6 Ways to Earn Additional Income for Your Small Business

Running a business is rough, everyone knows that

You need to carefully juggle the books, marketing, revenue/profits, investments, and of course running the actual business. When one mistake can put you under things can get really intense, and this goes double for small businesses which often struggle day-to-day.

If you work retail, chances are you’ve had days or even weeks in which a single decent sale was what marked the difference between being in the red and turning a profit.

When you’re doing that balancing act you really need to be earning money in any way you can. So beyond the obvious ways of minimizing losses and maximizing profits, are there any other methods of earning a little bit extra to make up for the bad days?

Believe it or not, there actually are!

1. Get Rid of Old Merch

Regardless of what you’re selling nobody likes old merchandise.

Customers don’t think it’s worth the price, manufacturers don’t want to take it back, and you’ve got no place to store it and ultimately need to throw it away, suffering a massive loss on whatever items you literally dumped in the trash.

But what if you don’t need to?

There’s no guarantee for success, but there are actually methods you can employ to make sure that at least you don’t suffer a loss when getting rid of old merch.

One such method are, of course, bargain bins – grab all of those useless items, put them all in a bin or on some shelf you’re not currently using, slap a 50% off sticker or one saying “buy 2 get 3” and look at them go!

Many customers wouldn’t buy older items at full price because they can get newer ones for a comparable amount, but if you discount them then at least you minimize your losses and don’t need to worry about storage or disposal (which cost money).

2. Employ Mystery Boxes

Another business tactic that some stores have recently started to employ is the so-called mystery boxes.

Basically, take a bunch of random items, put them in a bag or box, close it shut so no one can peek in, then sell that as a “mystery package” or “mystery box” at a discounted price.

You may be wondering why anyone would want to pay for an item when they don’t even know what they’re getting, but these mystery boxes have proven to be a huge success, with large companies like “Loot Crate” and smaller shops alike employing the technique.

It appeals to the sense of adventure and discovery that a lot of people have, reminding us of our childhood when we got random prizes from snacks and cereals.

And besides, it’s just a banging good deal. Imagine that you’re selling DVDs and you have hundreds of discs of movies no one wants to buy.

Usually the average movie costs about 20€, but package 5 together in a “mystery box” and sell them for 30€. Even if the movies are terrible, what movie buff could possibly resist?

3. Increase Your Online Presence

Last, but not least, it might benefit to list your unsold merchandise online.

There are several ways to do that – perhaps you can create your own website and accept payments via pay links and buttons or set an e-commerce shop and integrate a checkout module with shopping carts  like Magento, ZenCart or PrestaShop.

Another option is, of course, to simply sell off items on Amazon, eBay, OLX, Craigslist or whatever platform is currently available to you.

That process is slow and frustrating, but it’s better than nothing. You’re trying to squeeze every cent out of the old merchandise, after all.

When creating your account and posting your ads make absolutely sure that you’re making it clear this is a business selling the items, not an individual.

The purpose of this is three-fold. First, you guarantee a certain level of professionalism not always found in private sellers. Second, you would automatically deter many people who may want to trade or haggle the price down. Third, it’s free exposure for your shop.

With the right approach and a whole lot of luck, your online storefront, wherever it may be posted, could grant you a very recognizable brand name.

4. Create Customer Loyalty

When you’re a small business – regardless of whether you’re a retailer, provide services or something else – your #1 method of staying relevant would be to simply ensure you have a loyal customer base which can grow at a decent rate.

Once the profit your loyal customers bring exceeds the cost of running the business,  then you can finally breathe a sigh of relief and consider yourself somewhat financially secure.

But how can you, at no or low cost, retain customer loyalty?

One potential idea is to offer customers gifts or discounts simply for being loyal, which, in all honesty, you can implement in hundreds of ways.

For example, some stores (such as coffee shops or sandwich delis) offer their customers loyalty cards that get stamped after each purchase. Get 9 stamps and your 10^th coffee/sandwich/whatever is free!

A much simpler form is also the so-called “baker’s dozen”, where bakeries in small towns often throw in, say, an extra cupcake or baguette to regular customers who buy a dozen of them, making a “baker’s dozen” 13 instead of the usual 12.

If you’re willing to go the extra mile you could always have stuff such as awarding customers with points or cashback when they purchase items or services which they can later redeem or perhaps offering loyal clients with discounts. Most of the time these are too hard for a small business to implement, though.

5. Don’t Underestimate Gift Cards

But one of the simplest, and yet most effective methods of retaining clients and converting new ones is through gift cards.

“What? Gift cards? You mean those things that big stores offer and nobody buys?” You may be asking, and yes, exactly those gift cards!

It’s actually not true that nobody buys gift cards – the current market exceeds $300 billion and is expected to double by 2024.

Usually, whenever a shop is unable to sell their gift cards it’s because they’re either not promoted enough or just aren’t all that useful to consumers (for example, nobody needs a €50 gift card when all the good items in the store are €60 and up).

But when you think about it, gift cards are a fantastic way of both retaining customers and gaining new ones.

When someone purchases a gift card from you then they’ve already made the transaction, they won’t let the card go to waste. This means they’ll either give it to somebody else to use (hopefully converting them into a customer) or they’ll return and use it themselves.

We, humans, are a creature of habit, and the more familiar someone is with your store and the more frequently they visit, the likelier they are to keep coming back. What better way to help that process along than gift cards?

6. POS Terminals – Your New Best Friend

Yep, you heard correctly – POS terminals will, above all else, help you gain extra revenue from your clients!

After all, place yourself in the shoes of a customer. Imagine going to a store to shop, picking out a few items, and then realizing you only have enough cash for some of them, forcing you to return the rest.

We have a word for the returned items, and it’s “lost sales”.

Now imagine if you don’t need to rely on the cash in your wallet to decide how much you buy. Imagine that you could use your bank card or even your phone at even the smallest businesses, paying instantly from your bank account.

It may seem impossible for a small enterprise to ever qualify for a POS terminal from a bank, but fortunately, it doesn’t need to.

Allow us to introduce you to myPOS, a company dedicated to providing any business with its very own POS terminals!

Instant Transactions – Instant Profit

And would you like to know the best part, and what really distinguishes myPOS from banks and competitors?

It’s that all the transactions are near-instant, taking less than 3 seconds to process.

This means that you may sell an item in the morning and then instantly ship it to your client so that they get it the very next day, without having to wait for the bank to clear the charge and ensure that you’ve actually been paid, which could waste an entire day or even two.

This is not an issue with myPOS payment services for small businesses.

Whether you’re a small shop that seeks to sell a little bit more, a Bed & Breakfast that wants to offer its guests a bit extra, an innovative taxi company or any kind of store or service provider, myPOS has something special to offer!

Disclaimer: Please be aware that the contents of this article and the myPOS Blog, in general, should not be interpreted as legal, monetary, tax, or any other kind of professional advice. You should always seek to consult with a professional before taking action, since the particulars of your situation may materially differ from other cases.