Many businesses are currently experiencing increased demand and sales, which has in turn caused many companies to plan for expansion in the coming years, in order to meet demand. As this new found confidence in the market diffuses to smaller businesses, owners should consider how best to respond to this increase in demand.
Begin with a plan to take your business to the next level. If you are looking to grow your business, start to consider how you can achieve this; will you be selling existing products to new markets, or new products to existing markets?
Identify what additional resources you are going to need in order to increase sales. Think about whether you will need more equipment, or better equipment. If you are moving into new markets, consider what skills you need your staff to have, and whether you need extra recruits to help to fulfil your new tasks. Most importantly, think about how you will track this new workload, could a new information system help you with this?
Remember that whilst increased sales should eventually lead to an increase in profit, operating expenses will increase before this profit, so you should always think about where this initial finance is going to come from.
Talk to other businesses who have succeeded in expanding, through either a mentoring scheme or networking. Finding this support and advice can make the task much easier.
To increase your confidence in business, contact The Results Centre at info@theresultscentre.com for information about our mentoring and coaching sessions.