If you are a small business owner, you have a lot to be proud of. Simply getting your company up off the ground and making a living running it is a great accomplishment, especially in this tough business climate. However, many small business owners want more. They want to grow their companies to increase their profits and create a legacy their families can be proud of. Growing a small business can be tough, but some tried and true strategies work.
Create a Plan for Expansion
Overall, if you want to expand your business, you need to have a plan. While plans do indeed change over time, it’s always good to have a framework you can use as a blueprint for the future. It’s also important to think in regards to the long-term due to the impact it could have on your family. Where do you want you, your family, and your company to be in one year, five years, ten years, and twenty years? These are things you need to consider. Growing your company is a goal, and that goal should have an end destination. If you don’t know what you’re working towards, it will be impossible to properly plan for the future.
Consider Expanding Into Ecommerce
One of the best strategies for expanding a small business is expanding from purely brick and mortar sales into eCommerce. In regards to the economy, eCommerce is a force to reckoned with. The market size for online retail sales has been predicted to grow to over 6 billion dollars in only a few years. There are scores of consumers waiting to be served online. If you can find a way to sell your product or service online instead of just in person, you can expect to greatly increase your profits. Even an online giant like Amazon started as a brick-and-mortar small business.
Consider Evolving Into a Corporation
Another sure-fire way to fuel your expansion is to go public. This would involve evolving from a sole-proprietorship, or other small business entity, into a corporation through the offering of ownership in the company via stock purchases. While this is a big step, transforming into the corporate model is one way most huge companies were able to aid their rapid growth. Give the makeup of your new company’s hierarchy some thought. You will need a CEO, a board of directors, a CFO, and more. Thankfully, there are resources you can use to fill some of these positions. If your company is in Michigan and you need a chief financial officer, you can work with a great Michigan CFO company to find a good candidate for the job.
Consider New Markets You Could Expand Into
For most companies, expansion takes a more traditional form. They expand to more brick-and-mortar locations in other cities and markets. Typically, at least in the beginning, these are close to the original location. This is a logical choice and will help to expand a business naturally. If you choose to take this route, consider what markets could conceivably have demand for your product. While nearby markets are the most logical initial choice, expansion could lead to you having locations hundreds or even thousands of miles away. However, you must always perform the proper amount of research to determine what markets to expand into. Sadly, not every market is likely to be interested in what you’re selling.
Implement Data Analytics
An expansion requires a lot of strategies to pull off successfully. If your data is insufficient, plotting that strategy and planning for the future can be a lot more difficult. Something you will need to successfully expand your company is a lot of data regarding your current business operations. You will need numbers and trends lines regarding customer behavior, product sales, marketing campaigns, and more. You will also need to keep recording and analyzing new data in the future to be a competent and informed leader of your company. Make sure to develop a plan for implementing data analytics into your business model through the use of the appropriate software.
Overall, a successful business expansion will not happen overnight. Instead, it will require months and perhaps even years of planning and hard work to pull off successfully. Do not rush into the process. Mistakes made early in the process can cost your company dearly. However, a well-planned expansion does have the possibility of raising your profits to new heights you never dreamed possible.
