Grow Your Business Without Outgrowing The Home

Your business is getting known and making money and you’re looking at options on how to scale and grow. Achieve this through(Grow Your Business)

Product-ising

If you’re making handmade goods or selling knowledge, you’ll have soon realised there’s only one of you and you can only sell as much as you can make, or if you’re selling knowledge can only be in one place at one time. As scientists haven’t yet worked out how to make more of you, in order to grow the business you can take the knowledge/skill/talent you have and put it in a box!(Grow Your Business)

Kits – let’s take the example of someone making unique dresses. Continue to make your signature style hand-made
dress at a price that reflects your time and dedication, but consider adding a kit to the range that supplies customers with the material and instructions for putting together their own versions.(Grow Your Business)

Courses – maybe you’re selling works of art or making fine cakes and want to ‘product-ise’ – in which case, how about launching and teaching a class as an ideal way to expand? You get to meet customers and have an opportunity to talk
to the press and promote classes in the media and have your name and brand appear in front of more people. You can even sell your produce at the classes! When it comes to looking for space, consider your own home or approach the owner of the local coffee shop to ask if he would be happy for you to use the space at times when they are usually
quiet; that way you’re likely to get space for free in return for introducing footfall. Other places to consider could be your library, community centre/church hall or even a local business.(Grow Your Business)

Carol Powell has followed both routes in order to grow her business, Re-jigged, from the family home …

Go global

With exchange rates in our favour and enabling technology to hand, there’s never been a better time to look beyond
domestic shores for business. By virtue of having a professional window to the world (i.e. website), start-ups and small businesses are going global faster than ever before – and doing so from home!(Grow Your Business)

Small business managers can access tools to help them make greater and more effective use of the internet. This is about more than just selling online; it’s about driving marketing

Outsourcing

Grow profits by focusing on what you do best and outsourcing the rest. It’s perfectly possible to achieve this and manage an expanding team from your own small office/home office.(Grow Your Business)

With outsourcing you can free yourself up to dedicate your attention to sales, strategy or whatever the business activity is that you do best. So what can be outsourced?

Admin – hire a VA (virtual assistant) to do the admin tasks you don’t want or don’t have the time to do. Visit VA directories and resources to find your perfect match.

PR, marketing and design – outsource your PR to a specialist who can be pitching and promoting the business whilst you’re at work.

Sales – hire a sales expert to make calls, set up appointments and attend trade shows.

IT – spending too many hours trying to fix a single IT problem? Outsource the hassle and save your time, money and blood pressure!

Accounts – unless you are in the accountancy business, this is almost a must to be outsourced. Monthly payroll,
accounts, VAT returns and corporate tax returns all take time and it’s time you can’t afford or simply don’t have. A
cost/benefit analysis is likely to show that it’s cheaper to outsource to a qualified accountant. Ask around for recommendations of accountants in your area who deliver a quality service at a competitive cost and are registered with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.(Grow Your Business)

Once you’ve chosen your outsourced partner(s), it’s important to keep in regular contact and work together as a team. Make the most of online project management and collaboration tools to help you stay on top of projects and in control of the company.