If you’ve started your own business, then you’ve followed in the footsteps of millions of entrepreneurs who all had similar dreams as you. Maybe you wanted to be your own boss, to know the sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with building something of your own, or maybe you wanted to provide your community with better services and employment opportunities. No matter your reasons, you’ve beaten the odds if you’ve managed to start and maintain your own business. Approximately 20% of small businesses fail within their first year, and about 50% will fail within five years.

If you’ve made it past this threshold, then congratulations are in order. Of course, you always want to make your business better, right? There are plenty of signs that you’re ready to start growing. If you’ve managed to maintain a steady cash flow, your customers have asked for additional products or services, or if your industry is growing as a whole, these are all signs that it’s time to start turning your business into something even bigger. Here are just a few things that can help you do that.

1. Take advantage of free trials.

There are plenty of great business tools out there that can help you succeed, whether you’re running a brick-and-mortar establishment or an eCommerce shop. The best way to get the most out of them is to use free trials to your advantage. Most business solutions, from a retail point of sale system to cybersecurity systems to protect personal information will offer a trial version.

Take a Square free trial, for example. Square Online is a great way to set up an eCommerce store. Square services can help you create a custom domain for your online shop, connect you with new buyers, and even help you handle online orders. They can also help you set up a more efficient checkout process with mobile payment options like Apple Pay or Google Pay. The easy-to-use Square dashboard even makes it easier for you to design your web pages. Advanced features include inventory management and the ability to customize items. With plenty of options for experiences, you can decide which of the top features are right for you when the trial ends.

2. Get in on the eLearning business.

If you’ve managed to keep a business going up through the growth stage, then you should have realized two things: you’re a lifelong learner, and you’re an expert at something. When you have expert knowledge, people come to you for answers. You can develop eLearning courses based on the things you’ve learned in your business and sell them to learners everywhere. Check out www.lambdasolutions.net to find out how.

Lambda Solutions can help mentor you on creating informative and engaging online courses, create purchasing options for them, and even integrate them with complex systems. Even if you’ve never considered the education realm before, it’s a great way for experts to give pro-tips and make additional income.

3. Focus on your online presence.

Building your online reputation for your business isn’t just for eCommerce stores—anyone can take advantage of search engine optimization (SEO). You could always partner with an SEO agency that will know how to find the industry-specific keywords you need to include in your web pages, URLs, and metadata. These things are important, but these days, content marketing is seen as the future of online advertising.

Content marketing is any original content you produce that shows off your products, services, and expert knowledge. This could include YouTube tutorial videos, blog posts on relevant industry sites, or even a weekly podcast. The goal is to present yourself as an expert vice in your niche, so your target audience will start to trust you, and you can attract more customers.