Over the last 18 months, I’ve devoted major energy and focus on finding ways to make money without having to do a ton of work. While I love writing for my clients, it’s time that I invest as much effort into my business as I’ve been doing for others.
While I still make money as a freelance writer with several regular customers under my primary business Sara Trimble Freelancing, I’ve also decided to branch out by establishing several new niche sites.
If you’re a regular here, you already know that my primary business is being a niche expert in freelance, small business, working from home, mompreneuring, and writing. And that I’ve also built brands in:
- Dogs (my niche site is Adventures with Canines)
- music (my niche site is Musicjunkie85)
- parenting (I post about my life as a mom of 8 on Medium)
- self care
- pyschology
- relationships
- crafts (my niche site is Sarandipity’s)
- ecommerce (I sell my goods on Koji)
- Etsy
- printables
- planners
- schedules
- checklists
- downloads
- graphic design.
With so many areas of niche expertise, it makes sense that I would expand my brand to encompass new money making opportunities. A ton of businesses are seeing large success rates with the use of digital products. So, I’ve decided to give it a shot as a simple way to expand my small business.
How to Expand Your Small Business
Growing your business can be a rewarding experience. Here are some steps to help you expand your small business without a lot of work, experience, time, or money invested.
Secure funding: Depending on the type of expansion you’re planning, you may need to secure funding to support your growth. This could include seeking out investors, applying for a business loan, or crowdfunding.
Hire additional staff: As your business grows, you may need to hire additional staff to help you manage your increased workload. This could include hiring employees, freelancers, or contractors to handle marketing, sales, or customer support tasks.
Invest in technology: To support your growth, you may also need to invest in new technology or software tools to help you manage your business more efficiently. This could include tools for managing your finances, tracking your inventory, or automating your marketing efforts.
Measure and adjust: As you implement your growth strategy, it’s important to measure your progress and adjust your plans as needed regularly. This could involve analyzing your sales data, soliciting customer feedback, or seeking advice from other business owners or industry experts.
Expanding your small business can be challenging, but by taking a strategic approach and being open to new opportunities, you can position your business for long-term success.
Launch New Products or Services – Identify Your Target Market
Before you can expand your business, you need to know your ideal customers. Take some time to conduct market research to identify your target customers and find out their needs and pain points.
This will help you create new products or services that meet their needs and attract new customers to your business. And it ensures that your new products or services are differentiated from your competitors.
Identify gaps in the market and create new offerings that meet the needs of your target customers. For example, if you run a blog, you could expand your business to include ecommerce, digital goods, affiliate marketing, or being a virtual assistant.
You might also need to invest time and resources in developing and launching your new offerings, such as hiring additional staff, creating marketing materials, and training your team.
Expand into New Geographic Markets – Develop a Growth Strategy
Once you’ve identified your target market, you need to develop a growth strategy that outlines how you plan to expand your business. This could include launching new products or services, expanding into new geographic markets, or partnering with other businesses to offer complementary services.
If you’ve saturated your local market, consider expanding into new areas. This could involve opening a new physical location or selling your products or services online to reach customers in different regions.
Partner with Other Businesses
Seek out complementary businesses that you can partner with to offer bundled services or cross-promote each other. For example, a yoga studio could partner with a massage therapist to offer a wellness package.
Diversify Your Revenue Streams
Don’t rely on one source of income. Consider adding additional revenue streams, such as selling products online, offering consulting services, or hosting events.
Acquire Other Businesses
If you have the financial resources, consider acquiring other businesses that complement your own. This could help you expand your customer base, access new markets, and gain valuable expertise.
There are plenty of websites that have already been set up and marketed with a steady client base and income stream available for purchase.
Make Your Business Better By Expanding
In today’s world when the cost of everything is going up dramatically, including the price of running a business, it’s crucial that you have multiple revenue streams. It’s no longer enough to only target one area of the market. You want to try getting visible in multiple areas to get the most amount of customers and sells.
Like what you read? Be sure to follow my blog to get updates on my sporadic postings. I’m trying to stick to a regular posting schedule. But as a mom of four small humans and four dogs and several chronic health conditions, your guess is as good as mine on when I get around to adding content. I don’t want you to miss out, as I often have limited-time offers!
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