customers means the demand is there,” said Paco de Leon of The Hell Yeah Group, a financial firm for creative entrepreneurs. “And steady profits means you’ll be able to grow sustainably, and you’re not putting the cart before the horse.”

Your customers want more

If you have more business than you can handle, it’s probably time to grow. Of course, sudden spikes in sales aren’t necessarily an indicator that demand is high — this could just be a fluke. So make sure you consistently have more demand than you can supply. Do they want different products that you could be offering? Interview your customers. Survey them about satisfaction, interest in new products and overall feedback about your business. Then look for patterns in the responses you get. If your customers want more of your product, faster delivery or additional services, that’s a good sign. Decided it’s time to take the next step? Here are a few strategies you could try.

Get New Customers

Perhaps the most obvious way to grow your business is to get more customers. And there are a handful of strategic ways to achieve this, whether those customers are consumers or other businesses.

Get to know your existing customers better

“To understand what people really want, you have to find out what their real challenges are,” said Ramit Sethi, the author of the New York Times best seller, “I Will Teach You to Be Rich” and founder of Growth Lab, a company that helps entrepreneurs build and grow online businesses. Figure out what made your current customers want to buy your product. This will help you pinpoint what you’re doing right, and what marketing strategies might be a waste of time. Mr. Sethi interviews tens of thousands of his own customers, who are also business owners, to find their pain points and advises them to do the same He asks the following questions:

• Tell us about your day. What are the best parts? What are the hardest parts?
• Have you bought something like this before?
• If you could wave a magic wand, what would success look like?

If your company serves other businesses (known as B2B), ask about their business and revenue goals. You might conduct these interviews over the phone or via email. Choose a wide swath of customers: ones you interact with all the time and ones that only use your business once in a while. Either way, the interview process can help you figure out what’s working and what isn’t in your marketing.

Pinpoint what makes you different

Many entrepreneurs find initial success copying a competitor’s business model. If you want your business to grow however, you’ll have to set it apart and find your unique brand identity. Customer interviews can come in handy with this, too.

Try it: Create an avatar for your target customer. Write a before and after description for him or her — that is, a quick bio of who they are before and after purchasing your product or using your business. You may have done this when you first launched, but it’s important to update this avatar as your business expands.

Get other people to help

Affiliate marketing involves selling your product or service through a third-party who then gets a small cut of your profits. This may be especially useful for B2B companies, who can tap their existing customers to share these products with their own customers. This is a smart way to advertise and grow your reach with the help of like-minded companies, bloggers or influencers. (Of course, you want to make sure these aren’t direct competitors.) You can try to reach out to potential affiliates on your own, but make sure you have an affiliate marketing process in place to track link clicks and purchases. Tools like ClickBank and Rakuten can help you get started.

Build a bigger online presence

Even if you don’t have an online business, expanding your online brand presence is crucial to getting your product in front of more eyes, especially if your product sells directly to consumers. Some strategies you might consider:

• Post content consistently. Whether you share content via a blog, newsletter or Twitter account, posting regularly will help your followers stay interested and engaged with your brand. Use tools like Hootsuite and IFTTT to schedule posts and shares.
• Stay true to your brand identity. Whichever online platform you use to promote your business, make sure the content you post is consistent to your brand’s identity. For example, if your brand is about simplicity and minimalism, you probably don’t want to post something about the best Black Friday deals.
• Run a promotion. Generate buzz around your business with a giveaway or contest. For example, Lonely Planet uses Instagram to encourage users to tag their travel photos for a chance to be featured on the Lonely Planet page. This expands their reach to other audiences and gets users to advertise Lonely Planet at no cost to the brand.

Split test marketing strategies

There’s no shortage of quick marketing “hacks” you can play with. Split testing, also called A/B testing, helps you test out these strategies to see what works best. For example, you could test how well a green “buy now” button works on converting customers on your website versus a yellow one. Some other things you could split test:

• Email subject lines: Which one has a higher open rate?
• Web page titles: Which one gets more clicks?
• Days you post to social media: Which day gets more engagement?

Chances are, the marketing tools you already use in your business give you the option to split test. HubSpot, ConvertKit and Google Ads, all offer this option. Play around and see what works.

How to Transform Your Small Business Into a Big Business

For the first few years of business, most companies are focused on survival. However, prioritizing the growth of your business is one of the best ways to increase the chances that your company will not only last but also contribute to your economic well-being and a stable financial future.What can you do to get your business beyond the bare sustenance level? What can you do to turn it into the income-generating powerhouse you envision? Like any element of running a business, there are multiple growth strategies that you can try.

Recapture Existing Customers

Getting new customers isn't the only way to grow your business. Many times, the customers you already have are your best bet for increasing your sales, and studies have found that improving customer retention also improves the value of a company.Customers who have already purchased from you once are more likely to do so again, especially if they have a positive customer service experience. Capture the contact information and shopping preferences of one-time customers. Then, use that information to set up marketing systems that will convert them into repeat customers.

