Are you just starting out in your journey as a business owner? Maybe you’re in business years and you’re looking for ways to expand? If so, listen up, as the following are six things you can start doing to improvement and growing your bottom line.
Invest More Money
It may seem like we are starting with an obvious one, but it is always worth considering if you can afford to invest more money into your business. Doing so offers a range of benefits, such as improvement of the quality of your product or production process or hiring employees with new skillsets who will open new doors for your company growing. Unfortunately, you may be stuck in a position of being unable to find any more money to invest. However, there are ways of freeing up extra money in your personal finances to solve this problem. For example, if you find yourself regularly paying large amounts per month on credit cards, then why not consider taking out a personal loan to payoff credit card balances and reduce the amount you will need to pay per month.
Create a Social Media Presence
If you have not already done so, creating a social media presence is a potential goldmine for your company growing. It will allow customers to follow and engage with your brand daily, giving you the ability to market new products to them as they are released. It also gives you the opportunity to expand your current customer base. If you are already familiar with social media and have established a brand on them, consider advanced methods of building your following, such as search engine optimization.
Collaborate with a Fellow Business Owner
It may feel counter-productive to consider collaborating but doing so can actually be beneficial for your business. It offers the potential of not only enhancing your product with new ideas, but also expanding your current customer base. Take some time to reach out to other business owners and pose the notion of collaboration. Even if you do not publicly work on something together, it will serve to expand your network, which is also a beneficial outcome.
Offer a Discount or Promotion
One of the simplest, and most common, ways of boosting your business and reigniting the interest in your brand is by offering a discount, promotion, or giveaway. These can be limited time deals, deals offered exclusively to new or returning customers, or deals acquired as a result of a specific action, such as sharing your page on social media. Either way, it taps into the already established idea that a customer loves a deal and will more than likely result in a boost of sales.
Create a Customer Survey
This point can often be overlooked by business owners but it can be a powerful tool in understanding how your customers view your business and where your areas of improvement could possibly be. However, it is not enough to simply send out a customer survey and wait for the responses. You must then take the time to analyze the responses and act on them. Doing so shows that you are prepared to listen to your customers when they talk to you.
Work on Self-Improvement
Stepping away from what you can directly do for your business, it is also worth taking some time to consider self-improvement as a way of boosting and growing of your company. As the backbone behind the business, it is important that you are taking care of yourself. Not doing so could result in your decisions and behavior being detrimental to your brand, such as making flawed decisions due to being tired and unable to concentrate fully. Therefore, we recommend ensuring that you regularly invest time in self-care and self-improvement, as you will see the benefits of this translating into your abilities as a business owner.
Ingrid Maldine is a business writer, editor and management consultant with extensive experience writing and consulting for both start-ups and long established companies. She has ten years management and leadership experience gained at BSkyB in London and Viva Travel Guides in Quito, Ecuador, giving her a depth of insight into innovation in international business. With an MBA from the University of Hull and many years of experience running her own business consultancy, Ingrid’s background allows her to connect with a diverse range of clients, including cutting edge technology and web-based start-ups but also multinationals in need of assistance. Ingrid has played a defining role in shaping organizational strategy for a wide range of different organizations, including for-profit, NGOs and charities. Ingrid has also served on the Board of Directors for the South American Explorers Club in Quito, Ecuador.
