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An intermediate business training that helps entrepreneurs grow their business to the point where it replaces their income.
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Grow Now is second stage of the Act Now program, and the next step towards financial self-reliance. As you work through this stage you will learn to grow your IGA into a sustainable business that fully provides for you and your family.
Each stage of Act Now begins with the training sessions and follows action plans that move you towards the milestone of that stage.
Training
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The Grow Now Training a ____ day program intended to deepen the habits you established in Start Now. The main purpose of the training is to help individuals grow their Income Generating Activity to the point where it can replace their salary from the regular employment. No further seed money or investment is required.
Action Plan:
Small and Simple Goals
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You can continue to build on your Small and Simple Goal that you established in Start Now, or you can set a new goal if you met your previous one.
Here are the nine categories of Small and Simple Goals that we have come up with:
Badges:
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These are the individual tasks associated with the 25 Rules of Thumb required to complete in order to complete each stage. Each badge has a set of "to-do's" to be completed.
Salary Tracking:
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You will continue to track your salary at the beginning of every stage. This will help you track your business growth along with your self reliance. This information will not be viewable by any member or leaders in country, and will only be viewable by The Academy HQ.
Chapter Attendance
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You should continue meeting with your Chapter regularly throughout this stage, as your participation will help you solidly your understanding and application of the 25 Rules of Thumb for continual improvement.
Milestone:
Pay yourself a livable salary
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Once you have completed all of the badges in Grow Now you should have been able to generate enough income to where you can pay yourself a livable salary. It's okay if it takes some time to accomplish this, milestone, and once you do you have completed this stage, and you will receive the Stage Badge of Pioneer.
Each of the 25 Rules of Thumb applies at every stage of Act Now, but to learn how you can apply the rules in the Start Now stage look to Julieta as an example.
Julieta: Cafe Owner | Grow Now
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Julieta has a small cafe that she runs out of her home in The Philippines. She just finished the Grow Now training and is close to growing her Cafe to the point where it will pay her a steady salary. From her experience in the Grow Now she has learned how to really implement the 25 Rules of Thumb and doing so has advanced her business greatly.
Upon starting Grow Now, Julieta set the Small and Simple Goal of saving up enough money to buy another mixer so she can sell more product.
Julieta's Applications of the 25 Rules of Thumb
Start Small; Think Big
Start Small; Think Big
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"It's okay if the cafe still runs out of my house... for now."
Doesn't pay any additional rent to run the cafe
Saves up enough cash to buy one additional mixing machine at a time
Working towards opening an independent store
Sell What the Market Will Buy
Sell What the Market Will Buy
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"My customers buy more of some products than others. Monthly I make an assessment of what sells best and then I produce more of that product the next month."
Keeps records of what customers buy the most of
Increase supply of popular items and decreases supply of less purchased items
Asks current customers about their favorite products
Focus, Focus, Focus
Focus, Focus, Focus
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"I used to cut hair and run the cafe. Then I realized that I really needed to pick one to be successful."
Abandoned the notion of having more than one business to make more money
Worked to become a better chef for the cafe
Turned extra eating area in her house into her permanent cafe.
Use Suggestive Selling
Use Suggestive Selling
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"Many customers would buy drinks along with their meals. I decided to make a combo meal that also included some vegetables for just slightly more money and it has been my best product."
Observed purchasing habits of the customers
Bundled popular items together for higher profit
Promoted Combo Meals as the best value
Practice Separate Entities
Practice Separate Entities
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"It can still be easy to forget to not take money from the cash register sometimes. So I put a reminder on the register that says, 'DON'T TAKE MONEY THAT ISN'T YOURS.'"
Pays herself on the same day of the month every time
Has separate bank accounts for personal and business use
Puts reminders to not take money for personal use
Pay Yourself a Livable Salary
Pay Yourself a Livable Salary
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"Once you really get to the point where you can pay yourself a regular salary it's pretty liberating to live your life and keep working on the business."
Raises her salary only as the business grows
Lives comfortably but not excessively
doesn't try and keep up with lifestyle of others
Keep Good Records
Keep Good Records
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"Oh, it is critical that I keep good records. People are always coming and going from my Cafe, and if I don't track who ordered what and who paid me, I would be out of business very quickly."
Shifted to keeping records digitally in Google Sheets
Keeps frequent records of customers orders
Analyzes records every hour to know how much inventory to keep
Turn Inventory Often
Turn Inventory Often
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"When I first started I would make all of the food at the beginning of the day, but then if it didn't sell quick enough it would go bad. I had to learn to turn inventory quicker."
