5 Tips to efficiently drive business growth and achieve success this year

As a business owner of more than ten years, I have seen my fair share of ups and downs. Chillhouse was born in 2017 when I realized Manhattan didn’t offer an aspirational, but still affordable, massage place. We saw this as a gap in the industry and, rooted in my lifelong obsession with nails and exposure to my father’s esthetician practice, opened Chillhouse on the Lower East Side. Even though it was immediately regarded as one of the most innovative wellness brands of that time, nothing could’ve prepared us for 2020 and the nationwide shutdown of physical spaces. Instead of giving up, we got to work and turned our biggest challenge yet into an opportunity in the creation of our line of award-winning press-ons, Chill Tips, which has become our most recognized product. 

Whether it is starting a new business or pivoting your brand to enter into a new landscape, these five tips will help you grow your business to achieve massive growth and success in the new year.

Be flexible and adaptable

I am no stranger to agility. When I first sought to start Chillhouse, I thought we would scale as a service-based business model. However, I realized our proposition on both the consumer side and the team side was too ambitious. I needed to be able to offer premium yet affordable services while providing competitive wages for my team. So, I was forced to be creative and start new business models from day one. Partnerships became a big revenue model for us, allowing us to scale our corporate & marketing team while also driving sales to our store. In 2020, we pivoted and leaned into our signature product, press-on nails, and have since been able to double that business year over year. It wasn’t easy to transition into a product-based business; the press-on nail industry was already a saturated market at that point but I saw an opening through our unique lens of expressive nail art and strongly felt our brand and aesthetic would stand out amongst competitors. It's not always about creating something new; most of the time it's strategically thinking how you can do it better to stand out among the rest. Our distinctive designs, combined with my experience in partnerships, made us the go-to press-on brand for unique collaborations. To date, Chillhouse has collaborated on Chill Tips with Sonos, Chobani, Vitamin Water, and more! 

Have cash reserves

We were not prepared for the pitfalls of being a cash-strapped business and had to take our capital and reinvest into the business during troubled times. Because of this, I always say raise more than what you think you’ll need to have a little runway just in case things don’t go as planned. This new year, make sure you are looking ahead; plan launches and spending according to your anticipated cash flow and funding capabilities. You’re only able to grow as much as you’re able to spend, so be conscious of cash and tactful while plotting all of your lofty ideas. Make sure you are planning for particularly spending-heavy months as there can be unexpected and last-minute expenses that come along, especially if you’re in a product-based business. Most importantly, know when your big invoices will land and look at your full calendar year. And, this may be obvious, but if you can have more cash flow coming in than out, then you’re winning!

Get creative with how to fundraise

The hardest part of starting a business is raising money, the second is keeping it. Raising money from outside investors isn’t the only option when starting a business. In fact, there are so many wildly successful businesses that have been bootstrapped since day one. However, in this day and age, it’s really hard to scale your profits alone. If you can, then major kudos to you. If that’s not you, you’re in the majority and it’s absolutely normal. There are many creative solutions to starting or even scaling without diluting your equity. If you’re looking to scale, lines of credit or factoring are great solutions. If you’re less than one year into your business, I’d recommend looking into as many grants as possible. There are so many out there between brands sponsoring small businesses and government subsidies. Also, Small Business Association loans are an excellent option. Do not sleep on those.

Everything is negotiable

Negotiating is my middle name. Never take the first offer. If you have something special to offer, you should be able to get people to meet you where you need them to. This is true of retail partnerships, vendor contracts, and even customers. The key message here is you too have something to offer them – sell them on that! Standard wholesale in our business is generally 50% but major retailers will ask for more margin. A big upside to being a small business is that major retailers often understand that you don’t have the extra margin to give. Always push to keep as much margin for yourself, even as you scale.

Leverage a platform that will grow with your business

QuickBooks is that girl. She’s been with us from day 1 and has seen it all– the exciting, the ugly, and everything in between. Whether you start with one model and pivot or scale your business year after year, it’ll become an essential part of managing your finances. For us, QuickBooks has been an integral part of Chillhouse's finance department. We use it for inventory, purchase orders, invoices, and PNL management. As a business that generates many forms of revenue, ranging from store sales to wholesale POs and brand partnerships revenue, we need a centralized solution to manage payments and overall cash flow. QuickBooks has been that for us since the beginning.

Conclusion

As a small business owner, the new year is the time to set yourself up for success. Take a look at each quarter and begin to outline your goals. Next, break each goal into actionable items to help you achieve success. Whether it’s product launches, large campaigns, transitioning to a new service model, or keeping track of your finances, taking advantage of these tips in the new year will allow you to reach your goals with ease. When you set yourself up for success, staying organized becomes a breeze so you can go back to doing what you love most –  running the show. 

Thank you so much for reading! If these tips resonate with you, I share all this and more on my Instagram, and my friends at QuickBooks often share advice and hacks to make your business run more seamlessly.