Helpful Methods to Help You Expand Your Business
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Helpful Methods to Help You Expand Your Business

Published on September 25, 2020 • 5 minutes read
Helpful Methods to Help You Expand Your Business

Having a business is a milestone that most people dream to have. While an appealing job to many, not everyone is fortunate enough to see through theirs in their lifetime. For those who are lucky enough to be running their own business, they are met with the perks and challenges that come with it. Though the experience can sometimes be overwhelming, running your own business can be exceptionally fulfilling, especially if you make a good profit out of it. But every now and then, your business calls you to challenge your limits and exceed your previous achievements—expanding your business. Business expansion is vital to sustaining its success and achieving growth. Being a good and responsible business-owner, you should know that your business needs to expand to increase profit and gain new customers. You could either extend your services, add new products, or target a broader audience. You may also consider growing your business by optimizing your processes to decrease overhead expenses or expanding your operations to serve more people. In doing so, however, you must understand that expansions aren’t free from any risk. You must be mentally and emotionally prepared when making life-changing decisions. If you’re set in expanding your business, here’s a list of ways to help you move forward with your expansion: Identify a target Before you make any decision, make sure you identify an expansion goal. For example, your business already makes a net profit of P30,000 monthly, and you’d want to make at least P45,000— a 50% growth—after the expansion, then you’d have to be very specific on how to get that additional P15,000. Is it an extra 200 bottles of soda? Addition of ice cream products? Or perhaps, a combination of both? For you to make smart decisions, you need to review your past sales performances and make sure that your target growth is feasible. Find patterns and observe the behavior of your customers. You may also ask yourself some questions like: Have you been often out of stock on some items? Do I have customers from a different area? Are there other high demand products that I haven’t offered yet?

Develop ideas for growing your business

Once you have your target and data, it’s time you develop ideas on how to get to your goal. Growing a business is not easy, so it’s important that you do not stop from developing ideas. You can get ideas by revisiting your customers. Understanding their needs or knowing if their behavior has changed will be able to pinpoint if your product and/or service still meet their needs. If there are changes, you can also target new demographics who could use your product and/or services in similar ways to your initial target audience. Before you make big expansion decisions, it will help if you will take the time to audit your operations first. Is there something that is not working? Perhaps, your operational expenses are taking too much from profit, or maybe that your operating hours aren’t as customer-friendly. You may find new suppliers for new products that can add value to your business. You may also look for suppliers who can offer you a better price. It’s always wise to look for direct suppliers so that you can have leverage in pricing. You must understand your business from inside and out to make better decisions and recommendations. Sometimes, the brightest solution isn’t always the biggest changes and decisions; sometimes, it only takes optimization to improve your business.

Develop a marketing plan

One of the things that you need to check is the marketing plan of your business. The marketing plan includes the business’s marketing and advertising goals. Sometimes, businesses get carried away with advertising and waste a lot of money-making advertisements that do not address their business's needs. Evaluate your existing efforts and decide if such efforts and solutions still apply today. Research for trends and explore more affordable solutions, such as digital advertising, social media marketing, e-commerce, etc. The good thing about social media is that you can use it to draw people who are already interested in your product and/or service. If feasible, and if your market prefers online buying, you can also set up an online store to sell your products. During this pandemic, online stores are the go-to platform of Filipinos for buying almost everything and anything.

Moreover, creating your campaigns as part of your plan will help you promote your product and/or service to a wider audience. Don’t hesitate to answer important questions about your goals, and your business vision, so that you can develop an effective marketing plan that will support your company’s overall mission.

Financial growth injects additional capital

All these things will help you achieve your goals, but growing your business isn’t just about getting more money. It’s also about giving you and your business better opportunities. If your business has more money, it will be easier for you to take advantage of opportunities that will come your way, such as moving your store to a bigger and better location, buying faster and better equipment to increase your production, buying delivery trucks to expand reach, and more. It will also be easier for you to attract investors and get credit loans to further expand your business. Once you’re able to reach your financial goals, remember to spend your earnings wisely. Instead of spending your money right away, use it to fund your expansion plans further or invest it in investment vehicles that will let your money grow over time. You may also consider buying assets and quality sets of equipment that you will need in your business to help you improve your services. Need more tips? Read: Ways to Raise Money for Your Business Growth begins with an honest assessment of your business. You must learn how to identify and develop structures that will enhance your business’ capabilities. Look for ways to improve. It’s better to take risks, adapt to changes, and learn from other companies' success. These will help you plan and create more products and services that will last in the next three to five years. Though it’s a daunting experience, it will develop leadership, and it will create more opportunities for you and your employees.