Only prepared food when it was ordered
Purchased raw materials for meals that sold quickest
Kept good records of what products sold the quickest
Don't Eat Your Inventory
Don't Eat Your Inventory
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"When I started out I used to always make myself food for free. But then I found that I wasn't profiting as much as I needed to. I realized that I have to purchase the food from the business if I want the Cafe to profit."
Learned that eating from the Cafe without purchasing the food is almost like stealing from herself
Business was able to grow more when she stopped eating her product
Says "no," to friends who ask for free product
Practice Kaizen
Practice Kaizen
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"As I really started looking for new opportunities, I realized that there were many ways that I could improve. And when I implemented those things I started being far more profitable."
Assesses herself to look for weaknesses
Identifies areas for improvement
Asks other store owners what they did to overcome those issues
Buy Low; Sell High
Buy Low; Sell High
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"I shop around to get good prices because that means that I can make more profit with the same amount of sales."
Strives to get the best price for her goods
Makes more profit per sale
Prices her products appropriately
Inspect More, Assume Less
Inspect More, Assume Less
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"One day a week I put my niece in charge of the store. I always thought she did a fine job, then I realized that profits were always lower on days that she works. As I inspected more I found out that she gave discounts to all of her friends, and they ate all the product."
Realizes how it important it is to not assume
Inspects the numbers each day
Trains employees better and monitors their behaviors
Be Nice Later
Be Nice Later
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"It can be really hard to say no to family and friends when they ask for free product. I had to teach them that about business before they understood that."
Resists temptation to give product away
Helps family understand why she has to say "no," right now
Works hard so business will grow
Work on Your Business 10 Hours a day, 5.5 days a Week
Work on Your Business 10 Hours a day, 5.5 days a Week
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"You should be far more motivated to build your own business than you would be working for someone else's' business."
Works harder for herself than she would for someone else
Understands that how hard she works correlates with how much she makes
Doesn't quit when she's tired
Make a Profit Everyday
Make a Profit Everyday
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"I keep track of days where I make a profit, and I track it throughout the day."
Keeps good records each day
Knows how much money she has to make each day to make a profit
Works to hit her profit goal each day
Value Your Customers
Value Your Customers
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"I don't have to sell truckloads of vegetables...yet."
Started with one small plot of land that he can manage by himself
Started with just three different kinds of crops
Bought only the minimum tools that he needed to get the job done
Hire Slow, Fire Fast
Hire Slow, Fire Fast
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"I don't have to sell truckloads of vegetables...yet."
Started with one small plot of land that he can manage by himself
Started with just three different kinds of crops
Bought only the minimum tools that he needed to get the job done
Work on Your Business, not Just In Your Business
Work on Your Business, not Just In Your Business
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"I don't have to sell truckloads of vegetables...yet."
Started with one small plot of land that he can manage by himself
Started with just three different kinds of crops
Bought only the minimum tools that he needed to get the job done
Buy on Credit, Sell for Cash
Buy on Credit, Sell for Cash
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"I don't have to sell truckloads of vegetables...yet."
Started with one small plot of land that he can manage by himself
Started with just three different kinds of crops
Bought only the minimum tools that he needed to get the job done
Use Multiple Suppliers
Use Multiple Suppliers
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"I don't have to sell truckloads of vegetables...yet."
Started with one small plot of land that he can manage by himself
Started with just three different kinds of crops
Bought only the minimum tools that he needed to get the job done
Purchase in Bulk
Purchase in Bulk
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"I don't have to sell truckloads of vegetables...yet."
Started with one small plot of land that he can manage by himself
Started with just three different kinds of crops
Bought only the minimum tools that he needed to get the job done
Have Written Agreements
Have Written Agreements
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"I don't have to sell truckloads of vegetables...yet."
Started with one small plot of land that he can manage by himself
Started with just three different kinds of crops
Bought only the minimum tools that he needed to get the job done
Increase Sales; Decrease Costs
Increase Sales; Decrease Costs
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"I don't have to sell truckloads of vegetables...yet."
Started with one small plot of land that he can manage by himself
Started with just three different kinds of crops
Bought only the minimum tools that he needed to get the job done
Write Down Daily and Weekly Goals
Write Down Daily and Weekly Goals
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"I don't have to sell truckloads of vegetables...yet."
Started with one small plot of land that he can manage by himself
Started with just three different kinds of crops
Bought only the minimum tools that he needed to get the job done
Differentiate Your Business
Differentiate Your Business
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"I don't have to sell truckloads of vegetables...yet."
Started with one small plot of land that he can manage by himself
Started with just three different kinds of crops
Bought only the minimum tools that he needed to get the job done
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