A Guide on Expanding Your Small Business: How to Expand, What to Know & What Products to Sell

"I’m trying to expand my business but I don’t know what to sell next."

"What is cross-selling and how do I go about it?"

"When is the best time to start expanding? How do I know?"

Having a small business means a lot of questions keep you up at night. You’re wondering how to grow, trying to figure out the right hacks to not spend so much money, and so much more. And of course, at some point, the questions move to how to expand your business. You now start looking at the kind of products you want to add to your brand and the avenues and opportunities you should be looking out for if you want to expand your business.

In this guide, we’ll be covering small business expansion, especially in knowing when you should expand, how to do it and most importantly, what to sell alongside your already existing products. Read on!

How to Know Your Business is Ready for Expansion

The first step in expanding your business is to know the right time. Some of the things you might be asking yourself are:

Can I handle an expansion as a small business owner?

Will my finances be okay?

Will people buy the new products?

These are the things to look out for, to know if your business is finally ready for expansion.

You’re meeting your set goals.

As a business owner, you should set goals for your business, as this helps you know whether your business is doing better or worse. Some of these goals may include an increase in revenue, a decrease in expenses, an increase in customers, etc. If you’re constantly meeting these goals for some time, then your business is ready for expansion, and for setting higher goals.

Related: “Is My Business Growing?” Here are 5 Ways to Measure Business Growth in 2023!

Demand for your Product is increasing.

If you’re running on stock faster, it means that demand is increasing for your product. If customers keep coming to you and you have to send them away because you can’t fulfil their order, they’re eventually going to stop coming which would be bad for your business. But it is also a sign that you should be considering expanding, to be able to attend to every customer that comes your way.

Your processes have been properly defined.

It can be easy to just ‘freestyle’ when you’re a small business; take things as they come, and treat events as they happen. But after a while, defining your processes and documenting them helps create a steady structure that means your business can run just fine, even when you’re not there. And this is a place you need to get to before you start thinking about expanding your business. From managing orders to even a small crisis, create a process that ensures employees can work better in your absence, and the important goals are still being tracked.

Related: How to Manage Online Orders for Your Business More Efficiently!

You’re making a steady profit.

This is a sign that your business is going to be able to handle an expansion. If you’re making a steady profit, have enough money in the bank to carry your business for at least 3 months before running out of money, and can see your business funding unexpected expenses without folding up, then you’re good to go!

Related: 10 Ways to Manage Your Finances as a Business Owner

You have a loyal customer base.

When you have customers that keep coming back to you, and even bring new customers along with them, you have built a solid and loyal customer base, and it is one of the most important things to consider if you want to expand your business into selling more products. After all, they’re going to be your first customers!

Related: Retaining Customers 101: How Customer Service Can Reshape Your Small Business

If your business ticks all of these boxes, then it might be time to start looking into expanding, to cater to more demand and of course, increase your revenue!

The Best Ways to Expand a Small Business

1. Add New Offerings.

This is the first thing to consider. One of the best ways to expand your business is by adding new products to your catalogue. Before choosing what to add, do some market research to find out what people will love to buy so that you do not end up expanding into stocking items that will not sell. Take advantage of your loyal customer base and get some feedback from them. Also, be careful to move away from the core of your brand; expand into items that fit your business. For example, if you’re a business selling wigs, you shouldn’t be expanding the same business into say, selling doughnuts. Instead, you should probably consider wigs and hair accessories.

2. Go into a New Market.

If you’re still considering creating a new product away from what your business is known for, then that’s fine. But since you’re moving into a new market, you should open up a new store. Now if your business is online, this means opening up new accounts for the business. So instead of having one store that sells wigs and doughnuts, you instead now have two brands, where one sells wigs, and the other one sells doughnuts and other pastries.

3. Explore Other Marketing Channels.

Expanding a business doesn’t always mean adding new products to your catalogue, or opening up a new business completely. Sometimes it means exploring other marketing channels, to increase your visibility, reach and customer base. For example, you might have started out selling your products just on WhatsApp. But as you grow, you can expand into owning a website, advertising on Facebook, Google and Instagram, attending events and pop-ups to sell, partnering with businesses, etc. These are all still ways to expand your business.

Pro tip: Sign up to Bumpa and get a fully functional website for your business in 1 minute! No hassles or stress involved; just sign up, upload your products, share your link and start selling!

4. Partnering with Another Business.

Partnering with another business gives you access to a whole new market you can then sell to and get more customers from. The best practice for partnering with another business is to find a business that complements what you sell.

5. Start Exporting to International Markets.

While this might seem a bit tedious, especially for a Nigerian business, it’s a great way to expand your business and increase your reach and revenue.

What New Offerings to Add to Your Products if You’re Expanding Your Business

If you’re considering expanding your offerings to include new products and don’t know where to start, we’ve got you covered. Don’t forget; keep the theme for your business and expand into things that fit your brand, and also would fit the customer pool for that brand. E.g a customer who’s buying a couch online would probably need to throw pillows as well.

1. Fashion: If you’re selling dresses, consider expanding into shoes and bags, fashion accessories like jewellery, anklets, waist beads, e.t.c

2. Perfumes: If you’re selling perfumes, consider expanding into selling scented candles, diffusers, perfume oils, air fresheners, deodorants, e.t.c

3. Phones: If you’re selling phones, consider expanding into wireless earphones, phone cases, power banks, chargers, laptops, e.t.c

4. Makeup: If you’re selling makeup, consider expanding into makeup brushes, cleansers, face wipes, mirrors, makeup bags, e.t.c

5. Skincare: If you’re selling skincare, especially for the face, consider expanding into body creams, body washes, lotion, shower gel, e.t.c

6. Wigs & Hairs: If you’re selling these, consider expanding into hair accessories like scarves, pins, caps and wig accessories like wig caps, brushes, wig stands, e.t.c

7. Automobiles: If you’re selling cars, consider expanding into car parts, a car wash, motorcycles, e.t.c

Conclusion

It is important to know when your business is ready for expansion, as expanding at the wrong time could be damaging to your business. We hope that with this guide, you’ll be able to understand better when you’re ready for your small business to expand into a larger one, and how to go about it!

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