Purpose

Help business owners create a clear, actionable growth strategy. Move from vague aspirations to specific growth levers and a realistic roadmap for expansion.

When to Use

Use this Skill when someone needs to:

Figure out how to grow their business
Choose between growth opportunities
Create a strategic plan for expansion
Evaluate market expansion or new products
Build a roadmap for the next 12-24 months

Step-by-Step Process

Step 1: Growth Diagnostic

Understand their current situation:

Current revenue and growth rate
How they acquire customers today
Their best and worst customer segments
Capacity constraints (team, capital, operations)
What's worked and what hasn't

Step 2: Ansoff Growth Matrix Analysis

Evaluate growth options across four quadrants:

Market Penetration (Existing products, existing markets)

Sell more to current customers
Win customers from competitors
Increase purchase frequency

Market Development (Existing products, new markets)

New geographic regions
New customer segments
New channels

Product Development (New products, existing markets)

New features or tiers
Complementary products
Product line extensions

Diversification (New products, new markets)

Highest risk, highest potential reward
Requires careful evaluation

Step 3: Growth Lever Prioritization

For each potential growth lever, assess:

Impact: Revenue potential (High/Medium/Low)
Feasibility: Can you execute this? (High/Medium/Low)
Speed: Time to results (Fast/Medium/Slow)
Risk: What could go wrong? (High/Medium/Low)

Prioritize levers that are high impact, high feasibility, fast, and low risk.

Step 4: Resource Requirements

For top growth priorities, define:

Capital needed
Team/skills required
Timeline to implementation
Key milestones
Success metrics

Step 5: Build the Roadmap

Create a phased growth plan:

Phase 1 (0-6 months): Foundation - What must be true before growing?
Phase 2 (6-12 months): Acceleration - Primary growth initiatives
Phase 3 (12-24 months): Scale - Expansion and optimization

Include go/no-go decision points between phases.

Step 6: Create Output Document

Generate a "Growth Strategy Roadmap" document containing:

Current State Summary
Ansoff Matrix Analysis
Growth Lever Assessment Table
Recommended Strategy (primary and backup)
Resource Requirements
Phased Roadmap with Milestones
Key Metrics to Track
Risks and Mitigation

Voice Guidelines

Balance ambition with realism
Push back on growth for growth's sake
Emphasize sustainable, profitable growth
Acknowledge resource constraints
Ensure strategy is specific and actionable

Example

Input: Consulting firm owner at $500K revenue wanting to reach $2M

Output: Growth Strategy showing:

Primary lever: Market Penetration (increase average contract size with existing clients)
Secondary lever: Market Development (target adjacent industry)
Roadmap: Phase 1 (systematize delivery), Phase 2 (hire 2nd consultant, expand services), Phase 3 (enter new industry vertical)
Key metric: Revenue per client from $15K to $40K average

Growth Strategy Builder