Over time, businesses will grow and evolve and, what may have been a small business a few years ago, could now be a growing business on the cusp of expansion. When a business begins to perform well, growth is inevitable but, without a proper strategy, a business may find that they are wasting both time and money. While larger, more established businesses have the luxury of exploring other avenues that can bring little return, small businesses must operate on a limited budget. They can’t afford to waste this on failed plans for expansion.
Business expansion can happen in many ways, but the path to expansion is one that is filled with different challenges and opportunities. There are things that should be taken into consideration if you are looking into growing your business. Let’s take a look at 3 key factors to consider.
Clarify Your Business Goals
When you are setting out for business expansion, it is important to have clear, defined goals that you want to achieve for your business. Having these goals set out can identify the steps that are needed in order for you to achieve these. For example, if one of the goals is to double sales over the next year, then you may need to think about what exactly can help you reach that goal – could it be a new marketing strategy, or perhaps launching strategic sales throughout the year?
In order to manage both your expectations and progress, you may wish to assign goal dates for the smaller objectives needed to obtain your goals. It is important to also consider any potential issues that may arise on your journey to achieving these goals so that you can be prepared to mitigate these obstacles if they happen.
Rework Your Space
Employee growth goes hand in hand with business expansion, so if you know that you have big expansion plans, you may wish to consider whether this also means an expansion in your team. If it does, then it may be that your current space doesn’t work with a larger team, so a rework is needed.
Re-evaluate your workspace and decide whether a new format needs to be implemented in order to support a larger team, or perhaps you find that the whole premise needs a redesign. Factor this in with your budget and what you can realistically afford. A small space redesign can be easily achieved with new furniture and space layout, however for a larger project, you may need to hire a commercial fit out team, which will likely increase the cost.
Conduct Market Research
When preparing for expansion, it’s important to know exactly how you can expand and in what areas. As you consider a business expansion, research your desired market through competitor analysis and consumer research. If you’re thinking of adding new products or services to your business model, then you need to know how these could work for you, or if they will in the long run, making them worth the investment. If you’re considering expanding into a new location or want to target a new demographic, then market research can confirm whether or not there is a sufficient market to support your expansion.