When to Consider Expanding Your Business

Take full control – know when to expand your business

Are you thinking about expanding your retail company? If you’ve already got a solid business foundation you’re halfway there. However, you may not be entirely certain that expansion is the way to go. Well, there are a few signs that show it’s time to expand on your life’s work.

Some small business owners are happy to run smaller operations that require less challenging strategies. Others may want to take the leap and expand with all complexities in tow. Nowadays,those complexities are not as overwhelming as they used to be and with the right growth plan in place, expansion can be straightforward. So, what do you need to look at to be sure you’re off to a good start?

Signs of the times

Look for the signs that tell you it’s time for growth or a business evolution, these include:

• Clients keep requesting your products and want to know when you’ll be adding more to your current offerings.
• When competitors are forcing your hand and you have to evolve your services – this may mean new resources.
• If you’ve started a new service that changes the way you operate.
• Production demands are causing mistakes – time to consider a new system or more hands.
• Market research shows an increase in demands for your services or products.

Once you know why you’re expanding, you need to consider how you’re going to further market your company’s new services, bigger offerings, etc.

Growth options

Do you want to sell more products to existing customers, or perhaps you want to attract new clients through increased advertising and loyalty programs. Are you considering an e-commerce site for online shoppers? What about tendering for contracts? Perhaps you’re introducing new technology that will streamline productivity and free up your staff to do more sales? Think about your avenue to growth and why that one works for your company.

A good handle on growth options gives you a much better understanding of the resources required to help you achieve your new goals.

Resource investment

Naturally, business growth comes with investing in more resources such as bigger premises, more staff and smarter software and hardware, which are integral in a growing business. Finding the right software and hardware will go a long way. You need to ensure an easy transition from a small to a medium, or even large, corporate, particularly when you operate in the retail sector.

Hire staff who are experienced in your new hardware peripherals. You want staff who understand retail systems that will integrate with your stock control, pricing changes, price displays, and returns. When you’re operating on a large scale, this type of control is essential. You want staff who see your bigger picture, and you don’t want to be losing money before you’ve started.

Investment

Will your current business model be able to finance your expansion? If not, you will need to consider bank loans, investors or equity stakeholders. All of which carry risk, which is why you need to be certain that your growth options have potential.

Well-managed growth options may minimise risk, but it does also mean moving with the times. The sales and retail sectors have embraced the digital age, and with the new applications and computerised systems on offer, companies’ development strategies can easily measure progress, find loopholes, weak points, and areas of strength.

One way of measuring progress is investing in a computerised POS system that does all the calculations, assessments and reports for you. This type of system helps you understand what is happening in the product sector of your company, enables you to set targets, get a handle on costings going out and coming in, and frees up staff. Upgrading your computer systems to meet your expansion demands is to be expected.

If you’ve made your decision and need a good computer system to keep up with your growth demands, contact the POS professionals to help drive business growth.