Whether your business sells garage doors or specializes in data center design, expanding your operation is possible even without massive stockpiles of cash. If you’re willing to invest your time pursuing the following ideas, you may reach the next level of success.
Partner with a Similar Business
If you own a garage door installation business, find a reputable custom cabinet craftsman and sell his or her garage organization systems along with your doors. There are two ways it may increase your business:
- You can markup the organization systems and retain the profit, or split it with the other business.
- You and the craftsman may be able to exchange referrals.
Implement Internet Marketing More Effectively
You probably already own a domain name and website, but is it a dynamic marketing tool, or an unattended afterthought? Search engines rank websites, in part, based on how often they are updated and how many backlinks (incoming) they’re connected to.
For a more noticeable site that ranks higher in search engine results pages, consider the following:
- Update your site regularly. One of the easiest methods is to maintain a blog on the site itself, rather than WordPress or another free blog site.
- Launch and maintain at least one more blog on a free site such as WordPress, then backlink the two blogs together. Avoid posting identical content; rather, write corresponding material. For example, a plumbing contractor might blog about how to clean clogged drains on his main site, and then write about avoiding clogged drains on the other. He would then post should link pertinent keywords.
- Maintain frequently updated Facebook, twitter and other social media pages. Again, you want to link them to your blogs and website and vice versa.
- Although the above will take only about five to ten hours per week, consider hiring a professional freelance web content writer to update your sites regularly, rather than tackling the task yourself.
Diversify
Finally, you can expand your business by diversifying.
- “Package” your business and sell franchises, or – conversely – research other locations in your area and open a second outlet.
- Referring to the above example for a garage door business, rather than partnering with a custom cabinet craftsman to sell garage organization systems, you could purchase ready-made cabinets and either install them yourself, charging for both labor and material, or simply sell the cabinets for a profit.
- Sell yourself as a professional in your field. If you specialize in data center design, write an e-book explaining the method in layman’s terms and sell it on the Internet, or look for additional employment as a paid lecturer.
With you’re looking to expand your business, success is possible even in today’s tight economy.
