4 Tips for Expanding Your Small Business into New Markets

Figuring out how to expand your small business is a concern for many of our customers, and there are a lot of ways to take a small business to that next level. In Michelle Guilbeau's article 3 Tips for Expanding Your Small Business Into a New Market on Radio.com, some of the ways in which you can grow and shape your business for the future are discussed, and we wanted to highlight them even more.

Expanding your small business via vertical markets

You operate in New York City, and then, you expand into New Jersey, etc. The key is to ensure that your business model is reproducible. If the new location is very different than the old, then it might not make sense to expand. For example, if the New York City business model is driven by a lot of foot traffic, it may not be easily expandable to New Jersey. In New Jersey, foot traffic is minimal because car are the dominate mode of transportation. Therefore, this business may be better suited to other major cities.

The missing tip - expanding your small business through adjacent markets

An adjacent market would be selling the same product in a market close to the one you are operating now.  For example, if you are selling bulk paper to schools, it's not a far stretch to sell bulk paper to businesses, etc. Since it generally requires only minimal changes to your value chain, the cost of expansion can be much less.

Build Scale Smartly

However, you decide to expand your small business into new markets, it's important to make sure that your business can manage the additional demand by building scale smartly. Analyzing your business model is a good place to start, followed by revising your business and marketing plans accordingly. An ounce of planning can reduce a pound of headaches, and we're good at planning