Tag: market research

So You Decided To Start a Business… Now What?

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It is easier than ever to start a business. Most businesses find their beginnings online, while others choose the brick and mortar lifestyle. Some businesses start life as part of a franchise or startup. 

2020 saw around 804,000 new businesses celebrate their first birthday in the United States, according to Statista Research Department, and over 600,000 small businesses open their doors every month. You’ve just decided to add to that. So, you’ve decided to start a business, now what? 

Picking Your Business

This seems simple to say, but picking the type of business you want is important because you want a business with a lot of staying power. Only 50% of startups make it past the 5-year mark, with only 33% crossing that 10-year line. So, choosing a business that embodies your passion and has the staying power you need to keep your business going is something you need to really consider. 

Make a Business Plan

Whether your business is online or a physical store, it helps to know what you want your business to offer the public. A business plan can help you to see if your business idea makes sense, help with sales and marketing, identify any problems and how you might overcome them, and much much more. It can also show possible investors or small loan services that you have a concrete idea of where and what you want your business to be, improving your chances of getting capital for your company.

Think about Market Research

If your business idea revolves around selling a product, market research can help you discover whether your chosen audience is right for your product. Similarly, if you’re looking for the right product or industry for your business, market research can lead you in the right direction.

Keep on top of recent Industry Trends.

No matter what industry you want to focus on for your business, keeping up with the latest trends and news within that industry can help you keep business relevant for returning and new customers. It can also act as inspiration for your business, especially when it comes to market research. 

Think about Marketing 

This is a big one. For every business, marketing is essential. 61% of businesses pay for digital marketing every year, and only 50% of small businesses pay 10k or less for their marketing. It’s safe to say that it is very important. It’s a way for your customers, audience, readers, etc., to see your business and pick it out from the crowd. Without marketing, your business is invisible, so ensuring that you have the right marketing tools at your disposal is so important. You can use online marketing tools and resources, such as marketing agencies, social media, GoogleMyBusiness and other tools to make sure your customers find your business. If you have the money, marketing agencies are a great help. If you don’t, social media marketing is for you.

Utilize Online Resources 

For some businesses, especially if they are online, money might not be an option, at least when you’re starting out. Fortunately, many online resources can help ensure that you can get your business on its feet and running until you start gaining revenue. There are even online courses that can help to teach you how to start a business. For instance, if you’re looking at starting a coaching business, you can use an online coaching business course to learn the fundamentals. Online courses are not only a great way to learn more about business development and management but are flexible enough to fit your schedule. 

Look into Small Business Loans 

Finally, think about funding and financial resources. Most banks offer small business loans, and private business loan lenders can provide you with as little as $1000. With the growing interest in starting a business, small business loans have become the best option for gaining startup capital. However, for online businesses, banks are not the only option anymore. Crowdfunding has become an excellent alternative method of gaining capital for a business or product. Sites such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo, GofundMe and Patron offer online businesses a way to turn their audience, customers, and clients into investors. 

Conclusion

So, whether you’ve just decided to start or business or you’re just looking at what is needed to get started, know that there are many different resources available online that you may find helpful. These are just a few tips to point you in the right direction and get your business up and running, and now the rest is up to you.

Concept To Customer: How You Can Turn Your Great Idea Into A Successful Business

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When you have a great business idea, the excitement will propel you into a frenetic launch. You are naturally eager to get it made and sell it and become the next Jeff Bozos or Elon Musk. Hold on a moment though. The statistics are sadly going against you. Almost a third of businesses do not make it past the first year, and half have failed within five years. The statistics are against you. 

Of course, that does not mean your idea for a product or a business is not going to work. If it is a viable idea and you take the right approach, you could be well on your way to making millions within a few years, but patience is key here. 

Let’s take a look at how you can take your concept and turn it into a great – and successful – business.

Research your market

You may believe you have come up with a failsafe idea, but will it sell? Many businesses begin operations only to discover that someone else had the same idea and had entered the market first.

