Every business is designed with future growth in mind, but what happens if you’re in a position where you’re struggling to fulfill orders or keep up with demand? Ultimately, expanding your business space in some way is your only option here. But, how can you do this without losing momentum or risking all of the profits you’ve earned thus far? We won’t lie to you; it isn’t always easy to grow your business. You’re most definitely on the precipice of greatness right now, but your ability to get there depends entirely on your next move. The question is, what are your expansion options as a physical business, and how do you know which of the 3 options is right for you?
By Team Savant
Image: Aleksey Smagin
1. Consider Outsourcing Expansion
Sometimes, you don’t need to actually expand your business to grow. There are plenty of options for outsourcing the things you’re struggling with. This option is fantastic because it generally allows you to invest upfront in everything from third-party deliveries to out-of-house fulfilment centres and beyond.
This is great news if you need to scale quickly in the face of, say, a marketing campaign that’s reached unexpectedly viral heights. Without a huge financial outlay, you can get started on outsourced options like these right away, ensuring that you avoid the inevitable downtime or delays that come from other solutions. However, outsourcing always involves giving up control to some extent, and that could be a problem if you then face the brunt of problems that you can’t manage yourself, like delivery delays or packing problems.
2. Grow Your Current Location
If you own your current business location and the land surrounding it, then expanding where you are is another great option. Depending on your specific setup, you may be able to do this by simply investing in another warehouse, or undergoing proper excavation and building work, which can see you expanding a bricks and mortar office or shop.
This brings the benefit of allowing you to hold onto your existing local audience and remain in full control of your processes. Unfortunately, higher outlays and potentially long building time frames or delays are a risk for some companies without a lot of actual money in the bank.
3. Open a Secondary Site
Your last option is to simply open a secondary business site, either near your first location or in an entirely new area. This is great for reaching new audiences while still ensuring that you can keep on top of current demand.
Again, costs can be high here, so it’s always worth waiting until you’re in a stable financial position before taking the leap. Management can also become more complex when you’re dealing with multiple locations, so be sure that you have the time, infrastructure, and software to keep all sites fully up and running to the business standards you’ve set.
Expansion is always an exciting time. Ensure you make the right move for your physical business by considering these 3 options.