When is a good time to start expanding my business?

Looking to expand and grow your business can be both an exciting and stressful time. A number of our clients are looking to do just this, but are unsure as to what elements of their business to assess prior to moving forward with the expansion. We have decided to put together a quick list of touchpoints that should be evaluated before deciding to expand.

First and foremost, it is important to sit down and analyse what your goals are for the expansion. Do you want to simply grow your clientele? Do you want to open another storefront? These are decisions that are imperative to make prior to expanding so that you can assess what needs to be done and plan accordingly.  So, first what and then how!

Another factor to evaluate is your cash-flow. This is the most important thing to look at when you are considering expanding, especially if you are looking to expand by opening up more stores. Your cash-flow should be steady, positive as well as be sufficient enough to support your expansion. This is something that Proactive Accountants specialize in  working to assist our clients with. Cash-flow is the most critical aspect of your business during a growing period. If the cash-flow is ignored or not extensively evaluated there is potential that your expansion could be catastrophic. There have been many businesses that have failed during a growth phase due to underfunding. Make sure your cash-flow can support your expansion efforts!

While there are numerous aspects of your business you would want to evaluate prior to expanding, the last we would like to address is staffing. With expansion of the company, it is likely you will need to employ additional staff. It is important that before you expand, you assess what you would like your staffing to look like. What your wages would be, what your company can afford to pay your staff as well as what type of employee would work best for you. Having a plan for this will help create a smoother expansion process!

Overall, expanding and growing a business should be exciting! The best way to approach the idea of expanding your business is to create a plan! A growing business is like a road-trip, you would never leave the house without planning which roads you would like to take first. For a successful expansion, plan the roads you would like to take prior to expanding your business, by putting together a comprehensive business plan. For any assistance you may need on this, please contact us.