4 Important Considerations When Expanding Your Business
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Knowing that it's time to expand your business can be exciting — but you also may be struggling to decide upon the best expansion techniques. You might also be concerned about your timeline. If you've set a goal to expand by a certain date, or by the time a new product launches, you should set actionable goals sooner rather than later. Take a look at the considerations below for a smooth, profitable expansion that will saddle you with the least amount of stress possible.
 
When Should You Expand Your Business?
You shouldn't consider expanding your business if you're not making enough money, if you can't secure a good second location, or if you simply don't have enough time to think about expanding at the moment. There are, however, a lot of great reasons to expand — but you have to weigh your desire to broaden your reach in your town, city, or even state with the reality of the situation and the financial and personal cost of expansion.
 
According to Lendio, you may want to widen your range if your customers are constantly ordering and you can't keep up with their demands. Similarly, if you own a restaurant, you may consider opening a second location if your customers have to drive all the way across a city to get to you.
 
4 Considerations for Expansion
Your smaller goals for your venture will look different depending on your industry, but in general, you can count on checking the following four items off your list. Consider consulting with an expert business advisor at FUNEL if you need more tips.
 
1. Hiring More Employees
You may have begun your enterprise as a startup, but now that it's a full-fledged business, you should think about hiring additional help. Do you need someone to answer calls and keep track of invoices, or should you think about dedicating a separate room to shipping and hiring a team to assist in that department?
 
2. Securing Additional Funding
While your business may be pulling in revenue, expansion — and the necessary renovations, build-outs, and expenses are another consideration altogether. For example, your restaurant may be doing exceptionally well, but you may need to look into securing a small business loan, a VA loan, or a minority-owned business grant to build out and open a second location.
 
3. Upgrading Your Product or Service List
The time period of your expansion is a crucial point in your business's life: Take it to improve what needs to be fixed and to cut out anything that's not working. Are visitors never adding a specific item you sell to their carts, or does nobody order off the last page of your menu? Revamp and expand your offerings as well as your customer service team or location. You may be surprised by how much excitement you can generate when you set a new menu or new line of products to coincide with your expansion date.
 
4. Creating New Marketing Tactics
New ways of marketing may include social media posts, SMS marketing, and tried-and-true ideas such as flyers and customer discounts. For example, if you plan on marketing a rental on social media, find an online picture resizer to ensure that your images are the correct size and shape for social media formats.
 
Use other tactics such as promotions, coupons, and grand opening events to add excitement to your expansion. Above all, do not forget to communicate with your customers and maintain your current level of great customer service!

Written by: David Dixon