Perhaps it is a totally unique product, but the future demand is so limited that you will never be able to profit from it in the long run. To ensure that your idea will truly meet a need, you must conduct a thorough market study of both your idea and the target audience.

Begin by performing a SWOT review on your plan. This is where you spend some time identifying all of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Get everyone who is involved in the business on it, or ask your friends, family, and associates to help you if you are going it alone.

You should speak with as many people as possible at this stage. Reach out to people on platforms such as Twitter and Linkedin – many people are receptive to cold outreach methods to talk about potential business ideas.

Expect some pushback because your idea is unlikely to appeal to everyone, which is fine. Some of the most audacious ideas were met with skepticism at first. The point is that you listen to a variety of perspectives and use the information to direct your research and preparation.

This should give you a better idea of whether your idea is worth continuing with and developing, or whether it is better off shelved for now. 

Create a business plan

If your market analysis indicates that you should continue, the next move is to create a business plan. This should lay out all of your goals, financial forecast, and how you intend to grow your business. This will be especially vital if you plan to seek funding for your start-up from an external source or investor. The more detailed your business analysis and financial strategy are, the higher your chances of attracting funding.

Your financial plan, which forecasts how the numbers will add up, is an important aspect of the overall business plan. It should provide accurate projections of overheads, cash flow, revenue, profit/loss, and investment stages, which are typically forecast over three to five years. These statistics would, of course, be largely speculative, but they must be based on facts, so do your diligence.

Your business plan also needs to show how you are going to go about actually selling your product. Will you be simply manufacturing it and selling to distributors and third parties for them to sell, or will you bypass that and sell it directly? Both of these have pros and cons and should be weighed up carefully. If you are selling to consumers directly, you should have an idea of how to market your product, but these tips for DTC ecommerce are also helpful.

Find your place

Once you have worked out that there is a gap in the market for you and your product, it is time to find out exactly where that is and plant yourself there. You need to have your product and business elevator pitch ready – what exactly is it that you are offering customers with your product or service, and can you explain it in thirty seconds? This messaging is crucial, so test it out on your friends, family, coworkers – maybe even set up focus groups made up of your target demographic to see what they think.

Build your brand

McDonald’s. Google. Coca Cola. Disney. You recognize these brands immediately through their logo, color choices, slogans, and tone of voice. This is created through branding, and it is a key concept that you will need to be able to get your head around if you are hoping to create a successful business. Branding experts and professional marketers can be employed to help you, but you need to have that input if you want it to be authentic and true to your vision.

The importance of consistency cannot be overstated in branding. Your brand should be a constant reflection of your values, but it should also represent the values of your target audience. Consider your product or service as a human or an animal to help you build your brand personality.

Legalize your business

You have your idea, you have your product, you have worked out who you are selling to and how you are going to sell it, you have built your brand. Now it is time to formalize everything and legalize your business. You may want to seek professional legal advice to make sure that you have all the necessary paperwork and licenses in order.

When it comes to turning a business idea into practice, patience is a virtue. By following the steps above in the correct order, you should be able to avoid the pitfalls of building your business on shaky foundations. Most importantly, keep trac0 of what you are doing. Take expert advice and listen to constructive feedback. You never know, you may well be the next Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk!

Growing Your Business in Size and Productivity: 6 Top Tips for Entrepreneurs

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Launching a business is undoubtedly one of the greatest adventures for any entrepreneur. However, once the business is up and running, other challenges come along. Among these, it is crucial to invest in development and avoid stalling. Investing in growth, research, and marketing can help you connect with your customer, increase productivity, and continue thriving during challenging moments. 

However, identifying a growth strategy that works for your business is not always easy. Indeed, depending on your company’s goals and vision, you might focus on certain aspects rather than others. Below, you can find some considerations that can help you get started with your growth plan.   

Understand Industry-Specific Strategies

Increasing the productivity of your business to meet demand can be challenging. Indeed, there is always a fine line between investments, profits, and losses. Of course, it is crucial to invest in innovations, but since you don’t know how the audience will react, it is also important to keep expenditures to a minimum. 

