Four ways to grow
Most small businesses grow through one of these:
- More clients: sell the same thing to more buyers.
- Higher prices: charge more for the same work.
- More from each client: repeat work, extra sales and a wider scope of work.
- New offers: add complementary services or products.
Option 1: More clients
Most entrepreneurs start with this option, and it is the most expensive one. Winning clients costs time and money. Before you try to grow fast, make sure you can deliver the work. Otherwise your quality and your reputation suffer first.
Option 2: Higher prices
This is the fastest way to more profit, and it is often underused. If demand for your work is strong, your price is probably too low. A price rise costs you a little volume and usually adds a lot of profit. Test it.
Option 3: More from each client
This is cheaper and easier than finding new clients. Go through your current clients one by one and ask what else you could do for them. Much of the fastest growth is in relationships you already have.
Option 4: New offers
Extra services or products that work alongside your existing work raise revenue from the clients you already have. The risk is dilution, because too many offers blur what you stand for. Add them one at a time, and only when they strengthen your main work.
Growth takes patience
The hardest way to grow is to do the same things better and for longer. Most growth comes from patience and from doing the obvious things well, year after year.
Related pages
See also Exit Options for Dutch Business Owners and Selling or Closing Your Business in the Netherlands. You can also read A Second Business Alongside Your Existing One.