Increasing the income from your farm or small business is not difficult it only involves thinking outside of the box. 

We all know that we are supposed to diversify our investments to  diversify our risks, but how many of us apply that philosophy to our own businesses? When you diversify your customer base, your not only diversify the risk to your small business, but you create new markets which in turn will create additional revenue. If this basic business theory sounds simple, it is because it is. 

Take for instance my own farm, Stargazer Perennials, a small family operated farm located in eastern Oregon in Union County. Union County has a total population of approximately 30,000 people and the main employers in the area are Boise Cascade and recreational vehicle manufacturers, both of which are highly susceptible to outside economic influences. Our farm grows pesticide-free plants, herbs and produce on about 7 acres in a beautiful, pristine setting. When we started our farm we realized that we could not depend on our local market as our only avenue to market and distribute our products, so we decided to diversify our customer base with great success! Our sales this year are up over last year. Here are some easy ways you can diversify your customer base and increase revenue:

1. Rather than selling at your local farmers market, research adjacent markets, even if it means driving a little farther to see if it will increase your customer base.
2. Diversify your product line and cross promote. I.e. our main crop at our farm is horticultural plants, but we also grow fresh herbs, salad greens and vegetables that we sell to local customers, to restaurants and to schools.
3. Seek out new customers on a nationwide basis. While this sounds the most intimidating, it is actually the easiest of the three to accomplish and works for almost any type of business. If you own a boutique, what you sell in your your shop you can sell online. Does your business offer a unique service such as grant writing or business consulting, if so you can offer your services online. Have you always wanted to start a home based business making the best gourmet fudge ever, where you could make extra money while staying at home with your kids, if so there is a market for your product online! Your local customer base is restricted to the population that lives in your area and the buying power of that base is restricted based upon the local economic factors. By expanding your base nationwide, you diversify that risk and widen your base while increasing your revenue! For examples of how we market and sell our products nationwide visit our websites at:
   
   1. Farm Fresh Living
   2. The Fly Fishing Place
   3. Stargazer Perennials

Want to find out more? Read our other blog about our online businesses that we started with "zero" computer knowledge or go to High Mountain Domains, the online service that we use to create our websites and sell online and that literally costs less per month than pizza and a movie.  Still have questions, drop us an email we enjoy passing on our knowledge to other entrepreneurs.