Build a smarter, more profitable business starting now.

With a new financial year underway, you might be asking yourself the critical question: How can I grow my business this year? Growth doesn’t just happen by accident; it happens by design due to calculated decisions. Below are 10 practical strategies we use with The Co. business advisory clients to help them build more profitable, resilient, and scalable businesses in today’s environment.

1. Set Specific, Measurable Targets

We talk about defining your goals all the time, but only because it’s so crucial. Instead of starting the year with vague ambitions like “increase sales” or “get more clients”, set specific and measurable targets across all areas of the business, from the financial side of things to operational aspirations or team building. Consider:

• How much new business do you need to win each quarter?
• What monthly revenue and profit margin will make that growth worth it?
• Are there systems or workflows you could improve, especially if increasing volume?
• Which roles or skill sets are missing in your team that could limit you?

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2. Streamline For High-Value Products or Services

Not all revenue is equally profitable — some even costs more than it’s worth. To grow sustainably, you need to focus on the offerings that deliver the greatest return with the least resource drain. This approach achieves growth through simplification, rather than expansion.

Break down your existing revenue by customer type, product line, or service offering. Identify what generates most of your profit, and see how you can double down.

Questions to explore for service-based businesses:

• Which services are the most profitable after factoring in delivery time and labour?
• Which types of clients are easiest to work with?
• Where are you overdelivering compared to what’s priced or promised?
• What would it take to attract more premium clients who value results over price?

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Questions to explore for product-based businesses:

• Which product lines consistently deliver the highest gross margin?
• Is there slow-moving stock tying up cash or warehousing space?
• How can you move underperforming products?
• Are there opportunities to increase average order value e.g. bundles or upselling

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3. Increase Digital Marketing

In today’s marketing landscape, your online presence is one of the most powerful growth levers available. But this demands more than guesswork and the occasional social post. If you haven’t already, make this the year you create a comprehensive digital marketing plan tailored to your audience and business goals (and if you’re already on top of digital marketing, keep it up — consistency is key).

Start by identifying where your best customers spend their time online and tailor content and campaigns to those channels.

Consider implementing:

• Targeted paid advertising on social platforms with clear call-to-actions
• Consistent content marketing that captures and nurtures leads (especially SEO blog posts)
• Email marketing sequences to convert or re-engage customers

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A well-executed digital marketing strategy aligns your brand with the right audience, generates qualified leads consistently, and accelerates conversions.

4. Review and Optimise Your Pricing Strategy

While business owners are often worried about overcharging, undercharging is also a silent growth killer. Start by reviewing your pricing against:

• Market positioning (are you selling premium but pricing cheap?)
• Competitor benchmarks (how competitive can you be without underselling?)
• Internal cost and margin analysis (what’s sustainable?)

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Then test a structured pricing review. For example, you can introduce tiered service levels, or simply raise prices for new clients or select products. Pricing changes can be uncomfortable, and you might hesitate about how audiences will react, but when done strategically it often leads to instant, compounding profit growth.

5. Improve Your Conversion Funnel, Not Just Your Lead Flow

Many businesses obsess over lead generation while ignoring what happens next. A 5% increase in lead-to-sale conversion can have a bigger impact than doubling your ad spend.

Audit these touchpoints:

• How long does it take to respond to leads?
• Are your sales processes followed consistently?
• Are they tailored, timely, and outcome-focused?

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Fixing conversion rates improves the ROI on every marketing dollar.

6. Invest in Operational Efficiency

Before hiring more people, look at your systems. When business booms quickly, it can expose inefficiencies in areas like service delivery, quoting, and project management.

Start with:

• Mapping your core workflows (from the point of sale to delivery/execution to cash collection)
• Identifying tasks that might be wasting time and resources, or are error-prone
• Introducing automation tools (like CRM or invoicing platforms)

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7. Introduce Development Opportunities Across Your Team

Your business can only grow as fast as your people do. Investing in your team with structured development opportunities builds productivity, improves retention, and reduces the risk of your business becoming overly dependent on a few key individuals.

Start by identifying the skills your business needs more of, whether it’s leadership, project management, sales confidence, or technical expertise. Then look into development pathways to support those needs, including internal mentoring or knowledge-sharing sessions and external training aligned to business goals.

8. Strengthen Cash Flow to Support Sustainable Growth

Ever heard the saying, “You have to spend money to make money”? Growth is cash-hungry. Many businesses might increase sales but still end up cash-poor. Build your year around funding growth safely.

What to do:

• Review payment terms –  offer early payment incentives if needed
• Negotiate better supplier terms where possible
• Apply for grants (the government’s grant finder tool is useful for this)
• Seek funding from private investors or venture capital to fuel your growth initiatives.

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9. Productise What You Do

For service-based businesses especially, growth becomes more manageable when you productise your offer, essentially turning expertise into a defined package or process.

Why? It’s easier to sell repeatedly (and often with less labour), you reduce reliance on founder expertise, and create intellectual property with asset value.

Examples might include selling educational resources related to your services, training programs or workshops programs for others in your industry, introducing retainers or switching to fixed-scope pricing instead of hourly billing.

10. Engage A Business Advisor

Keeping the business running while also trying to grow it is tough. If any of the above makes you feel overwhelmed or second-guess key decisions, engaging an external business advisor can help ease the load. A trusted advisory brings an invaluable outside perspective to your strategy and operations, so you can focus on what it is you do best.

Business advisors can help:

• Clarify your growth objectives and then align them with financial realities
• Identify blind spots or inefficiencies you might overlook internally
• Develop actionable, realistic plans for pricing, cash flow, and team development
• Monitor progress with unbiased performance reviews and key metrics
• Provide expert guidance during critical decisions or unexpected challenges

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This relationship is not about handing over control, but gaining a strategic partner who adds to and amplifies your capacity to grow sustainably.

At The Co., the most successful business owners we work with don’t just set goals — they build the systems, financial clarity, and team capability to hit them. Growth in the New FY 2025 doesn’t require doing everything all at once, but just doing the right things well. Pick two or three of these strategies, go deep, and you’ll notice a shift.

Need help with your growth strategy, pricing, or financial forecast for the year ahead? We help businesses like yours scale profitably, with the numbers to back every decision.

Book a consultation with our business advisory team today.