During the endless lockdowns and isolation periods over the past few years, many of us found ourselves trying new hobbies and interests which could be done without stepping foot outside home.
Common ones included knitting, sewing, reading, yoga, paint-by-numbers and baking sourdough.
On this last one, I was fortunate to have some success.
Certainly more success than my poor paint-by-numbers – the brushes are still sitting in an empty cup on my bookshelf, hard and crusty with dried paint, the canvas itself rolled back up and put away for a time when I have an inordinate quantity of motivation which lasts longer than a few days.
Sourdough is a complex bread and yet, when the basics are mastered, it almost makes itself. And now, two years later, I’m proud to say I still whip up a few loaves a week which are consistently successful.
My own small business continues to grow too, and I’m (almost) as proud of it as my sourdough.
Having spent the last few years developing a small business and talking to other SMB owners, I have begun to notice how growing and running a small business, and making sourdough from scratch seem to share some common traits.
1. You need to master the basics first
In sourdough terms, this means getting your starter right. Without a healthy starter, your bread will be little better than a lump mistaken for a garden rock.
In the SMB world, it’s the systems and processes worthwhile investing time into at the start. Get a website up and running, organise marketing and email automation, set up accounting software, the list goes on. But these systems will save you so much time down the track and, like a sourdough starter to its loaf, they are essential for successful growth of your small business.
2. It takes time, regularity and determination
Getting my sourdough starter right took me weeks. Every day for the first little while I had to feed it, watch it,
ensure it was warm enough, look for signs of life. Then, once it was established and I could start baking bread with it, it still required regular feeding. It still does. And it still makes me amazing bread, every time.
A small business is the same. It’s not a “set-and-forget” scenario. Rather, it takes periods of time and effort on a regular basis to support its growth. This includes growing email lists, onboarding new clients, website updates, regular social media posts to engage with their audience and continue to build brand awareness and trust. This time and care is not wasted even though it isn’t billable by the hour. It’s essential to future growth and expanding your network and client list.
Many small business owners swear by the effectiveness of setting aside a whole day each week to work “on” their business, not just “in” it. Of course, it doesn’t need to be a whole day. But certainly it is essential to set aside time on a regular basis to maintain and grow your SMB.
3. Reach out for help
I could not have succeeded in my bread journey if I hadn’t put out a call to my social network to throw as many ideas, tried-and-tested recipes, tips, and resoruces at me. In the end, I had more than I needed. But it allowed me to experiment and identify what worked best for me. SMB is no different. Ask around, talk to others both in your industry and in other small businesses. Everyone will have different stories, experiences, and tips. Take on board what works for you. Growing a small business, especially if you’re a sole trader, can be lonely. So don’t go it alone!
4. There will be failures
Often these occur in the early stages. In my sourdough baking, my starter took months to get right and, too often, resulted in a bread that was heavy enough to be used for weights training rather than eaten for breakfast.
Many SMB owners will openly discuss the failures of their business, usually in its fledgling stages too. That said, even experienced business owners still make error or try a new venture which fails. The important part is to reflect on the failing so you know how to do things differently next time and achieve a better outcome.
5. Keep learning and expanding your creativity
Sourdough doesn’t have to be plain. I recently began to make a load with sundried tomatoes and olives mixed into it. Only after years of making the basic loaf did I realise it was getting boring and I decided to try making it more interesting.
In small business, there’s always something more you can learn. Do a training course, attend a conference, read books, research your competitors and learn from them (but remember learning from them is not the same as stealing from them!)
6. Take time to celebrate your success
You can do this alone or invite others to join your celebration. I sent snapshots of my first successful loaf to a number of people who had helped by chipping in ideas and tips. And I certainly shared the bread – still warm from the oven, covered with jam – with my family.
As already discussed, a small business journey will include down times and moments of failure. So it is essential to keep your creativity and passion alive by consciously celebrating your SMB wins. Whether that be reaching a target number of people on your email list. Or landing a long sought-after client. Or finishing a particularly tough or lengthy project. Acknowledge your wins and celebrate them, sharing your joy with others within the business, your friends, social networks, or family. Or celebrate quietly with a happy dance by yourself.
7. Give a tiny bit away for free
An important part of any content marketing strategy includes offering useful and topical information to build brand awareness and trust with potential clients who are (most often) visiting your website. Perhaps the most common way of doing this is through having a blog page on your site where you can write helpful, relevant and practical articles on a regular basis – and don’t forget to push them to your social media platforms.
My local bakery gives away cupfuls of their sourdough starter for free. They’re happy to share. It doesn’t mean they’re doing themselves out of business – they don’t just make sourdough. Even if a customer successfully made their own bread using the bakery’s starter, they would still visit the bakery to buy croissants or muffins or a danish. What’s the point in denying someone something useful if it means destroying a positive relationship which might lead to further sales?
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