While it can be hard for you to compare your business to others, it can help to look into industry-specific strategies. For example, if you are looking to increase the efficiency of your fleet, programs such as Quarles fuel cards can help. In the hospitality sector, a cloud system helps you keep up with compliance and keep your customers’ data safe. Start by researching your industry!

Outsource

Making money from a business is challenging, but growing these profits even further might be even more difficult without the right approach. Many entrepreneurs fall into the trap of not realizing that they need help. Indeed, when the business is still small, you might be able to manage several aspects related to it. However, once this has grown, it is crucial to invest in resources and professional help. 

Outsourcing is an excellent way to see a greater return on investment in your projects. While you might be able to look after the branding, marketing, and IT of your company at first, asking professional agencies to take these aspects off, you can yield much better results. 

Understand the Current Trends

The customer trends and the global market are changing rapidly, and it is crucial to keep up with such important developments. Indeed, if your business has been operating for over a year, it is possible that your customer demand is already different. So, it is crucial for entrepreneurs and business owners to keep re-evaluating the market and its trends over time. 

For example, you might notice that there is a greater sensibility towards environmental issues, and many employees are looking for remote positions. Offering such choices can help you gain the best talents, meet customer demand, and grow your business. 

Invest in Tech and Innovations

Just like trends are changing rapidly, many aspects of running a business as we know them are developing. Many companies fail to understand these developments, which can lead to decreased customer loyalty and limited selling points. 

While investing in tech can undoubtedly represent an investment, it can also help you keep up with the competition and win over a greater portion of the market. Of course, it can be more challenging for small businesses to undertake a digital transformation. 

This project requires funds that can seem out of reach for smaller companies. However, investing in this aspect now can help you grow your business much faster and further. 

Be Present for Your Community

Whether you own a small local business or a larger company, your community is the reason why your company is still thriving. Looking after the ones around you can be an excellent way to guarantee that your customers will keep coming back! Being present for the community does not only mean offering valuable services. 

You should also think about getting involved in local activities, events, and charity initiatives. Such simple gestures can help you win over the hearts of your customers and maintain that precious loyalty. Additionally, this can be an excellent way to improve the image and reputation of your company. 

Invest in Marketing

Marketing and branding are at the heart of any business. Of course, understanding how much to invest in marketing campaigns can be challenging. These are undeniably costly, and they don’t guarantee a return on investment. However, visibility is crucial for your business to expand. Luckily, today, you can leverage the power of digital marketing strategies instead. 

For example, you might consider investing in social media campaigns, SEO, and influencer marketing. These are excellent ways to reduce your outgoing costs while seeing a much greater engagement from the community. Ensure to speak to a professional digital marketer for the best campaigns.

Building a Business Around What You Are Passionate About

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For a variety of reasons we can choose to stay within our comfort zones when it comes to our careers. We can stick to being an employee and working for someone else, even if it is something that doesn’t really appeal to us. Being good at something is safe, but really, being passionate about something and working doing something that you’re passionate about is going to give you a much better work and life balance, and give you a career that you love. 

In terms of business, working doing something that we love can be a risk, rather than going for something tried and tested. Were the people that created an app like Uber passionate about driving other people around, or was it just seen as a business idea that could work? Although there is success with proven business models, it is even better if you have passion for what you are doing. Without making an attempt to follow dreams and unlock your potential, will you ever feel fulfilled in your career? Although it can feel daunting, here are some things to help.

Establish your vision

The first things to do are to decide on what your vision is. It will be at the heart of your business, so you need to be clear on it. Think about what you want your business to do, where your passions are, and then the plans can go from there. 

Do your research

When you have a rough idea of what you want to do, you need to make plans to check what would be possible. Is there demand for your business, or would you be taking something already established, but just putting a twist on it? Looking out for any potential risks is important too, so you’re planning ahead and will know how best to manage them.

Think about finances

With your research you will have a good idea about what kind of costs you will be looking at. Will all you need be a small amount to get a website or app up and running, or would you be looking at more to buy equipment like a box corer, for example? Although you won’t be specific at this stage, having an idea of what you will need, and where you might get it from can help.

