Answering the age-old question: Stick to your industry, or diversify?

You: I wanna learn how to build an operationally efficient, people-first company.
Us: Hold our LaCroix.

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Hot off the SMB press this week: 

• A template that sets your business’ philosophy and expectations for leaders.
• What to consider when changing up your pricing strategy.
• The easy-peasy way to outline your documented processes and policies.
• And thinking of diversifying your business? Follow these rules.

STARTER PACK

Template of the week: Leadership Foundations

When you’re in the scrappy, young business stage, you’ve got a small team — and that means everyone chips in where they can. But when things start to look up and your business starts to grow, so does your team. The people who were with you in the beginning start to manage new hires, and the beginnings of your core leadership team start to emerge.

Whether you promote those early-stage employees or bring in experienced leaders, one thing is gonna become clear: You need to solidify your leadership philosophy. How you make the big decisions, how you manage your departments, how you create company alignment — everything needs to be documented to train and unify the leaders in your business.

That way, every business leader knows where they stand in the company, and all your employees can rely on the foundations you set across your leadership.

👉 And the best way to document this training? Start with our Leadership Foundations template, created in collaboration with executive career coach strategist April Little. Add the unique aspects of your business’ leadership training, and it’s ready to share with the upcoming and current leaders on your team.

‍Want more templates to help you build your business playbook? Check out our entire template archive of free, multimedia-enhanced, and customizable policy, process, and role starters. New to Trainual? Get a demo.

MONEY ON MY MIND

Is it time to rethink your pricing? Here’s how to pick the right strategy.

Listen.
‍We all run the businesses we do for a crucial purpose: to provide solutions that resolve our customers’ issues. But let’s be honest — we also do it for the money.

And we’re not saying this is a Scrooge McDuck-scenario where you’re filling a pool with gold coins (or maybe you are — you do you!). But to reach more customers, pay our employees fairly, and take our businesses to the next level, we need some moolah. And if you’ve decided that updating your pricing strategy could help, here’s how to approach that change with success in mind:

1. Evaluate your competition… but also ignore them.
Wishy-washy, much? Hear us out: Competitors and industry standards can give you an idea of how much your customers are willing to pay for your products and services. At the very least, you can get an idea of how high and low that pricing scale goes.

But, picking an arbitrary number based on your competitors isn’t the right move either — AKA, don’t think that going cheaper is automatically going to get you more customers. Instead, think about the value your business brings, especially in areas like customer service (86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience).

👉 Read more on pricing strategies.

TRAINUAL TIPS & TRICKS

How to create a full subject outline (with starter content!) 

Picture this: You’ve optimized one of your business processes or policies and now it’s time to document it for the whole team. So, you head to Trainual and name your new subject. But, where do you go from there? The process is all jumbled in your mind and it’s hard to know where to start.

Your solution: Smart outline. This AI-powered tool generates perfectly structured subject outlines in a fraction of the time that it would take to create manually. Let’s take a look at how it works.

🔥 Tip: To take your topic suggestions to the next level, you can give smart outline more context on the subject you’re creating. Click the button that says “Want more customized results? Answer these questions.” And fill out the prompts — some key learning objectives, who it’s for, and what information would be covered. Now, you’re even closer to having your subject all built out!

👉 See smart outline in action on Trainual Tips & Tricks.

MIX & MAXIMIZE

If you’re going to diversify your biz, follow these 4 rules

Is diversification a good move?
People often say that to grow your business, you should stick to what you know best and not stray too far. But one of the best ways to expand your company is through diversification (AKA, broadening your operations into different products, services, or markets). And with a solid plan in place, it doesn't have to be a risky move.

Here are four diversification strategies that lead to predictable growth:

1. Focus on the business unit.
There are two kinds of diversification: related diversification (entering a new industry that has similarities with existing ones) and unrelated diversification (entering a new industry that lacks those similarities). It’s pretty obvious that related diversification is the smarter move. After all, venturing into completely unknown territory can be quite the gamble.

So, focus on what each part of the company can do best. For example, if one department excels in technology and another in customer service, each can develop new products or services in their respective areas. This allows you to explore new markets and opportunities without veering too far from your core strengths.

👉 Read on for the next three strategies.