Unless you’re someone who’s been incredibly lucky, the vast majority of us have to fight to make money in the early days of starting a small business, be that through finding new clients or getting people to take notice of your products.
Making enough of a profit to pay yourself a decent wage can seem a long way off when you’re starting out, but there may be income streams that you haven’t considered. Here are five things that you might be able to capitalise on:
Sell an E-book
E-books are big business these days, because they mean that people don’t need a lucrative publishing deal to get their work out there. If you’ve got a unique perspective on something or can help people with your expertise, writing and selling an e-book is a great way to make yourself a little extra money. E-books are cheap to make (especially if you’ve got a grammar-fanatic friend who can proof read it for you) and distribute, and if you sell if from your own site all of the profits will be yours.
Merchandise
Merchandise can be huge business, and if your company name or logo is particularly striking, it might make an attractive adornment for mugs, t-shirts, hats and other items that people will want to buy – and this also doubles up as free advertising. Try not to scrimp on quality though, or it could all end up looking like the freebies that sales reps give away!
Run a Course
Courses are another thing which is really popular at the moment and everyone from bakers to barbers are making money from teaching others how to do things. You’ll need to be savvy about what you teach (if you give away all your secrets, you could end up with dozens of new business competitors!) or charge a decent amount for it, but people love to learn. Selling through Groupon or offering gift vouchers can also be a good way to gain exposure and sales.
Share Your Space
If you work from a shop or office space and don’t use every single bit of the area you have available, is there a way to make money from the space you have left over? Renting office space to another small business or allowing pop-up shops in your retail outlet could be an easy way to maximise on your return from the resources you already have available and could even lead to further sales from referred customers.
Sell Advertising
If you have a website or blog associated with your business, you could monetise your website by selling advert space through Google or another ad agency. If you have a decent sized noticeboard or window, you could even go the old-fashioned route and advertise this way, selling the space for a set fee each month to other shops or businesses in your local area (obviously avoiding direct competitors!). It’s another easy, passive income stream which requires no initial outlay and little-to-no admin to organise.
Need help finding ways to make money through brand extensions? Book a first consultation and we’ll talk you through potential options.