Create a plan

How are you going to execute your plans and the goals that you have? You aren’t going to make it a reality without a clear plan about what you are looking at and how you will get there. Having a strategic plan behind your business is a must, as well as having it be adaptable and measurable. Being able to be flexible and change things as and when you need to is important, as well as being measurable so you can motor how things are going. Having the plan be digestible is important too, so that it can be intuitive and compelling, which is going to be important when you have a team of employees.

Manufacturing Your Own Products: Yay or Nay?

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When you’re going to be manufacturing products, it requires you to have an understanding of the design, materials, and budget; it’s a massive undertaking for any business and something to think about carefully. These are some of the things you need to know before starting up your own factory. 

Market research

Before doing anything else, be sure to conduct thorough market research. This is so important, the last thing you want is to be producing products that no one wants. Look at the competitors you have in your industry and work out how your product provides additional value to your customers. Always build and test a prototype before sending any product into mass production; you need to know that you’re 100% happy with how it’s going to turn out. 

The logistics

Think about whether manufacturing your own products will be a possibility, it will mainly depend on what you want to make and what your budget is. If for example you want to make very complex items which require a lot of technology and specialist materials, it could be worth outsourcing to a company since they will already have everything they need in place, from wire forming equipment to injection moulding, high powered machines and much more. If your business makes products that are easier to manufacture such as clothes or other textiles creating products yourself could be in reach, you’d need to just invest in some commercial sewing machines.  

Costs

Creating a factory to produce products isn’t just about the equipment and machinery; there are so many other things to think about, and all of these costs can add up in a big way. You will need to consider the premises (usually factories need large premises which cost more money, not to mention warehousing space for raw materials and the end product to be stored. You’ll need to think about hiring staff; these people need to be trained and experienced in the types of machines you want to run. Then there’s transportation, maintenance and repairs and more. You’ll need to find companies you can make regular purchases of materials and raw goods from, make sure you work out exactly how much you will need to spend to get started to see if it’s doable.

Health and Safety

There are risks involved in any workplace, but when it comes to manufacturing, there are even more health and safety considerations to bear in mind. Just look at the statistics, over the past 5 years, each year an average of 22 workers died in workplace accidents in the manufacturing industry. There were over three thousands reports of major injuries and over four thousand reports of injuries that kept workers away from work for seven days or more too, so even if you’re careful, things can still go wrong. Power tools, machines, vehicles, high heat, and chemicals all might be used, which makes for a more dangerous workplace. Make sure you have the correct insurances, and that staff is adequately trained. Follow health and safety rules to the letter to avoid mistakes being made that could harm employees and put you at risk of lawsuits.

Tips for Starting a Business in the Healthcare Industry

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If you want to start a business in the healthcare industry, then you may be very excited to see what lies ahead. You might feel as though your business has so much potential and that you are also able to give care to those who need it the most. If you want to get the best result out of your healthcare business or if you want to make sure that you are giving your business the best chance of success then you can find out everything you need to know, right here.

Market Research

Hiring a good marketing team is always a good idea. You have to make sure that you work with them and that you analyze the outcome of any research you do. This will help you to pinpoint any specific healthcare requirements that you need to meet, and it will also help you to get a much better idea of what your patients need from you.

Choose your Investors Wisely

Investors really are the backbone of your business. Your service partners have to be on the same wavelength as you are. A business partner should share the same vision as you and they should also come up with ways to help you beat your competition, If you foresee some kind of conflict with your investors or even your suppliers then you need to make sure that you sort them out in the initial stages. If you don’t then you may end up experiencing even more problems at a later date.

Be in the Know

The business of healthcare is always evolving. If you lose track of the developments which have happened, then you may end up losing out on your dreams as well. If you want to help yourself here, then you need to identify the trends and keep with them. The more innovative you can be, and the more open you are with new technologies, the more you’ll be able to come out on top.

