Most successful entrepreneurs today started slow and steady. Some worked from their parents’ garage, while others started from their living rooms. It can be frustrating for an ambitious entrepreneur to take their home-based business to the next level of profitability and growth. Sure, a home-based business with no employees, rent, or inventory can seem like the easiest way to make money, but when things get out of hand and to get customers to keep coming back, lack of planning can lead to failure. Trying to juggle every aspect of a business can become overwhelming. Below are eight steps to help you grow your home-based business:
1. Focus on one product or service
Start with a single service or product and then sell, market, and promote it. Do everything possible to drive sales on that one product or service. While most business owners are tempted to try and offer all services and products to people, focusing on one product or service that you can execute well is the first step to creating a profitable business.
2. Expand later to offer complementary services and products
After driving sales to your only product, it’s vital to grow your product line. Introduce new products and services that are related to your line of business. This gives your customers a wide selection of products that are appealing to them.
3. Find ways to retain your customers
Retaining current customers is cheaper than starting a marketing campaign to find new ones. You can increase your profits by selling your products to your existing customer base. The most effective way of doing this is through volume discounts — buy two get one free. This lets you boost sales without making a significant sacrifice on your revenue.
4. Hire help
You can outsource some services from freelancers, independent contractors, interns or even use your children. This will help you amend your expenditures to the level of workforce you bring in and cultivate a network of talent you would otherwise not afford to employ full-time.
5. Create a website
You don’t need to incur extra costs by having a physical office; you can use the website for advertising and selling your products. If you sell specialty products such as collectibles, food, books and beauty products, you can reach thousands of people from your locale without a physical office. However, you will require a strong internet connection. Companies such as Logix Fiber Networks offer exceptional fiber internet for business.
6. Collaborate with another company to promote your business
Collaboration between companies in related industries is one of the best marketing strategies for home-based businesses. For example, if you offer beauty products, you could collaborate with a local hair salon to carry the products in its store and offer their customers discounts.
7. Target different markets
If you sell your products to teenagers, start targeting young adults in colleges and universities. You can also sell your retail-based products on wholesale to other retailers. You could sell your t-shirts to local clothing stores on wholesale. This method provides you with security and consistent cash flow.
8. Expand to other locations
You can expand your business to a new area by having a virtual office space. You can rent or share an office space with another upcoming business. This will help you increase sales and reduce the cost of expansion. Your home-based business has the potential to grow through expansion.
