FIND THE RIGHT MIX TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS…
Opening a business sometimes involves massive amounts of research. From talking to business advisors to your banker, lawyer, family and even looking online, the tasks can be overwhelming but are necessary to a successful launch of your business.
After time of initial operation, the time arrives where you know you need to begin growing and expanding your reach. There are several ways in which to grow your business but each one needs to be looked at with a critical eye and carefully planned to insure success.
If it’s time to grow your business, here are our tips:
- The first step most entrepreneurs take is to open a second location. This will involve a considerable amount of start-up capital to simply purchase, or rent a new space in addition to stocking it with inventory and hiring employees to staff it. Don’t consider expanding to a second location until you have shown consistent, steady growth over several years.
- Does your business lend itself to a franchise opportunity? Rather than opening and managing a second site on your own, you may be better served if you offer your successful business model as a franchise opportunity to another business person. Franchising allows your business to grow into different markets without being fully involved in the day-to-day operation.
- Do you have a product or service that can be licensed? If so, you can sell it for royalties on sales, affiliate programs, or even upfront payments from others who want to purchase your product or service. A license agreement minimizes your risk and costs much less than starting and branding your own product or service.
- Consider diversification. Are there complementary products or services you can sell as add-ons to your original product or service offering? Does your business lend itself to your leading seminars to share your knowledge with others? Do you have enough information that you could put that into a book or write articles for trade magazines?
- Expand your marketing reach. If your current market is helping your business thrive, consider expanding your marketing reach. Is there a different demographic that is underserved through your current marketing program? If you haven’t been involved in social media, you need to add this to your business model. Have you considered whether your product is suitable for another demographic whether it’s a specific location, age group or gender? Conduct some social media market research to gauge interest.
- Is merging with another company a viable option? Merging with another company to expand your original offerings or partnering with another entity can exponentially expand your reach. If you’re a blogger, why not merge with an IT or website building or hosting company. An attorney can partner with an accountant, etc. These partnerships open your business up to new potential clients. If your company is large enough to take over another as a way to expand, make certain you keep the best and brightest of the staff from the company with whom you’re merging. Customer retention is a bonus when merging with a company that has a firm customer base.
- Expand your Internet reach. Make certain your website is SEO friendly and keyword optimized. Add a blog component as a way to drive traffic to your site and establish yourself as an expert in your particular field. Work with a quality SEO and marketing company to make certain your website is user-friendly. Compile a free report as a way to capture the names of visitors to your site. Start an e-newsletter to stay front of mind with current and potential clients.
Effective website marketing is one of foundations of a successful business and you need keep your website and marketing efforts front of mind as you plan for growth and expansion.
