“No company can afford not to move forward. It may be at the top of the heap today but at the bottom of the heap tomorrow, if it doesn’t.” — James Cash Penney, Founder of JCPenney. Business growth and development is key to the success of any company. To achieve growth it is vital to have the right ideas, strategy and confidence in execution. In recent years, two companies have implemented this and have gained tremendous business growth and development. These are CloudTrucks and Celona. Although their growth is inspiring, growing a business can be complex and challenging, but there are some simple steps that will help make the process smoother.
The Tremendous Business Growth of Cloud Trucks and Celona
CloudTrucks is a technology startup that provides a platform for businesses and individuals to search for available trucks, book a rental and monitor their movements during the rental period. Discoverwalks notes that it was founded in 2019, by Tobenna Arodiogbu (the current CEO), Jin Shieh and George Ezenna; Cloud Truck’s employee base has grown 200% since its inception, now reaching 110 strong employees with an estimated value of $850 million. It has secured over 20 investors including Craft Ventures, Caffeinated Capital, along with Tiger Global. Celona is another powerhouse leading on from CloudTrucks success. The software platform deploys private cellular networks for enterprises to manage, with Google and Verizon amongst some notable clients. So fаr they hаve rаiseԁ $60 million in Series C funԁing from severаl investors. There аre аbout 130 emрloyees emрloyeԁ аt Celonа mаking it one of Siliсon Vаlley’s most suссessful teсh сomраnies.
How Can Businesses Measure Their Growth
Measuring business growth is a crucial part of any company’s success. It helps companies to track their progress, set goals, and determine how best to attain these goals. But what metrics should businesses use when it comes to tracking their growth? Act.com highlights that revenue is the first metric that most businesses pay attention to. If this number goes up, it can indicate good news for the company overall and hopefully a steady climb towards achieving their growth goals. Profits are also an important metric for measuring business growth as they suggest that operations are improving and financials look healthier than ever before. Sales numbers represent another great measure of success—especially when compared over time if sales keep increasing month-over-month (or quarter-over-quarter). Higher customer numbers may be tracked alongside sales figures though it’s just as worthwhile examining active customers.
Additionally, businesses can track their progress over time by assessing their performance in the form of a TTM (Trailing Twelve-Month) period. Forbes explains that this period helps determine yearly fluctuations in numbers that are important for measuring your company’s success, such as revenue and costs incurred during operations. The formula for calculating the TTM Growth Rate percentage is relatively straightforward. You simply take your current figures from the current 12-month period, subtract it from last year’s figures, then divide it by last year’s figures. Revenue growth rate percentage = (Revenue this period) − (Revenue previous period) / (Revenue previous period) x 100%. For Gross Profit Margin, the formula becomes: Net revenue – direct expenses / net revenues x 100% – where ‘Net Revenue’ typically refers to income before costs are deducted.
Tips on Growing Your Business: Implementing Agile Methodologies and More
Business growth and development relies heavily on staying current with the latest developments in business operations. In recent years, Agile business transformation and methodologies have proven to be an effective strategy for improving the efficiency of day-to-day operations and fostering long term growth. Agile is a flexible approach that utilizes small teams of developers to manage complex projects and requirements. This helps businesses increase their innovation capacity while keeping costs low. It also allows businesses to quickly respond and adjust plans in reaction to changing customer demands or competitive pressures. According to Marketsplash, companies that have embraced Agile saw an average revenue increase of 60%, with 98% experiencing higher profits due to less waste throughout their processes. Additionally, organizations report a 25 – 40% reduction in product development time for project management.
Before attempting to acquire new customers or entering different markets, focus your attention on the existing customers that you already have. Business News Daily explains that a good way of doing this is by establishing a referral system or loyalty program – offering discounts and promotions based on customer’s previous purchasing behavior, thereby encouraging them to come back for more. Risk management should always form an inseparable part of any sort of business activity or involvement; small businesses must protect themselves from theft of data like employee records, product designs, which otherwise would lead to significant costs. This could be avoided by having your business insured. Being able to anticipate trends before they become popular will increase chances for success, so stay observant and embrace changes swiftly when they emerge and keep yourself updated about the ever-changing markets and industry trends.
Future Trends in Business Growth and Development
The future of business growth and development will be greatly impacted by the advances in technology happening all around. As virtual worlds continue to become more integrated with physical ones, businesses can expand their reach into digital goods and services as well. This means new avenues for making money such as digital currencies and virtual prototypes, or onboarding new employees via a virtual process. Maryville University notes that complementing this advancement is robotics and algorithms, which will give companies access to cutting-edge analytics data, while at the same time help them to reduce production costs. Organizational structure has to adapt according to foreseeable trends. This is highlighted by McKinsey and Company, predicting a shift from rigid hierarchical models into flatter organizational models that provide more freedom along with rigorous accountability for employees.
Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has also been gaining serious attention in recent years. Exploding Topics highlight that within the next three years it’s predicted that generative AI will roughly hold 30% of the entire AI market share – valuing at around $60 billion. E-commerce will take a large chunk of the market. In 2021 global retail sales totaled $5.2 trillion which is expected to increase by 56% over the next 4 years, bringing sales up to a total of $8.1 trillion by 2026. Shopify also reported an astronomical rise in e-commerce revenue – equivalent to 10x year’s worth growth in just 3 months during the pandemic. In addition to these two trends, telecom giants are opting in for 5G mobile networks which is expected to revolutionize a large section of the business world by increasing speed and reliability. It is estimated that through 2030 the 5G market will grow at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 65.8% reaching a total valuation of $797 billion in this timeframe.
By understanding the growth of certain businesses and imрlementing the above mentioned strategies, you саn ensure the growth аnԁ ԁeveloрment of your own business. Furthermore, with adequate risk mitigation strategies and Agile methodologies in place, you will be well placed to adjust direction effortlessly and maximize customer loyalty over the long term. Incorporating new technologies and staying informed about the emerging industry trends is yet another way of achieving quick and easy results, plus, it will also help you stay ahead of the competition.