I have a confession to make. While most conventional business wisdom tells you to focus on growing your business locally first, I definitely didn’t do that. I went online and worldwide right out of the gate. Quite frankly, I made the assumption that my local area didn’t care about personal finance and at the time I was kind of right in thinking that.
It wasn’t until recently when I started focusing my efforts on growing my business locally. And you know what? It’s actually presented itself with some amazing opportunities including new business, speaking engagements and media opportunities.
Here are some of the ways you can also create opportunities by growing your business locally, all of which is based on my own experience.
Hang out with local entrepreneurs.
I started making an effort this year to attend local meetups for freelancers and bloggers. Granted, I was usually the only finance blogger at these events (South Florida is big on fashion and food), but I didn’t care. I was simply going to meet people, learn something new and have some fun. If I could grow my business locally as a result, then cool.
Fast forward a few months and doing this has already landed me two potential paid speaking opportunities where I’ll be teaching people how to make money blogging. This just goes to show, attending events and networking with others (even if they may not be in your same industry) can help you grow your business locally.
Join a co-working space.
I still think joining my co-working space has been one of the best financial investments I’ve ever made in my business. Not only can it give you a place other than your own home to work, but it can also present you with opportunities for growing your business locally.
For example, because of a connection I made at my co-working space, I’ve recently had two radio interviews and was a part of a live TV segment. I hadn’t been able to reach my local market on my own, but with the help of someone I met at my office I was able to break into it.
I was also invited to speak at the performing arts center for the local arts and business council because of a connection I made at my office.
Attend local events.
I admit I’m a bit of a social butterfly so attending local events is just a part of my MO. But what if I told you attending local events like business openings could help you with growing your business locally?
For instance, I attended an event one of my friends was putting on at a local clothing store. I met the owner and told her what I did. From there she offered not just to let me use her space for a personal finance workshop, but that she would also help me organize the whole thing because event planning is not my forte.
Final Thoughts
I’m now starting to see how neglecting my local area has been one of the biggest mistakes I’ve made in growing my business. Whereas before I thought it would be a complete waste of time, I’m actually pretty excited to get involved locally and build my business in South Florida.
