How to grow your business in the UK in 10 steps

Introduction

Many entrepreneurs ask: How do I grow my business quickly and sustainably? This guide shares 10 proven strategies for UK startups to grow organically (using bootstrapped methods) or with funding. We use real examples combined with our expert insights to make sure you know what to do (and what not to do) at every stage. After reading this guide, you will have a clear plan of where to take your business, with expansion tactics and tools to drive sustainable growth.

Here are 10 steps to help you grow your business most effectively and sustainably.

1. Set a clear plan for growth

Effort without direction can cause more harm than good. Start by defining exactly what business success looks like to you, whether it's increasing revenue, a larger market share, or attracting more customers.

Convert these into time-bound goals, whether it be short-term (12 months) or long-term (5 years). With each plan, identify where your strengths and weaknesses lie, as well as the resources you have available.

As a founder growing a business, it’s essential to reflect on which areas are your strengths and weaknesses. Ask yourself questions such as: “Do I understand my strengths and areas for development?” and “What are my clear, but ambitious goals?”

Market research

Use tools for UK market research: even free tools like Google Trends can reveal patterns of demand.

Converting data into ‘SMART’ targets when you begin is also a wise move. This is a framework which stands for Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Here is a brief overview of the SMART Framework and its operational principles.

It will provide a bedrock for your marketing strategy, allowing you to set clear goals that you can work towards when you start your business.

A long-term strategy prevents you from constantly chasing “quick wins” and this framework will help you stay on track.

2. Choose between growing organically vs using external funding

Deciding how your company grows, organically or externally, is important – and it depends on the type of business you run.

Here is a quick breakdown of the difference:

Organic growth

Organic growth refers to expanding using your own resources, such as improving products, opening new locations, or attracting more customers without external paid assistance. The definition of organic growth in business terms is often “gains from within the company”, such as higher sales, entering new markets, offering new services, upselling, or hiring staff.

External growth

External growth can involve mergers, acquisitions, or partnerships. While organic growth allows you to keep a greater sense of control, inorganic growth enables you to boost scale fast, albeit at a cost.

It’s essential to choose carefully. You’ll need to decide whether to make steady advances at your preferred pace or to rapidly scale up. For example, if you need to meet sudden market demand, funding or partnerships may be a necessary step.

3. Apply marketing tips to grow your business on a budget

If you’re wondering how to grow your business with little or no money, start with marketing – it’s one of the strongest and most cost-effective routes. This is aided by the fact that numerous free or low-cost marketing solutions are available for UK SMEs.

Here are some options which you might find helpful in growing your business:

Social media

Social media is one of the quickest and easiest methods to begin marketing your business, and the likelihood is that you will already have some social media presence to start with.

Pick one or two platforms to begin with, which you can then share updates, message potential clients, and share behind-the-scenes content, customer stories or other tips.

Long-form content

Blog articles are valuable resources for customers and can be a useful way to answer commonly asked questions. Editorial content can also help make your content – and therefore your brand – more visible in both traditional search environments, like Google or Bing, and in AI-driven search platforms like ChatGPT.

Establishing a blog is an effective strategy, as you'll start appearing online for terms and queries that your customers are searching for. This organic traffic to your website can help fuel your growth from a small business to a medium-sized business.

Google Business

A free and effective way to build your profile online is to make a Google Business profile, which costs nothing to set up. You can also direct reviews here, which helps to build trust online.

Partner with peers

Collaborating with complementary businesses can be an effective way to expand your reach and market your services through cross-promotion. Many companies grow in this way. You can find businesses with similar audiences or offerings at networking events or online through effective outreach.

4. Optimise your processes and focus on profit

One of the most effective ways to scale is to focus on your current operations and processes, identifying areas for improvement. You may already have the capacity to grow, but your own inefficiencies are holding you back.

However, growing too fast before your business processes have caught up can leave you high and dry. It's essential to invest in your systems early and automate tasks, streamline supply chains, and continually seek efficiency improvements.