Ask for Referrals

Of course, attracting new customers to your business is never a bad approach. One way to do that is to ask your current customers for referrals.These customers are already your target market, which means that people in their social or work circles are likely to be your target market as well. This makes them a strong access point to new customers.However, assuming that your customers are passing the word about your business isn’t going to increase your customer base. You have to actively seek referrals.

Contain Your Costs

Increasing your bottom line is key to growing your business. If you expand your share of the market but continue to increase your costs, you won't actually have any money left to invest in your business or make a profit.So while you're looking for ways to grow, pay close attention to the costs associated with running your business and getting your products or services to customers. Lowering these costs can be an effective way to give your business the cash flow it needs to grow and stabilize. There are two main approaches to cutting costs:

• Liquidating low-earning products or eliminating low-performing services
• Improving your inventory turnover through new marketing and sales tactics

Be careful not to cut costs in a way that impacts your customer service or employee satisfaction. Happy customers and enthusiastic employees are both key drivers of business growth. Cutting costs in these areas will ultimately harm your business' ability to expand, even if they give you more cash flow in the short term.

Extend Your Market Reach

There are several ways of growing your business by making your product or service available to a new pool of customers.

• Open stores in new locations: New locations can also be virtual, such as a website with an online store. This allows you to put your product in front of new customers in a new market.
• Target a new demographic: Identify other groups who could also use your product in similar ways to your initial target audience. Once you’ve identified a new market, you can advertise in media that targets that market or create custom marketing campaigns.
• Encourage new uses for your product: Discovering and promoting new ways to use your products or services allows you to encourage existing customers to buy more. It can also help you attract new customers who might need your products for different reasons.

All of these approaches allow you to expand your share of the market. This not only increases sales, but it also makes your business model more stable. When you don't rely on just one type of target customer, you are more likely to survive changes to the market.

Participate in Trade Shows

A strong trade show presence can help you grow your business and establish yourself as a leader in your local industry.Trade shows draw people who are already interested in the type of product or service you offer. This gives you an opportunity to directly market toward a large group of people who are guaranteed to be in your target audience. Trade shows also give you the benefit of in-person interaction, which increases your ability to connect with and convert potential customers.Trade shows also allow you to network with other businesses in your industry. This opens the door to new opportunities, promotional campaigns, and collaborations.Working with these other businesses can help you reach new customers and establish your credentials on a national or even international scale, all of which can help grow your business.

Conquer a Niche Market

If you don't want to expand to new markets or add new services to your revenue stream, you can also grow your business by being very focused on a single niche. This gives you the opportunity to become a "big fish in a small pond."A niche is a narrowly defined group of customers. Look for a subset of the larger market whose needs are not being met, then concentrate on meeting those unmet needs at a consistently high and accessible level.To create sustainable growth, select a niche that either:

• Has enough interest that your target market is wide and generates frequent sales
• Allows you to position your products at a high enough price point that you can survive or fewer sales

Diversify Your Products or Services

The key to growing your business through diversification is building on similarities. You want to do one of two things:

• Focus on products/services related to the ones you already sell that address the needs of the customers you already serve.
• Focus on new market segments with similar needs and characteristics to your existing customers.

For example, an artist might also sell frames and framing services. A business that rents mountain bikes in the summer might switch to renting skis and snowshoes in the winter season. Implementing small changes over time can allow you to diversify your products and reach new customers without overextending your business.

Develop Franchising Opportunities

If you have a successful business and can develop a system that ensures that others can duplicate your success, franchising may be the fast track for growing your business.Successful franchising depends on having a brand with broad appeal across many geographic areas, as well as a business model that can be easily duplicated.To create a franchise, you license your business model, process, and branding to franchisees who then sell your branded products and services in their own location, under the same name as your business. This allows you to expand your market reach to new locations, create broader name recognition, and create new revenue from franchise licenses and locations.

Expand to Exporting

Expanding into international markets can also be a powerful boost to your business’s bottom line.Like franchising, this is a way of growing your business by accessing new customers in diverse geographic locations. However, it also requires a major commitment of time and resources.Expanding internationally can be legally complex, as you will need to deal with the restrictions of trade and customs laws across multiple countries. You may also need an export license, depending on your product and the country you wish to export to. However, if you have the time and resources, exporting your product allows you to grow into markets that were previously inaccessible, creating huge opportunities for growth.You can find information on export licenses and other legal requirements through the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

Choose the Right Growth Strategy for Your Business

Finding the right growth strategy depends on the stage your business is in and the resources you currently have available. Consider what you have to invest, such as money, time, expertise, or personnel, as well as your current market, business goals, and the interests of your customers.Not every strategy will be right for every business or appeal to every business owner. To get started:

1. Pick one or two ideas that are appropriate for your business and your circumstances.
2. Create a new business plan based on that strategy.
3. Set benchmarks for growth, expenses, and revenue.
4. Track these benchmarks regularly to monitor your progress.

While you probably won’t experience growth right away, you will see progress if you continue to implement your plan systematically and consistently. And if one strategy doesn't work, be prepared to step back, create a new plan, and try again.