Planning for growth

Growing your business is not just about increasing sales, although this is an important element of the overall strategy.  

According to Gov.uk, growing your business is also about:    

• Improving your products and services by researching and testing changes with your customers  
  
• Developing new products and services, and selling them to new or existing markets  
  
• Hiring staff or training your current staff, including working with apprentices and mentors  
  
• Looking for additional sources of funding, such as bringing in new investors  
  
• Thinking about selling your products or services online  
  
• Bid/tender for new contracts  
  
• Exporting your products or services abroad  

Consider which of these strategies applies best to your business and work them into your growth plan accordingly.  
  
The implications of business growth  
  
Understanding the implications of your business growth fits in with creating your growth strategy.  

As mentioned above, some of the strategies you are considering to help you grow will have a material impact on your business, particularly from a funding and cost point of view.  

Taking on new staff, for example, will have a big impact on your profitability, at least in the near term.  

Here are some signs that you’re business is ready for expansion.  

Growing customer base  

You have a growing number of customers looking to acquire your products/services  

Demand for new products  

Customers place an increasing demand for your existing products/services with additional requirements for additional products/services to provide range extensions 

Consistent/improving profits  

Improving profitability provides opportunities to support your business growth (additional products / extra people / new premises) 

Space constraints  

You may need additional space to facilitate customer demand or the provision of new products/services 

Booming industry  

Your industry sector may be growing indicating that there may be an opportunity to grow your business to supply this increase in demand 

A steady customer base 

To expand a company, you should have a steady or growing base of customers meaning your product or service is in demand.  

Perfected processes  

It’s essential to have great processes in place before you grow. This may mean streamlining your current processes so that your existing business can continue to thrive while you’re occupied with your growth strategy.  

Copying inefficient systems means you could undermine your productivity and profit.  

You may also need to train and onboard new staff quickly. That can’t be done if your processes aren’t developed and documented.  

You may also need to implement new processes as your business grows, such as HR procedures, so it’s best if your other processes already run like clockwork.   

An incredible team  

In a small business environment, you may be juggling multiple tasks.  

Be mindful that expansion puts a lot of stress on your team, and you’ll need to delegate more and more responsibilities as you grow.  

If you trust your team to take care of it, then it becomes a lot easier to be confident that growth is a good idea, and that you have just the right team to make it a success.  

Time, planning and preparation 

Business expansion isn’t cheap or easy. It needs time, planning, and preparation.  

It is not as risky as starting a business, but it does come with similar and other risks that you should research and take into consideration.  

Businesses that grow successfully should enjoy greater profitability, market share, brand awareness and the ability to offer products and services cheaper than competitors due to economies of scale.