Are you branching out with your company? Expanding and opening additional locations can take your company to new heights and help you to compete at a much higher level, but it is also a huge undertaking and will always be a risk which is why you need to make a few considerations first.
Is Now the Right Time?
First, you need to think about timing and whether or not right now is the best time to branch out. You will need to factor in internal aspects like whether or not the business is in a healthy state and if you have the finances in order, but you must also factor in external aspects like the state of the economy and industry predictions.
Can You Afford It?
It is likely that you will need to secure some form of financial backing in order to expand, which means that you may need to create plans and approach investors in order to achieve your expansion goals.
Location & Target Market
You also need to take the time to find the right places to expand to while keeping your target market in mind. While you may currently be enjoying success in your primary location, you might find that somewhere new does not have the same volume of target customers so you may struggle in certain areas (the reverse of this is also true of course).
Staff
One of the biggest challenges that people face when expanding their business to new locations is staffing. Obviously, you will need to recruit an entirely new team as well as identify new managers for each location. You may want to oversee this process in order to retain some control, but you will also need to be willing to give up some control when you open in new locations as you cannot be everywhere at once.
Consistency
Leading on from this, it is vital that you find ways to be consistent when you brand out. Businesses that are consistent are the ones that succeed but this is difficult when you start opening new branches and inevitably lose some control – this is why you need to have a clear brand identity with core values and a USP.
Transportation
As you begin to open new offices, you will need to have more vehicles in order for employees to get from A to B. It is more cost-effective and easier to manage to use a fleet through places like Allied Fleet as opposed to using individual cars so this should be considered.
These are the main considerations to make and all areas that need attention with any plan to expand.
