If you run your own start-up business successfully, you may be at a point where expansion is beginning to enter the picture. The problem for some entrepreneurs, though, is that they don’t really know how to do it or when they should be doing it. This is entirely natural, as launching your own start-up is quite different to expanding or making plans to accelerate your businesses growth. By acknowledging this, you are well on the way to making expansion plans that will have a good chance of succeeding.
Why should you think about expanding?
For many start-up owners, this may be the main question they ask. After all, if business is good and everything is running smoothly, why risk upsetting the apple cart? While this approach is understandable, it is not actually that good in terms of long-term business success. The aim of any start-up should be to grow in a sustainable way, year on year, to see revenue climb. This also prevents your business from standing still or being left behind by competitors. A constant desire to provide a better service and grow your business should be at the heart of any start-up.
What do you need to think about when growing your start-up?
If you think that the time has come to engage in business expansion plans but aren’t sure where to start, here are some key things to think about:
- Get some professional advice – one of the best things you can do is find a business mentor who has done it before to give you a heads-up. This could be a friend, a family member or simply another business owner you have networked with. They can tell you about what worked for them, how they did it and what mistakes to avoid. If you don’t know anyone personally to ask, then the internet is a great source of information. Business people, including Stan Gershengoren, have websites where they share their years of business expertise – Stan Gershengoren in particular has masses of marketing and business management advice to pass on.
- Look at other businesses in your sector – another thing to think about when expanding your start-up successfully is how others have done it. Obviously, you need to look at similar businesses in your sector to think about what they did and if you could take a similar approach when you make your move.
- Consider capacity – with any plans to expand, you need to think about the capacity within your start-up. If you are expanding in terms of opening hours or services offered, do you have the staff to cope? This is just the kind of thing that you need to factor into any expansion plans for them to work out for the best.
- Finances – of course, for any expansion, you need to look at your company finances and see if it is warranted and feasible. Can you afford any extra capital needed to do this and will the expansion bring in enough extra business to make it worthwhile? If the answers are negative, then it really is best to wait until the need for growth is really there and possible to achieve.
- Marketing plans – don’t make the mistake of forgetting about creating an effective marketing campaign around any expansion for your start-up. This is critical, as it will tell the public what you are planning to do, how it will make your service better and when it will come into effect. You may know all this but no one else will, until you tell them through your marketing efforts.
- Location – when you sit down to begin thinking about expanding your start-up, you need to consider where you will do it. Will it be on a local scale with another store in the same town? Or will you be going global to tap into an overseas market that you think you can penetrate? Naturally, they both require a different approach, so you need to be clear before you start to put anything in to action.
Much to think about when expanding your business
As the list above shows, there is a lot to consider when making plans to grow your start-up. The good news is that none of it is too hard and just needs some serious planning to make it work. With the addition of advice from a mentor of the online community, you will be ready to make your move in a way that will succeed. There will naturally come a time when your start-up is ready to grow, and being prepared for it is certainly sensible.