Growth Tips for New Home-based Entrepreneurs

Starting a business right out of your home is a great way to test waters as a budding entrepreneur while keeping overhead costs to a minimum. In addition, a home-based venture offers the flexibility to decide your working hours, take a break when needed and saves the time and energy you would spend in traveling to office every day.

While running a small business from home has its advantages, every entrepreneur needs to make consistent efforts to take their venture to the next level. Here are four growth tips that will help you do just that.

Focus on a couple of aspects at a time

When you’re trying to grow your company on a small budget and limited resources, you need to find a way to focus on achieving one or two small goals at a time. For instance, you could devote an entire week to learning how to market your services or products online, the next week to meetings and networking, and the next one to following up with potential strategic partners.

Especially in the first few months of launching a new business, it’s important to not get distracted and to focus on your niche offering, your target customers, and ways to reach and retain them.

Adopting a focused approach and defining weekly goals will help you get more out of your efforts and make the best use of your time.

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Build a robust online presence

Chances are you already have a website. Now learn about optimization and evaluate your site for loading speed, keyword optimization, visual appeal and user-friendliness. Create business pages on leading social media platforms and educate yourself about the benefits of SEO, blogging and other digital marketing tools that won’t break the bank.

Guest posting on popular local websites is a great way to reach a larger target audience. In addition, you get authentic backlinks to your site, which boost organic traffic. Contact a seasoned local blogger outreach agency such as Outreach Monks to get access to top trending sites in your business niche.

Tie up with a related business and build local visibility

Contact a related local business (that’s not a competitor) and offer to partner with them for mutual benefit. For instance, if you make bespoke crochet outfits for newborns, get in touch with local stores that sell baby products and participate in community events, carnivals and local celebrations.

Offer complimentary gifts and special discounts to, say, first-time parents. Find out if nursing homes and hospitals in your area would be willing to display your products or offer them as a gift to new parents. Brainstorm and find ways to be seen and noticed by your local community.

Ask happy customers for reviews and referrals

Once you’ve a sizable list of customers, contact each one personally and request them to post a review online and refer your business to others who could use your product or service. Create a referral program and offer cashback, discounts or free gifts to customers who refer their friends and  family.