I love working with small business owners to help them grow their business. What I’ve noticed since starting this company in 2002 is that there are three common denominators for small businesses that become big or bigger businesses.

First, let me define what I see as a small business. The SBA suggests it’s a business with fewer than 500 employees. My team and I look at businesses in terms of revenue and number of employees. Normally we define small business by those that hire us to help them grow. These are businesses that are typically generating less than $10 million in sales with fewer than 50 employees.

What’s really interesting is that many small businesses can become significantly larger businesses these days without hiring the number of people that might have been necessary a decade or two ago. Why? Simple. Technology and productivity. You can do more, in less time at much lower cost. If you know how.

Software applications these days, for example Infusionsoft, enables small businesses to deploy serious technology for only a few hundred bucks a month, depending on the functionality you need. There are a ton of other examples.

Little companies like Google should not be overlooked. Although many of us take Google for granted, think about what they offer for free. Email. Calendar. Documents. Contact management. Website analytics. And much, much more. All these tools enable higher productivity when used correctly.

So how do small businesses become big or bigger businesses? Here are three critical aspects for making this transition.

1. Vision. Think bigger for crying out loud! Everything we experience in life, everything we attract into our life is all about what you THINK! And this ties to your visions. Your vision for your business, and your life for that matter, determines where you will go in the future, assuming you execute well. But you have to have a vision for something bigger than you are today if you expect to grow.

2. A plan. This is a biggie. Most small business owners not only think small, but they have no plan. No vision. No plan. No growth. Pretty simple. Your plan doesn’t need to be fancy or expensive. We recommend developing an internal plan for you and your team to use. It should include your vision, your mission, your values and commitments. It should specify in detail your marketing and sales goals, objectives, and action steps. Also, who is doing what by when. Accountability.

3. Commitment. If you’re not deeply, deeply committed to growing your business then chances are you will not grow. Or worse. If I hear a business owner tell me they don’t have any money to invest in marketing (but they have money market accounts, stocks, bonds, etc.) I question how committed they are. If they tell me they don’t have a plan and are not willing to work on one, I question their level of commitment. If they tell me they are okay with a crappy website that generates no leads or sales, well, it’s just a crying shame.

The bottom line is if you burn the boats and fully commit to your vision, if you create a living, breathing plan of action, and you are willingly to invest consistently in marketing you are far more likely to make your small business a bigger business.

In my mind it’s not about being the biggest. Maybe you won’t make the Fortune 1000. That’s not the point. The point is making consistent, incremental progress towards growing your business, following your plan of action, testing along the way, while learning and adapting. The Japanese refer to this "Kaizen." Google it. (After you read the rest of the article!)

Here’s the takeaway. Right now, in virtually every vertical market I can think of, there is a small percentage of businesses that are growing. And there are the vast majority of businesses that have died and gone away. Or those that languish because the owner lacks vision, a plan and the deep commitment to do what it takes to grow.

What are you doing to grow your business in this economy? Are you winning ground and market share or sucking wind? What’s working? What’s not working?

We always appreciate your comments and suggestions here on the WealthNet Partners blog.