There's more than one way to diversify into kitchens. Jakki James, manager of Bathing Design Studio in Wetherby in West Yorkshire, explains how she they did it...

We were trying to come up with ways in which we could expand our market opportunities, increase the service we offer our customers and also raise the profile of our showroom in the local area.  

We'd always toyed with the idea of diversifying into kitchens ourselves as it seemed like a natural progression for the business, but it would have meant a big investment in a difficult climate and we didn't have any expertise in kitchens ourselves.

So instead, we came up with the idea of renting out a space in our showroom to a kitchen design company. In September 2011, Phillip William Design, a Schuller dealer, moved in upstairs.

The idea was to increase the overall service package we can offer from this studio and ultimately attract more people to the showroom. We felt that our advertising combined with Phillip William Design's own advertising campaigns would help to drive footfall.

Obviously, the idea is that customers who come here looking for a new kitchen will see what we do for bathrooms and remember us when they need to refurbish. The more we can offer people for their home from here, the better it is for business really.

We've also extended our own product offering with the introduction of wallpaper, paint and a comprehensive tile studio for exactly the same reason, to increase our market opportunities and to appeal to a wider audience. We're listed on the Farrow & Ball website and we've definitely seen a noticeable increase in footfall, so we know it's been a very successful move.

We've got a working spa area upstairs in the showroom and going forward we plan to organise events in there. We'd like to team up with one of the local beauty salons and get them here to do all the treatments in the spa. That way both businesses get some good exposure in the local area. Networking is vital for small businesses as it helps to build up exposure and increase your database of potential clients. It's also a fantastic way to support the local economy.