April 12, 2022
Being a business owner, it’s important you do what you can to always improve and stay ahead of the game. If you find your takings are up and your business is struggling to fulfil all the orders that are coming in, chances are, it’s time to expand. Expanding your business could mean many things from hiring in new employees, to moving to a new premises and while it might cost a fair buck, you’ll find you offer a better customer experience and can fulfil the orders more efficiently. In this article we take a look at some top things to consider when expanding your company. Keep on reading to find out more and get inspired.
The first thing you need to consider when looking to expand your business is how much you need to budget for it. Expanding is expensive, however, the plan is to recuperate those costs as soon as you can. Think about what you need to invest in, whether this is new equipment, a new warehouse, a new store or additional staff. By having a figure in mind, you’ll know whether you can afford it, what you need to spend and how you can get these costs back. It’s always a good idea to over-budget and have money to spare rather than run out of it before you can get the job done!
Before you do an expansion of your company, you need to factor in just why you’re doing it. You need to think about whether your company is doing so well because of a trend or something seasonal, or if it’s something that has been on an upward trajectory for a while. If you’ve had one item that’s gone viral and therefore your demand is through the roof, you need to consider if this will continue to be the way or if it’s a trend that is short-lived. You don’t want to invest loads more into expanding the company only for the trend to end and your sales to go back to how they were before. These are all things you need to carefully consider before committing to anything to ensure you make the right decision.
When you expand your business, you’re going to need more staff to take on the additional capacity that your business can hold. You’ll need to consider how many new members of staff you will need, whether they will need training and the sort of level of employees you want. Do you need managers? Front of house staff? Warehouse employees? People to work in kitting and assembly? Consider where you want them to be and how many you will need to keep the company running smoothly. The last thing you want is to expand but not have the capacity of staff to keep it ticking along meaning you can’t actually increase your output at all.
One of the biggest questions when it comes to expansion is whether or not your current business premises can handle everything you need to do. While you might have some space to add in new equipment, it might not be enough to meet the new targets you have set for your business and to make the expansion worthwhile. If you do need to move premises, consider if you need to move location entirely or can stay local to where you are. If you do need to move somewhere, how far away is this and what will it mean for certain things such as your suppliers or operations. Will people still be able to get to you easily? And how will you handle the transitions and letting people know where you have moved to. These are important things to factor in.
These are just a few things you need to consider when it comes to expanding your business. Taking your company to the next level is a big step and you want to make sure it’s executed well to avoid any money being lost and your business being negatively impacted. Preparation is always key for these things and can help your business to succeed. Check you’ve got a well-executed business plan and have all the points considered above before doing it. What are some top tips you have to think about before you expand your business? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you and help you carry on the route to expanding your business!
