Image by: Alessandro Prada
By: George Lamb
Sometimes in life things happen unexpectedly, for the good and the bad, and when it comes to your pride and joy of a business, there are no exceptions. You may have to relocate your organization to reach further out into your intended market, or perhaps you’re one in a lucky thousand and saw a sudden boom in sales and are now looking to open up a new location across the city.
Whatever the case, there are some things you need to consider before taking the leap forward and spreading your business. So to lessen the chances of your business flopping, I will cordially suggest you regard the 5 tips provided before you decide if relocation is the best thing for your company.
#1) Beware of the Rubber Snap Back
The rubber snap back—coined by Mitchell Miller, president of Opposed Media—means that if you don’t have the proper procedures and systems aligned in place before the growth of your company, your boost may only be temporary and you’ll eventually snap back down to your original size. Although your growth may seem like you’re invincible, if you don’t put the time and effort into structuring your growth accordingly, then your success will equate to nothing more than a fleeting memory.
The methods you used in the past are going to have to upgrade, as your business is bigger now, and should be treated as such. Your best bet would be to let go of all lower functions and outsource, and delegate or automate them. This will get rid of any excess weight that may prevent or stop your business from thriving.
#2) Know Your Market
Before you move or expand, it is imperative to not only become intimately familiar with your market, but to also know when it’s ready. It is important to keep this in mind, because any fundamental rule all entrepreneurs heed is the fact that what works for one market doesn’t always work for another. This is why it is your job to figure out how the location and adjustment your business will be forced to make will be lucrative enough to result in the continuation of growth in your company. Following the trends can be useful as long as you know what specific trends to follow.
For example: you may see the McDonalds across the street of your car repair shop giving away buy one get one free Big Mac’s, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll hand out buy one get one free repairs. Of course not! That’s an entirely different market and should be regarded as such.
#3) Plan to Succeed
Having the confidence that your business will thrive in its new environment is vital to the success and work ethic of your organization. Many businesses do not have a growth or succession plan, so typically any relocation is often times occurs in an unplanned or unmanaged way—which will inevitably result in wasted time energy and resources.
Doesn’t sound to great, does it? This is why it is important to structure a team that is capable of coordinating whatever change and growth activities may occur. Gather your colleagues and sit down and plan the growth, and review and gather insight from it. Doing this will not only save the workplace tons of unnecessary stress, but will also increase productivity, which would later in turn equate to more earnings to help your brand grow.
#4) Weigh the Options
Regardless of how well you plan any major move in your business, there will always be pros and cons you will have to face. And as commander, it would be your job to be flexible enough to weigh all the potential options that may come to surface when aiding in the progression of your organization. The pros of relocating may include better working conditions and accessibility to your target market, which would result in increased capacity for sales.
While this sounds lovely, don’t get to excited yet, because this leap into a new environment may bring to life cash flow issues, loss of revenue and having to find a new staff. All these can be tough to overcome, so before taking the confident step forward, remember that you will certainly have to face some Cons. Change is nearly always difficult to adapt to, but if you have the true heart of an entrepreneur these risks shouldn’t hinder you from achieving your organizations’ goals.
#5) Lease Obligations
Yea, something me and you both almost forgot to factor in is the lease obligations and recourse options you may have at your current location. Also, a thing to put consideration into is the amount of time it will take you to find a new spot from the time you start searching to the time you are able to make the move.
I would suggest, to avoid any complications with your current lessor, to start searching for your new location at least six months ahead of time. This will not only allow you to assess any lease obligations at your old or new location, but will also give you more time to construct your business plan for the future.
Considering shipping your business abroad? What sparked or forced you to make the decision to market your brand elsewhere? It may not seem like it, but we’re very interested in learning all about your entrepreneurial endeavors, so let us know everything!