The basic goal of every business is to make money. Because if you’re not, then you’re dipping into your own savings (or equity) and that’s not the reason we do what we do!
In this blog I shared how you can tweak various aspects of your business to impact the amount of profit you make. But now it’s time to work on the TOP line to get that extra income flowing in.
More income will result in a better cash flow position (and less headaches or sleepless nights). It also helps lift your profit to create abundance and enable you to comfortably do the things that you’ve always dreamed of doing.
If you’re ready to take your income to the next level, here are some ideas on what you could do to increase it.
- Diversify
This involves adding new products or services to your business structure. To make sense, diversifying needs to involve complementary items. If you are a fitness instructor, it wouldn’t make sense to add work suits to your offering. It would make more sense to add an athleisure wear line or create a 6 week online fitness program.
A great example of diversification in action is the Teacher Carry All. Their main product is a bag for teachers, but they also stock matching scarves. This makes sense to the consumer and is a perfect accompaniment to the purchase of a bag!
- Get a job
To help you through a lean income period, or satisfy a need that you don’t get from your business, you could increase your income by applying for jobs, whether it be casual, part time or shift work. I’ve recently made the decision to work one day a week in an office. It satisfies my need to be around people, have some regular and reliable income as well as be able to contribute to my superannuation.
- Start a side hustle
It seems like every second person has a side hustle at the moment, but there is something to be said for doing something different to your main employment or core business. A side hustle is usually something that is a passion project or an area of your life that you don’t often get the opportunity to express through you ‘day job’.
It could involve anything from cake decorating, making pot plants or fairy gardens. You could also sign up for Airtasker so that you can earn money doing your passion without having to worry about all the marketing and other time consuming tasks that go with running your own business.
- Review your pricing
Have a look at your pricing structure. Does one product sell far more but earn you far less? Maybe something needs a tweak.
You can check your prices against direct competitors or even not-so-direct competitors. For example, I check my prices against photographers, social media managers and accountants. Not because we do similar work or provide the same outcomes, but like me, they all provide business support. They are therefore also looking for a share of small business owner’s budget.
- Collaborate, refer and network
Networking doesn’t have to mean going to a formal function and handing out business cards. You may think that you hate networking, but it really takes very little effort when you think about it. How many people do you know – from a past job, from your kid’s school, from the gym – that could help you and you could help them with your business? Over 85% of my business comes from people within my current network.
Collaborating could also bring you in new income. Who could you team up with that has a similar target market to yours? Create a package together, put in place a referral system or even earn income through their affiliate links.
Your ability to create extra income and abundance in your life is only limited by your imagination! I’ve given you five ideas to increase your income, but in reality there are so many more.
Are you signed up to my newsletter? This month I’m giving away even more specific ways to increase your income. Send me an email or sign up on my homepage.
AND if you’ve been looking at your numbers and are drawing a blank as to the opportunities that you can create to increase your income, book in for a 30 minute chat and let’s see where our imagination can take us!
Have a lovely day,
Eliza