Some thoughts on diversifying your business....

Diversifing a business should be enjoyable and easy to accomplish.

First questions to be asked:

• What are you trying to sell,
• to whom,
• for how much
• who's not buying and what are the reasons why

If you don't know those answers start asking. Sample questions to ask customers that don't buy:

• "I am trying to better my service and business. Can you tell me how I could better my service to receive business in the future from someone like yourself?"

If you get one or two people out of four or five telling you, you are now ahead at the races.

Once you know who your customers are or could be many opportunities become available to you. Where can you best reach your target audience. Diversify through paper, radio, tv, internet, billboards. Do you have a product that can be easily sold? If so, allow other people to help sell it for you in other states, provinces or countries as representatives. You can also market your products at trade shows, market places, fairs, craft shows, home shows, logger sports, outside shopping malls with similar businesses to yours running a mini trade show, a grocery store, middle of a mall. How many computer sites have you linked your business site to (it costs nothing to very little), how many free sites have you joined as an associated business, how many blogs do you run, how many blogs have you linked to? Are you involved in associations affiliated to your business? Are you involved in clubs like rotary or the lions? How many marketplaces are you on? Lastly, do the individuals that you want to purchase your product truly understand the craftsmanship in your product, do they know the advantages to the purchase, do they truly understand what they are getting for their money? If not, show them and as many people as humanly possible. How many people, groups or companies are out there that are not related to your business, but need product and have buying power?

Remember, take a tree not a forest!