This post is a continuation of last week’s post entitled Is Your Online Information Business Ready to Grow Beyond You? In this post, I talked about how my business was undergoing some growing pains and how I needed help. This week the focus is on how to get the right kind of help to propel growth.

How to Know When It’s Time to Push Your Online Information Business to the Next Level

Right now, my business is in a growth phase. I’m at that weird point where I can slack off a bit and maintain, or take on the work of growing my business. And what I mean by slack off is stop marketing, focus on the projects I have on my desk and then start marketing again when I get some breathing room.

But, I don’t want to do that because I’ve learned that if you stop marketing, you will hit a dry spell when you least expect it. NOTE: For those who don’t know, I’m a freelance writer. I also write and sell ebooks on freelance writing. This is a passive stream of income that I’m working to increase.

Experienced freelancers know that your plate can be full one week, and empty the next. So, I’m constantly marketing. But, I’ve gotten to the point where I consistently push to the side those things I need to do to propel my business to the next level (eg, marketing every day and getting out new ebook titles).

Right now, I’m maintaining. I’m not growing. Hence, I’ve decided to hire some help so that I can stay on track with those activities that will propel my business to the next level.

How to Allocate Funds to Grow Your Online Business

Helllpppp! I know I need it, but what do I do first? This was the question that caused me to have a deer in the headlights moment a couple of weeks ago. There is so much that I want to accomplish and it can be a little frustrating to know where to start first. Following is the thought process I mapped out.

Make a List: The first thing I did was write down everything I would like to have done. Whether I could afford it or not was irrelevant. I wrote down my “business growth wish list.”

Immediate & Future Goals: The second thing I did was assess what my immediate and long-term goals are. Immediate goals are those I want to accomplish in the next 90 days. Long-term goals are those I want to accomplish within the next year.

Budget: The third thing I did was to figure out how much money I could afford to spend over the next 90 days (to reach immediate goals).

Strategic thinking like this allowed me to get down and prioritize on paper the jumble of ideas in my head. Now, I have a growth plan. And while it may change, at least I have a working map from which to assess progress, reassess goals and plan for future growth.

Behind-the-Scenes Work: As I knew I was going to be spending some money on advertising, I approached those outlets and got their media kits/pricing guidelines. I did this so that I could know who I could afford to spend money with once the behind-the-scenes work (eg, blog redesign) was done.

Final Tip: When you get to a point where you can actually start to spend money to grow your business, it’s exciting. I had to reign myself in and do some critical thinking (ie, develop a strategic growth plan) before putting out any money.

It’s so tempting to “strike while the iron is hot” when you start to make strides. But remember, success breeds more problems, or should I say, situations that need your attention. The decision-making never stops.

While it’s a nice position to be in, success means that the decisions you make moving forward have much more gravity. Why? Because you have more to lose if you mess up. And, while you will always make mistakes, you don’t want to make ones so grave that you have to once again go over ground you’ve already covered.

So take a step back, get a concrete plan in place – and then charge full steam ahead!