Additional income ideas are often sought after no matter who you are. But if you are a brick-and-mortar entrepreneur, you might have a leg up already. You already own a business which means you already have products and services ready to offer your customers and clients. Now, it’s just a matter of optimizing the resources you already have in place.
Here, we have 9 additional income ideas for brick-and-mortar entrepreneurs. That’s anyone who owns his or her own business and operates it from a store or office, but some of these ideas will apply to any business. If nothing else, use these ideas as a springboard for developing an additional income stream that works for you!
Workshops and Classes
Workshops and classes are a great way to promote your services and engage with the community. And, you don’t even have to have a lot of space. Depending on the nature of your business, you might be able to host workshops and classes online. These can be live, like a webinar, or prerecorded, like a class.
This is one of the most flexible additional income ideas. With pre-recorded classes, you can create the content and roll it out when there is particular demand for it, or just sell it as an appetizer for done-for-you services.
Online classes and workshops allow you to offer this service without the need for a ton of space, and those who are interested will be better able to fit it into their schedules. However, if you do have the space, in-person workshops can bring in traffic to your store where they can view and purchase items and services. It’s a great way to get exposure.
Workshops and classes work well for any service people typically have done for them. This might be financial maintenance, meal prep, auto repair, or crafting. If you have expertise in a particular area related to your business, you can offer workshops or classes.
Online Sales
If you own a brick-and-mortar retail store, you might consider offering online sales. You can do this from your own website or even from social media and other third-party platforms like Amazon or Etsy. Determine a maximum shipping radius and develop a set shipping fee or adjust online ticket prices and offer “free” shipping. Either way, this can bring in more sales without costing you anything extra.
Even if you don’t own a retail store, you can still offer online sales. You can sell any product related to your industry that clients and customers might need from someone like you. Say you own a salon, for example. You might consider selling beauty products online.
As an expert in your industry, your customers will value your product recommendations. This can put you ahead of the competition with other big businesses. It also offers your customers a one-stop-shop. They’re already buying your service; why not buy your products, too?
Extra Services
To piggy-back on online sales, think of other services you can offer your clients related to your business. For example, if you run a beauty salon, you could offer makeup or skincare consultations. If you specialize in clothing design, offer alterations. A lawn care business could expand into other outdoor maintenance like cleaning gutters or washing windows. A restaurant or cafe can offer delivery, catering, or meal-prep packages.
With specialized knowledge or expertise in your industry, you can offer consulting services to customers and even to other businesses. The possibilities are endless!
Loyalty Programs and Memberships
Loyalty programs and memberships are great upsells in and of themselves, but they also encourage repeat business and a steady stream of income. Offer a one-time or annual charge in exchange for discounted product pricing, special offers, coupons, free shipping, and other incentives.
This is one of the most cost-effective additional income ideas. It requires very little extra time and resources.
Events
Hosting events offers a lot of benefits:
First, it helps you connect with your community. Especially if you live in a small town, people are always looking for something new to do. This is a good way for you to get to know your community better and network.
Second, it’s great for exposure. People who might not have previously been aware of your business might find you through your event. And then, of course, if held on-site, you bring in extra traffic to your business location.
Events could include product launches, fashion shows, talent shows, singles’ nights, or networking events. Charge admission fees or partner with other businesses to sponsor the events. Partnering with other businesses that offer complementary products or services could include cross-promotion, joint event, or bundled offering opportunities, too.
Merchandise
Whether you own a salon, a lawn care company, or a financial advising business, you can sell merchandise. Sell t-shirts, ball caps, tumblers, etc. with your name, logo, slogan, or motto to friends, family, and regular customers and clients. Not only will they more than likely be happy to support you, but you benefit from the additional marketing, too!
Franchise Opportunities
If your business model is successful, consider franchising it to expand your brand and generate additional income through franchise fees and royalties. Scale your business and open more locations!
Rent Space
If you have extra space at your brick-and-mortar location, consider renting it out to other businesses or individuals for events, meetings, or pop-up shops. You can also rent store space out to an independent ATM deployer (IAD). Having an ATM on-site provides you with a number of benefits.
It encourages cash payments which can save you money on credit card transaction fees. It also brings in more traffic to your location. Some people might visit you rather than a competitor for the extra ATM service. Others might visit you just to use the ATM machine. That’s okay. It still brings them into your business so that they know you exist and maybe even make an impulse purchase!
There are also advertising opportunities with an ATM machine. You can work with the IAD to customize the graphics to promote your business and offer coupons on transaction receipts to encourage repeat business.
And, most importantly, you can earn a portion of the surcharge fee on each transaction made on an ATM in your location. So if you are approached by an IAD or are able to locate one, you should jump on the opportunity to let them operate an ATM machine from your location and share in the benefits, namely passive income: you make money without doing the work!
ATM Machine
Why share in someone else’s surcharge revenue when you could have it all? Sharing your location with an IAD is a great idea, especially if you feel like you are too busy to take on more responsibility. But if you have a few hours a week to spend on vaulting your own machine, it could be a worthy investment for you.
Owning your own ATM machine provides you with all of the benefits above plus the whole surcharge fee revenue. And, since you are already benefiting from having an ATM on-site, the surcharge revenue might just be the icing on the cake. Therefore, you could find yourself offering a competitively low surcharge fee which will bring in not only your own customers but ATM customers, too. You basically end up operating two businesses simultaneously!
Conclusion
When it comes down to it, an ATM machine might be one of the best additional income ideas because it requires the least amount of effort. It will require some regular maintenance, but you don’t need to spend nearly as much time planning and marketing for an ATM machine as you do for other additional income ideas.
Plus, it’s cost-effective. It will require a little bit of money up-front if you purchase your own, but once it’s up and running, you make money anytime someone uses it; you don’t even have to be there! And if you are able to place it outdoors, you could be making money 24/7.That’s what’s great about being a brick-and-mortar entrepreneur: you already have the number one asset of a location. Now all you have to do is optimize it. Interested in making additional income? Get your ATM start-up kit today!