For many, the New Year means slimming down. For small business owners, however, the New Year is a time for expansion. In a digital age, growing a small business into a large enterprise requires research and the wielding of tools to combat fellow small business owners. Thankfully, affordable resources are available to help your business grow.
In a recent Forbes article, contributor Sean Rosensteel recommends some of the best simple web-based tools based on his experience working with small business owners. Among his selections were MarketWire for distributing news, Bravo Video for capturing customer testimonials, Harvest for time tracking, and UserTesting for user testing.
Having the right tools is just the first step towards expanding your business. The New Year also means taking risks with new changes. Here are a few items your company can consider:
- SEO/SEM: Search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) can give your company farther reach online. More than 80 percent of traffic comes via search engines, so investing in SEO is a top priority. Make sure your website is up-to-date with design and programming that will appeal to target consumers and regularly update with relevant content.
- New Business: Who is your target audience? Are you ready to expand beyond your reach? Do some research and see where your product or service falls and if it’s ready to acquire a second target audience.
- More Capital: How can additional capital help grow your business? Will this give you the opportunity to expand your team or manufacture more of your product?
Remember, what is right for your business is different for the business down the street. Check with your business advisers. If you’d like to talk about your working capital options, let’s talk.