Small Business Planning: 5 Steps to Successful Expansion
Written by
- Redaction Team
- July 4, 2023
- Business Planning, Entrepreneurship
Your small business is a success. You’re generating healthy profits and have a loyal customer base. Yet this isn’t enough. You want more. You want to push your business to the next level.
If you have the foundation to expand your company, it’s an opportunity you have to take. Yet it goes without saying: there is ample risk attached to any growth attempt. Get it wrong, and what was a safe and secure small business will quickly cease to exist.
To make sure that doesn’t happen to your business, here are five steps toward successfully expanding
1. Get the right financing
Business growth isn’t possible without an extra injection of cash. This could be for extra hires, new premises, additional product lines, and so on. Research suggests around 66% of the fastest-growing startups don’t achieve their targets and ultimately end up failing.
However, if a business loan is the path you want to explore, it is important you go the right way to attain one. This is where working with a financial specialist like FundInvoice can pay off – no pun intended. They will be able to pair you up with the best lender for your needs, ensuring you get the best rates and financing for your requirements.
Whether it is a secured or unsecured loan – or another form of financing – this is a vital first step for successful growth.
2. Research the competition
Want to expand, but unsure of which new avenues to explore? One savvy method to know which move to make is to analyse the competition. What locations are they operating in? Have they launched any new services or products? This type of information can help to inspire you with your next movements towards growth.
3. Don’t forget your current customers
When growing your business, it is easy to zone in on just acquiring new customers. However, it’s essential you don’t forget about the customers that got you in this position in the first place. By keeping your current customer base happy and continuing to make purchases, you maintain a strong – and necessary – foundation for expansion.
4. Dominate a niche
Admittedly, it could seem counterproductive to stick with a niche when attempting to expand. Yet there are two big reasons for this approach. One, it ensures you’re not trying to grow too quickly and take on too much work. Two, it is easier to focus on and become a leading brand name in a specific niche.
5. Different options for expansion
You don’t necessarily have to go it alone when expanding your business. There are other ways to expand effectively. You could decide to purchase an existing company, for example, particularly if it complements your current offerings. Along the same lines, you may explore the possibility of partnering with another business and opening up an entirely new market for your products/services.
If it’s viable, there’s also the opportunity to franchise your business. A franchising model is possible if you’re able to produce a system that’s easy to replicate by others.
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