Expand Your Business Without Expanding Your Equipment

Examine the equipment that you have and leverage that in an effort to service product channels that previously did not exist. In other words, look around at business opportunities that involve products that you can make using machinery that already exists in your shop. This involves a little bit of outside-the-box thinking, but you will be surprised at the amount of items you can make with your existing capabilities and materials. This will also serve you well in the future when the market gets stronger and you are positioned nicely with an extra revenue stream.

It is easy to fall prey to the product lines that you are used to because you have sold them for so many years, but that can lead your company toward stagnation. Instead look for external opportunities. These can be direct offshoots of what you are doing now: rubber stamps for banks and businesses, signage and framing, and printing on apparel. Those are examples of logical extensions to the business you already conduct. If you want to get really creative, target other industries altogether and look for product opportunities where personalization could make sense. These exist all around you but are not as apparent.

-Eric Priceman, Victory