Expand your operation

     Free daily tips, information, advice and ideas
     to help you better manage your small business

     Expanding your small business is easier than you might think. It takes thought, planning and moving ahead.

     You can expand your present product lines or services. Or you can take off in a different direction. 

     Whatever you do, keep your eye firmly on the marketplace. No business succeeds unless it fills the public's needs for products and services. 

     Example: Jackie is a trained and certified nutritionist. She has been trying to establish her business, but attracting paying customers has proved difficult. She gives talks at health food stores, supermarkets and senior centers. When she decided to begin concentrating on weight problems and healthy eating, her business picked up. Jackie devised programs for both adults and children. She posted on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. Her solid background in nutrition gave her credibility with the new people who called for an appointment. Her seminars filled up, and soon she was able to rent a place of her own. It didn't stop there. She partnered with a hypotherapist and together they created more programs to help people manage and lose weight. 

     Example: Lisa was running a traditional gift shop which she had inherited from her mother. The gifts no longer attracted the attention that they once did. Lisa decided to make a change, updating the gift shop to better appeal to today's market. She contacted artists and artisans, arranging to carry their handmade works on a consignment basis. And she began posting the new items on Facebook and other social media. She now carries handmade jewelry, clothing accessories, stained glass items, small paintings and drawings, unusual objects in wood and iron. Gradually, Lisa transformed the old gift shop into a new destination, attracting more high-end customers from a wide area.

     Example: John gradually changed his landscaping business by adding additional items to his list of services. Formerly, he cut lawns and trimmed shrubbery. Today, he installs walkways, fences, trellises. fish ponds, and other things to enhance and improve customer's gardens. 

     New trends in the marketplace pop up all the time. To keep up, get a trade magazine that serves your type business. Watch television. Troll the Internet. 

     Keep up with the changing marketplace. No matter your business, it will not be the same next year as it is today.