Check Out Your Limitations

You have to understand the main reason why so many start-ups fail. You need to make sure that you don’t try and surpass the scalability of your company. If you run out of money, then you may find that you end up bringing your business to an early end. Knowing your budget will really help you out here, and so will creating a business plan. You have to know how much money you have for each part of your company and you also need to forecast your future income as well. This will help you to budget and it will also help you to be more confident. If you need to buy furniture for your healthcare business and need an affordable supplier, then Crown Furniture might be able to help.

Investments

Another thing that you need to do is make adequate arrangements for your investments. You need to make every effort to derive the right expertise and you also need to make sure that you are aware of any complexities that might be involved in the trade. If you don’t then you may end up compromising your business model and this is the last thing that you need.

Building Your Home-Based Business From Scratch

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Building a home-based business takes a lot of time and effort. You might have the passion and professionalism necessary to create your own business, but it takes more than that to achieve success. You need a strong business plan, above all else. Remember, you’re not just an employee anymore – you’re the employer, too. As a freelancer, you have to be able to run your own business, so this is much more than a career. So, let’s talk about what it takes to start building your home-based business from scratch. The following points should help you out.

Find your avenue.

First of all, you have to figure out how you’re going to make money. You might have many skills, but you have to decide which skill you’re going to turn into a profitable business idea. Most importantly, you have to decide which skill you’re going to turn into an exciting business idea. So, your goal is to find your avenue. Perhaps you could sell your old belongings, or perhaps you could write marketing articles for online clients. Some people even use freelancing sites such as Fiverr to sell bizarre services; there are freelancers who sing birthday messages in silly voices and so on. You could also become a blogger to make money from adverts and sponsored deals.

You should make a list of possible business ideas to help you find the right fit. You might want to use skills that you’ve developed in the working world, or you might want to focus on personal skills that you think could be turned into viable business services. Maybe you’re a creative person who could become a freelance photographer, for example. Finding the right avenue is about finding your strengths. Just remember that it should be enjoyable. You’ll struggle to build a successful company if you don’t enjoy what you do. As your business’ sole employee (for the meantime), you’re responsible for its success.

Start shaping your office.

You might have a great business plan and a laptop, so nothing’s stopping you from getting started. However, you shouldn’t underestimate the importance of a good home office. Your environment has a big effect on the way you think and feel. If you want to build your home-based business from scratch, then you should also start shaping your office from scratch. You might already have a room with a desk that you’ve set aside for your company and its activities, but you need to make it feel professional. It should feel separate to the rest of your house; there needs to be a division between home and work. You might even want to get a skip bin if you’re going to have to declutter the room or even your entire house to make the place look good. Clearing out your old possessions to create a new design for your home-based office could help to freshen up the place.

Research the market.

If you want your home-based business to be successful, then you need to research the market. Your company is entering a competitive landscape, so you need to find your place. That’s why entrepreneurs always talk about gaps in the market. If you can find problems that your competitors haven’t solved, then you’ll have found opportunities to differentiate yourself from other businesses in your industry. Make sure you keep doing your research. Keep talking to existing and potential customers to figure out what they want from companies such as yours.

Thinking Of Starting Your Own Business? Be Sure To Steer The Ship Away From These Icebergs!

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For many of us, especially the millennial generation, climbing the career ladder can be inherently frustrating. When young people emerge from the world of education and enter the world of work, they often find that the assumed truths on which they were raised wither under the lights of experience. The hard work and endeavor they’ve been conditioned to believe would live to success and fortune are barely enough to get them on the bottom rung. In an era where graduates outnumber vacancies, undergraduates are often being trained for jobs that don’t actually exist. Thus, bright and talented individuals can spend years wasting away in cubicles while their skills atrophy. Is it any wonder that entrepreneurship is an increasingly attractive to young people?

For a number of reasons, millennials make great entrepreneurs. Nonetheless, starting a business, even one with relatively low startup costs is a risky business. If you wish to set sail on the path of business ownership, be sure to steer the ship away from the following icebergs…

Lack of market research

When you have an idea for a business that you’re passionate and excited about, it’s easy to assume that everyone will share your passion. But even if your business mentors, business angels, prospective vendors and everyone else you show your business plan to get excited about your business… Unfortunately, this doesn’t necessarily mean that consumers will.

