Training › Small Enterprise training
The biggest reason most small and medium-sized enterprises do not grow into large corporations is that they lack a growth strategy. A growth strategy is to a business what DNA is to a human being: it maps out exactly how the business will reach its growth objectives.
Growth does not happen by accident. In this course you find the stage your business is at, set a clear vision, and map the milestones that take you to the next stage. Every SMEAZ member begins here, because our mandate is to grow small and medium enterprises into large corporations. Growth Strategy is SMEAZ’s own course; your business plan and action plan are then built on it.
Who it is for
- Owners of businesses that are already trading
- New SMEAZ members, as the first step of their membership
- Owners who feel busy but stuck at the same size
What you will do
About 5 hours in all: roughly 3 on screen and 2 applying it to your own business. Most learners finish within a week.
- Welcome (15 minutes). Why growth does not happen by accident, and how the course works.
- The growth process (1 hour). The six stages every business passes through, and which one yours is at.
- Your vision and the three plans (45 minutes). What a growth strategy is, how it differs from a business plan and an action plan, and your own vision.
- Your type of investment (30 minutes). Asset, micro-enterprise, business or entrepreneurial venture: which one you are really running.
- The key elements of growth (1.5 hours). Sales growth, funding, systems, training and people: what each means at your stage.
- Your Growth Strategy (1 hour). Set your milestones, put your Growth Strategy together and send it to your consultant.
What you leave with
- Your Growth Strategy: your stage, your vision and up to ten dated milestones
- Feedback from a SMEAZ consultant
- A Certificate of Completion, and a Certificate of Competence once your first milestones are achieved
Two ways to take it
Self-paced online Available now
Start today.
Free for Standard, Small Enterprise and Medium Enterprise members. US$50 for others.
Live session Live classes
Free live Growth Strategy and Business Planning sessions run every month for paid-up members, at our offices or on Zoom.
Included for members
How the self-paced course works
- Work on your phone or computer, in short sessions. Your answers are saved as you go.
- Every exercise is about your own business, not a textbook case.
- An AI coach comments on your key answers and asks the questions a consultant would ask.
- A SMEAZ consultant reviews your finished work and replies with comments.
- Your certificate carries a number and a QR code that anyone can check on our website.
Choose how to attend See membership options
What comes next
Your business plan. Develop Your Business Plan turns your Growth Strategy into a concrete, bankable business plan that lets you grow and scale up your business. It is also free for members. After that, strengthen one area at a time with the Improve Your Business modules.