The combination of technology, the Internet, and the 4^th Industrial Revolution, offer both an opportunity and a threat to small business owners. Small business owners have an opportunity to grow their business by taking advantage of the digital world but, at the same time, there is the threat of their competitors adapting to this change quicker than them.

There can be no arguing the power of having your business online to reach a bigger audience but, there is a high percentage of small business owners who do not have an online presence. I am not talking about doing business online. I’m talking about having your business online.

This doesn’t necessarily mean you need a fully functional e-commerce website that costs you 1000’s to have designed and hosted online. What it does mean is identifying the opportunities that exist online for your business in terms of attracting more prospects, leads, and clients, then creating your online presence to take advantage of those opportunities.

I have clients who only have a Facebook page, or a LinkedIn account, or just a website, or a combination of these to attract prospects to their products and services, build a relationship, then convert them to paying clients.

There is no one strategy fits all as it requires a gap analysis of the business to identify what is missing in order to create an online presence that achieves the growth goals set out. The Business Coaching Hub consults with small business owners to get a clear understanding of the business growth needs, then agrees on a strategy with the owner that will be implemented, measured, and updated to ensure these goals are met.

While Internet marketing is a hot subject, I do not believe that you need to have a marketing or advertising budget to market your business online. There are numerous strategies I teach my clients that require no marketing spend but, deliver results within 30-90 days of implementation.

I have a client in Newcastle, Kwazulu Natal who only has a Facebook page has never done any marketing and uses referrals and joint ventures as a business growth strategy. This business has quadrupled its income in 6 months and continues to grow.

Another client who was a start-up had a website and Facebook page and within 3 weeks of implementing the strategies I taught him, he was signing up R10,000.00 clients.

The Business Coaching Hub has also launched a revolutionary business network that provides access to this powerful business growth strategy to more start-ups, entrepreneurs, and small business owners than ever before. The Business Growth Network is a unique business networking platform in that it uses technology and the Internet to bring this strategy to business owners wherever they are, whenever they want.

So, the question to you is…will you use the opportunity the digital world presents for your business or will you be experiencing the threat you competitors pose on your business because they are steps ahead of you and have adapted this digital phenomenon better than you?

Don’t be left behind!

Carlos Batista – Business Transformation Specialist

www.BusinessCoachingHub.co.za

www.Business-Growth-Network.co.za