If you’re asking yourself this question about expansion, a massive pat on the back is required. After all, the business press tend to focus on the sheer number of companies failing at the moment and the stories about expansion are few and far between.
Of course, this is a tricky field to navigate. Take the wrong decisions, and expand too quickly, and you might fall into the other, undesirable group.
To help you along your way, we have penned today’s guide. We’ll now take a look at some key questions to ask yourself if expansion is on the cards, and if new premises might be required for your company.
Do you need a new location?
This might seem blatantly obvious, but it’s a question that you simply have to ask yourself in the current day and age.
There was once a time where a business simply had to source a new warehouse, or office space, if they had expanded to a level where they were bursting at the seams.
Now, this isn’t necessarily the case. In relation to warehouse space, companies such as Safestore can allow you to scale on your own terms. In other words, you can slowly add more space and not tie yourself into gigantic contracts, which can be one of the recipes for disaster for a lot of young, eager companies.
In relation to office space, similar options are on the table. We have seen a surge in co-working spaces over the last few years and while you might not want to sit in-between other companies, it’s worth mentioning that many of these firms offer utterly flexible solutions. Some will rent out an entire floor, on a short-term arrangement, which again means that you don’t need to concern yourself with those long, costly contracts.
The big buzzword: Location, location, location
Next, let’s talk about one of the biggest cliches going (although, it usually relates to the residential real estate industry).
Put simply, location is crucial for a lot of businesses. For example, it’s not uncommon for large corporations to establish themselves near key transport links – even if the location in question isn’t as “fashionable” as a capital city.
Ultimately, how important is your location? Do you need to be near to transport links? Or do your company logistics mean that this is irrelevant, and you can operate out of any location and third-party carriers will support you.
What about the downtime?
This final point revolves around cash flow. We’ve spoken about some of the ways you can avoid long-term contracts, and protect your business financially, but what about the potential downtime during your move?
What is the impact on moving stock for your business? How much manpower do you need to achieve this?
One of the biggest mistakes we see with expansion is that a lot of companies take a beer mat approach to proceedings. Unfortunately, there are umpteen hidden costs, and this isn’t a simple case of your rent increasing. There will be a lot of shorter-term costs that need to be factored in.