Expanding your business can be a very exciting time. While there are plenty of signs that show you should expand, you also need to do it in the right way. Here we look at 6 ways to avoid expansion failure and make your business a success.
Not planning ahead
To get your business up and running you would have had to do a lot of planning. Expansion requires the same attention to detail. Without it, you could be doomed to fail. You need an action plan on timescales, costs, and employees.
The right employees
Trying to expand with a bunch of untrained employees who don’t know your business isn’t a great idea. It’s important to delegate responsibility to trusted staff and ensure that your business message is known by everyone in a new location.
Too much debt
Expansion can crush certain businesses. That’s because they take on too much debt while being cash-poor. If you are taking out loans to cover the cost of expansion, you need to make sure you have the cash flow required to service that debt. Without it, you could well be swallowed by the debt and not able to cope.
Not listening to customers
Customers are the most important asset to any business. You need to listen to where demand is, what can be improved on and any other aspects of local knowledge. Customers will determine whether or not your expansion will be a success, listen to them.
Jumping too quickly
You may be desperate to build your business empire but sometimes patience is required. You don’t want to run before you walk and you need to know your business inside out before you expand. Without the right processes, employees and cash flow, the expansion won’t work. Don’t force it.
Market research
This is perhaps the most important aspect of business expansion. You need to research potential areas and the potential customers that you are going to have. If the demand isn’t there, your expansion won’t work. Thorough market research will give you confidence and clarity you need to be able to expand your business.
Avoid expansion failure – where to find out more
If you’d like to expand your business, but need help with finance, please get in touch, we can help.
To find out more about the business expansion finance we can help with, please visit our Alternative Finance page.
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