This is why your business plan needs to be backed by meticulous market research. The qualitative and quantitative data you glean from this can allow you to refine your idea to ensure that it resonates with your target market. If you don’t take the needs of your consumers into account, you can’t expect them to get excited about your brand.

Crippling startup costs

In a lot of ways, applying for startup funding is like applying for a mortgage. Just because you can borrow a certain amount doesn’t mean you should. Securing business startup funding can be tricky and if you are allowed to borrow a large amount you may well be tempted to go for the maximum possible amount you can for the betterment of your business. But this can hobble your new startup with debt.

The repayments and interest rates can place a stranglehold on your cash flow, meaning that it can take years for your business to become profitable.

Under investing

While new entrepreneurs do well to be conscious of the purse strings, they should also be wary of under investing. Under investment in your business can curtail the quality of your products or services and make your life a whole lot harder. If you under invest in outsourced help, you can find yourself doing too much by yourself  and this is a recipe for burnout.

Don’t be afraid to invest in managed IT services like https://www.arnettechnologies.com/ as these are usually much cheaper than managing your own IT infrastructure. Likewise outsourced HR and digital marketing can also generate significant returns on your investment.

Assuming your customers’ loyalty

Finally, as dangerous as it is to assume “if you build it they will come”, it’s even more dangerous to assume that they will come back. It costs a great deal more to attract a new customer than to retain existing customers. Make sure that you offer a rewards system or loyalty scheme that incentivizes customers to return to you rather than taking a chance on your competitors.

Brand Busting Online Tips

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You don’t just have to be good at creating your product or delivering your service when you’re in business for yourself. Half of the very real battle for many entrepreneurs is selling themselves and their offer and creating a presence online that is accessible and recognizable while also building brand awareness.

For many of us who already have an online active social presence, separating the personal and business can be problematic, so in this blog we take a look at how to make sure you build your brand online successfully.

Create a business persona

The types of posts you write and the pictures you put up do not need to be the types of posts you write to your friends and family, in fact they very much shouldn’t be. Instead you’re going to want to create an avatar for your business that is very separate. You may have the same face but the nature of your posts will be very different and entirely targeted to your audience. If it makes sense to you, create another public face of your company to help you better make that separation.

With this in mind, the first thing you’ll need to do is consider your target market. If you have put in some time conducting your market research you should already know which social media platforms your customers use and when they are most likely to be accessing them.

Be targeted

Although it might seem that you should be on all platforms at once it makes no sense in terms of your time or money to spend precious time creating posts that won’t speak directly to your customer.

So, if your customer is an avid Instagram user concentrate your efforts there and don’t spend nearly as much time on Facebook. The same for Twitter. If you’re targeting the professional market then something like LinkedIn is going to serve you better, as it has for Philip McTigue of NY.

When you’ve target your social media platforms, you need to start building a deliberate strategy. Don’t think random postings, even daily postings will not do the job, you’re talking about building a message, character and identity around your brand, not a series of posts that don’t appear to be linked.

Think very carefully about how you use images and steer clear of posting anything personal, stick with genuinely clever memes and GIFS that fit into your corporate online identity.

Setting up your profile isn’t hard but making it and keeping it relevant is, so make sure that you know what you’re doing before you start hitting the post keys. If you haven’t done so already, make sure you have your customer research in place that shows you who and where you should be concentrating your time and efforts.

Get your killer social media strategy up and running and you’ll soon be raising your brand awareness and hopefully generating traffic to your site. Start incorporating updates and responses into your everyday morning work routine and you’ll be on your way to social success in no time.

Great Ways To Expand Your Business

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When we run a business however big or small, the one thing which we always want to do is be able to grow and expand our business to the max and make an impact on the world. Today we are going to have a look at just some of the different ways that we can expand our business and make more of a profit for growth this year.

