#130: Wanting to Grow Your Business? Give More than You Take.

Sustained growth happens when you give more than you take over an extended period of time. If you’re trying to grow a blog, podcast, or social media channel, my best advice is to offer more value in the information you provide than the time it takes for your readers to consume your content.

If you’re trying to grow a business, my best advice is to offer more value in your product or service than the price that you are asking for your product or service. But also remember, offering value is needed far in advance of the actual “ask”. Trust is built over time–years, not in days.

[Sidenote: I built an audience by writing free weekly content on my blog for six years before offering coaching and consulting services, and waited another four years before asking people to buy a book from me. Listen to this podcast to hear more on that.]

If your business isn’t growing as fast as you would like, or are seeing a slump in sales, I would start with being honest with yourself in this area. Are you truly giving more than you are taking from your audience? This advantage can be found in perceived value (placebos, etc.) or actual value.

With your product, does the price tag honestly represent the features and benefits that consumers will experience? With your service, are there ways that you can have an advantage in the marketplace by giving above and beyond what is expected?
What hidden value(s) does your product or service have that can be marketed to the consumer?
Does the offer you came up with years ago still attract new customers, or should you change things up a bit?
Can you give up anything in short-term gain to gain more over the long-term?

This principle may seem backwards, but today’s economy respects generosity, even if it doesn’t feel like it some days. When you offer a value proposition that clearly states your priority of keeping the consumer first by giving more than you take, you’ll eventually find what you are looking for.