Using cloud tools

Xero, QuickBooks, Monzo Business, Starling, and HubSpot are all valuable tools, often with free options to suit smaller businesses.

Tracking metrics

Using weekly or monthly dashboards, you can analyse trends such as sales, traffic, and engagement. If sales rise but profit doesn't, for example, consider re-examining pricing.

5. Consider external financing

Assess whether it's worthwhile for you to continue bootstrapping or to seek outside funding. The key factor is whether you may miss fast opportunities by not seeking external funds. Be careful to avoid over-leveraging.

Consider how much your time is worth, and how beneficial or feasible funding might be.

If this is something you are interested in, try looking at:

Funding

This could include simple business loan facilities, peer-to-peer lending, or schemes such as those offered by the British Business Bank.

Equity

Equity can be given to investors or crowdfunders and is particularly useful for long-term growth and scaling.

Grants and subsidies

Innovate UK grants or regional growth funds can provide interest-free funding. Search for grants available for your particular business niche or local area.

6. Build the right team and culture

Making a quality hire can have a significant impact on your business. Hire someone or partner up to plug any skills gaps and free yourself from time-draining work.

Hiring vs outsourcing

At an early stage, as your revenue increases, consider using freelancers before hiring full-time employees. However, always weigh up the pros and cons – there might be some areas where a full-time employee is worth the extra spend.

Train and empower

Simple training schemes and a shared ownership of goals can be transformative for any business. Creating a culture of continuous learning allows for constant improvement. Remember to delegate where necessary, too, in order to avoid burnout.

7. Expand offerings and market reach

Once your business is operating stably, consider exploring adjacent growth opportunities.

New customer categories

Offering services such as online delivery, corporate services, or online marketplaces can open up a new market of customers.

Geographic expansion

Through opening regional branches or experimenting with pop-up shops, you can target new areas for growth. Try an A/B test engagement with local paid ads to see what resonates most.

8. Tailor further growth to your business type

Further growth becomes specific, depending on your situation.

Service businesses

When growing service businesses, emphasise relationships and recurring clients. Use LinkedIn for thought leadership, offer packaged services or retainers, and ask for referrals.

Ecommerce startups

Growing ecommerce businesses involves creating SEO-rich product descriptions, developing email retargeting strategies, leveraging social proof, understanding marketplaces, and refining your content marketing.

Brick-and-mortar shops

Physical locations see the most growth from local SEO, in-store events, community partnerships, window displays, seasonal promotions, and loyalty cards.

Online consultants

If you are growing a consultancy, then personal brand, a strong website, LinkedIn presence, case studies, lead magnets, and testimonials can all contribute to business growth.

9. Learn from others’ startup mistakes: What not to do

In many ways, knowing what not to do is just as important as knowing what to do. Approximately 70% of startups fail in the first 2 to 5 years, for a variety of reasons.

Here are a few common mistakes that business owners should avoid:

Not having a business plan

Without a business plan, companies are directionless and will struggle to grow. Use this guide to inform a structured business plan that will allow you to scale successfully.

Ignoring cash flow

Cash flow problems are notoriously one of the most common ways that growing companies go bust. Ensure that your cash flow is healthy before making any big decisions.

Skipping market validation

One of the most common reasons for business failure is a lack of market validation. Before stepping into any new venture, make sure that you have tested the market need for your product or service.

10. Monitor, adapt, and persevere

Growing your business is about being perceptive to change and ensuring that you’re always on the ball.

Perform data-informed reviews, which involve monthly checks on traffic, churn, and margins.

Make sure that you stay customer and client focused, too, which means creating a constant feedback loop where you can refine and upgrade your product or service.

Remember – growing a business is a marathon. You will need a combination of strategic planning, creative marketing, smart finance, and continuous learning to grow the business to where you want it to be.

Growing your business the right way

Growing a business is one of the most challenging but rewarding experiences that you can take on. Whether you’re just starting out, or growing an existing successful business, you can refer to this guide for useful steps to take.

To stay compliant while running your UK limited company, explore our Full Company Secretary Service.