Growth is key to your business’s success, but expanding before you’re ready can lead to failure
You have a solid customer base.
A strong sign that shows that your business is ready for growth is to have a solid customer base. This is not the number of one-time customers, but a base of customers that make repeated purchases of your goods or services. This customer base must be established before you are ready to take your business to the next level.
If you’re turning potential customers away because your business is too overwhelmed or if you have slowed down your marketing or networking efforts because you are finding it difficult to meet demand, now is the time to grow your business. Turning business away not only will stunt your business from growth but it can give your company a bad reputation. It’s best to grow your business before you get to the point where you start to turn customers away.
You’ve got access to funding.
Business growth can be nearly impossible if you don’t have the capital available. For example, if you’re operating a small business trucking company, it would be hard to grow your business without purchasing additional trucks or equipment, and might even need to seek help from trucking factoring companies <www.fundera.com/business-loans/guides/trucking-factoring-companies>. This doesn’t mean that you need to have surplus money sitting in your company account, but you must have a firm grasp of your business’s finances, cash flow, and financing options.
Although a bank loan is often the lending option many people think of first, obtaining another loan from the bank is not practical for many small business owners. Depending on your company’s financial status, you may be able to establish a business line of credit <www.fundera.com/business-loans/business-line-of-credit> that can provide the capital you need to expand your business. Depending on your line of work, you may be able to use a commercial truck loan <www.fundera.com/business-loans/guides/commercial-truck-financing> or equipment loan <www.fundera.com/business-loans/equipment-financing> to get new equipment you need to take on more business quickly.
You’ve got the right team in place.
Multi-talented business owner Richard Branson <www.goodreads.com/quotes/7356284-clients-do-not-come-first-employees-come-first-if-you> famously said, “Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.”
In other words, your team is incredibly important. This is especially true for small business owners. Before you can expand your business and grow to the next level, while maintaining the same quality of service that got you where you are today, you must have a solid and trustworthy team.
Growing your business will mean more work, there’s no way around it. You’ll need the right team in place so that you feel comfortable delegating more and more responsibility to them. If you do have those trusted team members ready, and you successfully delegate to them, you’ll be able to spend more of your valuable time on strategy as you grow.
Your business goals are evolving.
When considering taking your business to the next level, it is vital that you start by taking a close look at your current business goals. These goals might have been ideal when your company was a startup <fundbox.com/blog/are-you-a-startup-or-a-small-business/>. Now that you have an established business, it’s important to reexamine and evolve them to meet your growth projections. Modifying your business goals will steer the way for you to develop a new and updated business plan and business strategies.
According to a recent Bloomberg report, small business optimism is at an all-time high <www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-13/u-s-small-business-optimism-jumps-more-see-good-time-to-expand>, which makes now the perfect time to consider growing your business, or risk being left behind. Making sure that you have everything in place before you start your business expansion can greatly improve your chances of future business success.