This page is quite old hence its rather spartan appearance.
Why not check out our Latest Stories page for our newest articles or search our site for anything.
COMMENT
So your home business that you started from scratch is now generating a reliable source of income. What do you do next? You could just sit on your hands because why on earth would you want to take on more work than you need to? Well, the problem with that is, unless you grow your business, it's likely that you will be driven out by your competitors. And growth is one of the best ways to stay one step ahead of the pack. So here are four ways to grow your home business. New Products You don't need to be a James Dyson, Sir Clive Sinclair or Trevor Bayliss to come up with a new product, though the rewards for inventing something new can be immense. In fact, a bit of imagination can catapult a mundane business into new areas of opportunities, but you need to be receptive to new ideas. Take John Cauldwell of Phones4U as an example. Cauldwell was running a car repair business when he discovered that he could get a discount on the price of a mobile phone if he became a dealer. It reportedly took him 8 months to sell his first order of 26 cell phones, but now he sells 26 mobile phones a minute! What's more, he's about to put his communication empire up for sales with a price tag of more than £1b! New Markets Looking for new markets is another neat way to grow your business, as Twin City Knitting of American found. For decades the knitting company made money by manufacturing socks, but it has had to lay off workers in recent years because of competition from the Far East. But now it has found a new market, and it will be taking its socks to Japan. The new range of hosiery is made from corn starch fibre, which is called Ingeo or "Ingredients from the earth". What's really special about the socks is they disintegrate after they are buried in a compost heap. Franchising Franchising your business is worth considering if you want to grow your setup to its optimum size quickly. It can be a good way to expand your company by using what is commonly called OPM or Other People's Money. Successful franchises that immediately spring to mind include Domino's Pizza (LSE: DOM), Toni & Guy, Prontaprint and Papa John's (Nasdaq: PZZA). Naturally not all businesses lend themselves to franchising. But if it yours has an identifiable brand, wide geographic appeal and high margins, then it probably can be franchised. The Internet Bill Gates once said that in the new Millennium there will be two types of business - those on the Internet and those out of business. The Internet is no longer a fad and it can help your business grow regardless of whether you are involved in dog-grooming or making sausages. Almost three in five Britons now use the Internet, and over half of UK homes have Internet access. So, what better way to get your business known than to have a web presence? Additionally, you don't even have to sell anything on the Internet to make it a profitable exercise. Sometimes just a web page with your telephone number, email address and what you do may be enough to generate useful leads. > Popular Home Businesses Myths | How A Cup Of Coffee Can Make You Rich