This is the time – you’ve been perfecting your home business for years. It’s turned from a personal money-spinner to a fully-fledged entrepreneurial venture, raking in the big bucks and accruing a slew of repeat customers.
And this is the time – the time to move on up, as Primal Scream might say.
Any business with profit on its mind has to expand or die. Without progress, your profits will atrophy, your customers will lose interest and you’ll be left with little more than a handful of customers keeping you going.
With that in mind, we’ve come up with a number of methods to keep you movin’ on up and into the business stratosphere.
Location, location, location
The internet is great for the smaller business. But if you’ve got customers banging down your doors for products, having a base of operations that isn’t your kitchen is ideal. And a property doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg.
A shop for rent in London, for example, could cost as little as $1,000 per month, giving you ample space to send out deliveries, maintain stock or deal with customers face to face.
Remember, you’re aiming to turn a hobby into a career. And what better way to do that than to have a location that anchors you to your work?
Hire the help
You’ve got bills to pay, a shop to run, clients to email, products to manufacture and countless other tasks – with customer demand rising, how will you maintain pace?
The answer – hire an assistant or two.
This can be a daunting drain on your funds if you do it too early – staff wages are the highest outgoing for any business. But, provided you don’t jump the gun, hiring help can ease your load and keep your work top notch.
Hire someone with great organisational skills who is willing to take on multiple roles as your assistant. If you can’t quite afford to hire someone, you could even enlist the help of one of your friends or family to make your ascent that little bit easier.
Kickstart your success
Kickstarter, a fundraising platform for businesses and other endeavours, has made a lot of companies a lot of money – and it could do the same for you.
All you have to do is post your company’s goals (both financial and personal) and set out an effective donation plea.
It’s a tactic that’s worked for major games developer Double Fine, which raised over $3 million for its latest project – and that’s just one example of many.
Ultimately, your tiny business can grow into a major player if you have the right attitude and wherewithal. So, get out of your bedroom and get ready to take on your competition – it’s business time.
