Melbourne is Australia’s second-largest city, and while it offers plenty of opportunities for business owners to prosper, there are also quite a few challenges that can stall your growth.

From scouting out the most affordable office options to finding the best managed service provider Melbourne has to offer, the following tips should help you overcome obstacles and achieve growth.

1. Apply for grants

Receiving a business grant can take a lot of pressure off your budget while opening up a range of opportunities you otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford. Yet many Melbourne business owners fail to look into the grants available to them. Take advantage of this by being one of the savvy entrepreneurs who’s always on the lookout for grants and other government support programs.

Take the time to apply for anything you’re potentially eligible for, and you may be surprised at how much funding rolls in. Of course, there are no guarantees, but it’s definitely worth the effort. If you don’t feel confident in your grant application writing skills, there are plenty of freelancers to whom you can outsource the task.

2. Find the right premises for you

Every business is different, and the beauty of establishing yourself in a major city like Melbourne is that you can easily find an office style to suit your needs. If you’re a sole trader who’s yet to hire employees, working from home with a virtual office is the perfect way to keep costs low while presenting a professional image. When you hit the next phase of growth, you may wish to consider upgrading to an affordable serviced office in the CBD before taking the leap to secure a long-term lease on an office that’s all your own.

3. Make friends

Here, we’re talking specifically about other business owners in your area with whom you can form mutually beneficial partnerships. If you sell homewares, for example, getting friendly with the manager of your favourite Melbourne coffee roastery could open up opportunities to cross-promote your businesses. If you run a graphic design business from a coworking space, making friends with the other entrepreneurs in the building is a great way to lay the foundations for them to become clients or refer clients to you.

4. Focus on consistency

While growth is great, it’s no good if it comes at the cost of your customers’ experience. Too many businesses focus so intently on growth that they fail to put measures in place to ensure their customers enjoy consistently positive experiences through this growth.

If you’re in Australia’s food-service industry, this means ensuring your suppliers will be able to meet the growing demand without any dips in quality or delays in delivery. If you’re in IT support, it means ensuring your existing clients will continue to receive the same superlative support as your client list grows.

5. Partner with the right people

From your managed service provider to the company that designs your product packaging, it’s essential to partner with individuals and companies that are dedicated to delivering the best of the best to businesses at your stage of growth.

Instead of simply picking the first managed service provider you see in the search results, take the time to find one that specialises in your industry and that offers 24/7 monitoring and support. Take the same approach with all your freelancers, suppliers, and other partners, and you can look forward to a smoother path to success.

Though there are no guarantees in the world of business, the tips above should help Melbourne-based entrepreneurs unlock the growth they wish to accomplish.