Business Services: How To Know When To Expand Your Business
Loyal customers, high profit margins, passionate employees — it’s what you imagined when you opened your business. If those goals have become a reality for you, you might be considering expanding your business.
Just like you carefully planned how to launch your business, you should take a strategic approach to growing it.
Take a look at these signs to determine if it’s the right time for you to expand your business.
YOU HAVE TOO MUCH BUSINESS TO HANDLE
If lines are out the door or you have so many clients that your employees are stretched thin, expanding could be crucial to keeping your business successful. When you have too much business to handle, it’s important to make a change before customers get frustrated or employees become overworked.
YOU HAVE DEDICATED EMPLOYEES
Having a solid group of employees is crucial to handling growth of your business. If you do expand, the employees you currently have could face new challenges or be fielding questions from customers along the way, so it’s important that they’re satisfied and believe in your company.
Since you need the support of your employees in order to succeed, find out what they think about the potential for expansion. If hiring new employees is your goal, make sure you have the time to train them and nurture their growth.
YOUR RUNNING OUT OF SPACE
Logistics matter when considering if it’s time to expand your business. If you’re running out of space for inventory, customers, or your employees, expanding is crucial. When deciding how much room you need, anticipate the demands your business could face in the future.
YOU HAVE LOYAL CUSTOMERS
You know you’re on the right track when you have loyal customers and clients. When returning customers tell you what they want to see from your business, listen. It could be that they wish you had more of an online presence, sold different products, or had more locations. Whatever it may be, customers who are passionate supporters are key to growing and driving business to you. Including the opinions of your customers or clients in your expansion plans ensures your plans are grounded in reality, and shows your customers or clients that you value their opinion.
YOUR INDUSTRY IS GROWING
If business is booming and your industry is thriving, that’s a good sign that it’s time to expand. Pay attention to trends within your industry. If the business is doing well for you, it probably is for others within your industry too. Consider what you can do to get ahead of the competition or stand out.
YOU'RE FINANCIALLY PREPARED
One of the most important factors to consider before expanding is how profitable your business is. To grow your business, you have to know how much money you’re bringing in and how much you spend to keep your business functioning. Budget for what you can afford to pay for more space, more inventory, or new employees.
YOU HAVE AN EXPANSION PLAN
When the idea of expansion has shifted from a concept you’re considering to an actual game plan, you can make it a reality. Set goals and know how you plan to measure the success of your expansion. Part of your plan should focus on how you’ll get the word out. You don’t want to grow your business and not have your consumers even know it. Spend time analyzing exactly what kind of expenses you may need to incur with an expansion as well. Getting detailed with your plan is a great way to make sure your plan is successful.
GROW YOUR BUSINESS WITH INTERRA
When you’re ready to expand your business, we’re here to help at Interra Credit Union.
To put your plan into action right away, you can open a business account with us at any of our locations. Whether you’re looking to expand your mom and pop business or your multi-million dollar business, Interra has you covered.
Visit one of our branches today or call us at 574-534-2506 for more information on how we can help your business grow.