  1. Make a sales funnel.

When you want to make a change to your business and allow it to grow quickly one of the things to do is get organised. If you want to make your business easier to run and automate a lot of your processes, one of the things you can always look to do is create a sales funnel. A sales funnel can be a handy tool to have when you want to grow your brand and it will allow you to automate your business and make more of a profit in the long term.

  1. Build a website

If you feel as if you need a push in the right direction for your business this year, one of the best things which you can do is build a website and build an online presence for yourself. These days, if someone wants to find a brand or look up information about them, they will choose to search on google and find answers there. This is where you need to be present so that people can see your brand and engage with you. Make sure to build a great website which is clear and concise to grab people’s attention.

  1. Research the competition

One of the things which you may not have already considered when you are looking to build your brand is looking at others. Take a look at the current market and research your biggest competitors. It is incredibly important for you to make sure that you know who you are fighting against and how they operate. Look at their website, social media, prices… gain an insight into the way they run their business and see if you can make the same impact on your followers. This is always a great way to build a better reputation and help you to be seen amongst the sea of content.

  1. Loyalty scheme

If you fancy trying something a little bit different when it comes to your brand this year, one of the greatest ideas you can have is to build a loyalty scheme with your customers. You can create a card which they can earn points from and these points can translate into prizes and discounts or allow them to get free products. This is always a good thing to bring into your business because if a customer has a loyalty card with you, they will be more likely to get what they need from you rather than from someone else.

  1. Identify new opportunities

As a business owner you need to always keep one eye on the ball and one eye on the future, and there is no better way to do this than look for opportunities in the world and take advantage of them. For example you could look into the pros and cons of expanding your business overseas to reach a new audience. Perhaps you could look into new products which can be created and sold for profit and new markets you could enter into. There are so many great ideas you can try and all of these will help you hugely to grow your business.

  1. Have an email list

When it comes to keeping in touch with your customers and keeping them interested in your products, the key word which you need to use is consistency. It is incredibly important to be consistent with everything that you do whether it be social media posts or updates on your website. The easiest way to stay in your customers mind is to email them every week or every few weeks with new offers and products which you want to sell. This is a simple and effective form of marketing and one which you should definitely consider using this year.

  1. Collaborate

There is nothing which can change the flow of your business and excite your followers more than collaborating with an influencer or another brand. If you want to expand your audience you can get in touch with another brand or an influencer and come up with a collaboration together which will mutually benefit you both. They will gain exposure to your audience and you will gain exposure to theirs and this can bring up your numbers by a huge mile.

  1. Use Amazon and eBay

A lot of us likely think that amazon and eBay are only for the use of small sellers online, but they are actually used by big brands all the time to sell off old stock and end of range products. To expand your reach again and also get rid of these items without suffering a heavy loss, it is a good idea to start selling on these international platforms.

  1. Can you franchise it?

If you are looking to expand your business and perhaps open up more locations this year, one of the best things you can consider is franchising your business. This will allow people to buy a location from you and run it with your brands name on the front. It can be a quick way to gain a good reputation and some real cash.

  1. Stick to your niche

The main thing which you need to remember as a business is that you should be a master of one trade and not the Jack of all. It is always good to expand your product lines now and again to reach a new audience however it can also make your customers a little confused if you go too far with it. Make sure that you always stick to within your niche so that your customers always know what to expect from you. This can make a massive different and it will allow you to be successful.

  1. Create an event

One of the main challenges you will always have to face as a business is engaging with your audience in a meaningful and real way. When you want to build a business which is trustworthy and that people love you need to be aware to engage with people as a person and not just as a business this is why it can be a fun idea to create an event in which you meet up with your customers and engage with them in a real life setting. If you are a cookware brand you could host a cookery class and workshop, and you can really create an event which suits you and everyone else too.

  1. Spend less

The most obvious way to help you expand a business this year is to learn to spend less money on other things. When you run your business make sure that you think about spending as little as you can on things such as your supplies and your software in the offices there are so many ways you can find second hand furniture, free applications and other tools which can be exactly what you need for your business to thrive and make a bigger profit. Only spend what you have to, and only invest in things which will genuine make an impact on the way you work and your ability to work.