(ThySistas.com) So, you’ve shown your entrepreneurial spirit by starting your own business. You’ve invested lots of blood, sweat, and tears, not to mention money, into your new venture and you’ve had a modicum of success… what do you do now?
If you’ve survived the startup stage of business, give yourself a pat on the back. Most startups fail early on, so you must be doing something right. Now, it’s time to build on your success and start growing your business. It might seem scary, but it’s a step you must take if you want to continue your success and see your business really bloom.
Here are some of the options you can use to help move your company from startup to big business:
A New Location
If you run a bricks and mortar business rather than an online one, opening a second location is one way to expand your business, and it’s a popular choice, but it will be expensive because you’ll need to fork out for another building and everything that comes with that. It might, then, be worth checking out the best personal loan options for those with excellent credit or looking at small business loan options, before you go down this route, so you know that you can secure the money you need.
Offer More Products or Services
Whether you’re a health care expert, needing answers on How to Start A Senior Care Business, Digital Marketing Agency or a Shop Selling novelty T-shirts, one of the easiest, and most cost-effective ways to expand and grow your business is by offering more products and/or services. If for example, you offer professional copywriting services, branch out into offering web design and social media management too, or if you sell pet food, start selling animal accessories alongside your current range. This is a quick way to boost your customer numbers, make more money and give your clients more of what they want.
Offer a Franchise
If you run the kind of business that can be replicated all over the world, offering a franchise license can be quite lucrative. Obviously, you’ll have to invest some serious time into developing a good package for potential franchisee’s, but once you’ve ironed out the details, you’ll be able to make your business’ name known all over without having to risk too much of your own money to do so.
Join Forces
Another option for expanding your business would be aligning yourself with another company that is complementary to your own line of work. For example, if you run a bookstore, combine forces with the local coffee shop owner, combine the two businesses and increase your appeal. Whatever niche you’re operating in, there’s bound to be other small businesses you can work with and combining forces might just be the best way to grow both your businesses.
Fight for More Lucrative Contracts
If you’re mostly happy with the way your business is growing, but you want to make more money, improve your image and increase your prospects for the future, getting a contract with the government or a bigger global business can be very effective. No matter how small your business is, don’t be afraid to chase those big contracts – be brave and who knows where you might be in a year!
Staff Writer; Paula Jones