Some of you might have already started your business and you’re officially ready to take it to the next step. What is that next step? There are many options, and it all depends on where you currently stand as a company, how many resources you have, and what kind of risks you’re willing to take.
It’s important that you evaluate all of the options. You don’t want to do anything too rash that could hurt your chances of sticking around in the long run. Here are some things you can consider doing that can help take your business to the next step. Your small business just might blossom into a big business, or even one day, a corporation.
1. Add Another Location
If you’re already doing well as a business, it’s definitely time to add another location. At first, just do some scouting around. You don’t want to do anything too hastily. It’s all about weighing the options to see what place will be best to open up your next store.
It’s probably wisest to open up a secondary store at a location across town, this way, you can still easily get to it to manage things while they’re starting up. If you open another location in a place too far away from where you live, it will be much more challenging to be hands-on in the fragile beginning processes, and your business could really hurt because of it.
2. Do What Others Haven’t Done
One big key to making your small business blossom is to be bold and do what others haven’t done. Sometimes it’s wise to follow other people’s leads, but when people do that, they’re playing it safe. It’s the risk takers who often see the biggest return on their investments.
If you do your research, evaluate the market, and find out what people want, you are much more likely to be like the Steve Jobs of the world. Have regular meetings with your team to brainstorm new, inventive marketing ideas. Park West Gallery took their art out on cruise ships to be auctioned off at sea. Due to their forward thinking and dedication, they were able to become the biggest art dealer in the world.
3. Diversify to Breed a Larger Audience
Another step you can take to expand your small business is to look into diversifying. For example, if you’re a small community theatre that only has put on shows in the past, you diversify by offering classes and training opportunities for actors, singers and dancers. You could also put on children’s theatre, a readers theatre, or a night that focuses on the kind of things that seniors enjoy.
The exact same concept goes for any other business. The more you offer that is different, the more people you bring in from different walks of life. The more people you bring in, the more you sell product. The more product you sell, the bigger you become as a business, and so forth.
