6 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Expand Your Business

Are you ready to take your business to the next level with a company expansion? That’s great! Whether you are just expanding your current company or opening a new location, growth is an exciting step for your business. There are many reasons why companies decide to expand, just ask yourself these important questions before you take the next step!

Why Am I Expanding?

So, are you considering expanding because you are outgrowing your space, you want to offer more to your customers, you want to reach more or new customers or because you have just hit a plateau? Just think about why you are deciding to expand now.

Is it the Right Time?

They say timing is everything, right? One of the most important questions to ask yourself before expanding your business is whether it’s the right time for you and your business to do so. Yes, you and your company. Where are you at in life? If you are in a good stable place, then you might be ready to make the move. Where is your business at? Well, if your business is doing well then it might be the right time. Expanding too early may put a strain on you and the business financially and mentally. Expanding your business means increasing your workload. Are you already finding it hard to juggle your everyday responsibilities? If so, then it may not be the right time. If you are currently able to handle your workload and feel that you can take on more, then you can take on the exciting task of expansion!

Do You Need Funding?

So, do you need a business loan to expand or will you be using your cash on hand? Business loans are great for expanding. You don’t want to use up all your cash to expand your business. You need that money to keep up the business you already have up and running. A business loan can help you get another location, move your existing location to a larger one, purchase more equipment, purchase more inventory and hire more staff. Aside from potentially needing the business loan to expand, you might already have startup business loans. Make sure that you will be able to handle another loan payment. Since you are thinking of expanding, your company is likely doing well enough to tackle on the extra expenses that comes with expanding.

Do I Have Enough Customers?

If you are expanding, maybe you are doing so because you have gained more customers. More customers mean more inventory and more staff. You will need to make sure you have enough customers to keep up with the cost of expanding. Are you expanding to better serve your existing customers or are you expanding to have more customer reach? If you are expanding to better serve your current customers, you may not necessarily have a huge increase in sales, but if you are expanding because you want to reach more customers than you may have a huge increase in sales. Part of your growth may be because of you have an increase in customers and to keep customers happy, you are going to need to make sure you can handle the increase in inventory and staff.

Do I Have Enough Capital and Resources?

So, growth is an exciting step for business owners. Usually, business owners start their companies with the goal to expand in the future. Now that you may be ready to expand, you have finally reached that goal. Just ask yourself, do you have the capital and the resources? Having enough financial assets and resources to expand is an important thing to consider. If you do not have enough financial assets you can always reach out to Seek Capital for your expanding needs! Some resources you may need for expanding would be technology and staff. Can your current staff handle the increase, or will you need to hire more staff? Can your company handle growth right now?

Where Do I See Myself in 5 to 10 Years?

As the successful entrepreneur that you are, it is important to think about where you see yourself in the future. Setting goals and reaching them is a big part of being an entrepreneur. So, if your goal from the start of your business was to expand and you think you may be ready, then what’s next? Are you going to expand again in the future? Also, are you going to increase your customer base and offer new products or services or offer the same things to your current customers? In ten years, you may even want to sell your business. Just look ahead and see what your expansion will do for you and your business.

So, why are you expanding, is it the right time to expand, how are you planning on paying for the expansion, do you have enough resources, enough customers and of course where do you see yourself in the future. These are just some important questions to consider before deciding to take your business to the next level. After evaluating these questions, hopefully you can decide whether it is the right time to expand your business. If you decide that it is the right time, then get to work and make that expansion happen!