Business

Growth and expansion are critical goals for any business owner and entrepreneur. All business owners understand how difficult it is to expand their company – it takes a great deal of planning, hard work, and effort.

Learning how to expand your business isn’t just a goal, but growing your business is the ultimate requirement for your business’s survival and your economic well-being.

Many business owners want to expand their businesses, and they want to do it fast. But if you hurry into expansion without a plan, you risk losing everything you’ve worked so hard to build.

You must be wondering but, what can you do to get your business beyond the bare survival stage, or what can you do to turn it into the income-generating powerhouse you have always dreamt?

Here are six small business expansion tips that will help your business expansion to the next level into new markets in 2020 and beyond:

Market knowledge:

Developing a clear understanding of the local market in which you want to expand is exceptionally crucial for business expansion. This means becoming familiar with local governance and legislation, customs, working practices, and how business is administered. The best way to learn this is by spending time on the markets that you have identified for growth physically.

Understanding the opportunity:

After acquiring the required knowledge of the new market, you should be in a position to identify the real opportunity for your company. Based on the business and cultural mindset, this is the time to assess your product: is it truly fit for this market? If not, what are the necessary changes you need to ensure it is? Products and services have to be customized according to the requirements in the new market, no matter how successful the initial model has been in some other market.

For example, in the Middle East, most budget to midscale hotel brands will have larger guest rooms than in their hotels equivalent in the US and Europe, because of different guest demographics and demand in this region. Adhering to brand standards is critical for hotel operators, but readjusting according to the market requirements is an absolute necessity.

Develop a network of influential decision-makers:

Ensuring successful business expansion depends on the right partners in your new market is crucial. Most probably, you can’t expand alone, and working with someone who has been there before and seen that already can fast track your progress. You can focus on hiring local talent who have experience with your new market, helping you with knowledge and understanding. Gaining visibility is also very important through your involvement with local events, media, and business communities.

Patience:

Growing your business is inseparably linked to having a clear vision, and performing according to the plans that directly support you to achieve your goals. Expanding to new markets is an essential part of how you deliver your vision; you will need to be stable, patient, and flexible.

Agility and flexibility are also very crucial, as you will have to be willing to adjust according to the moving timelines and manage your existing business around new possibilities.

Show your long-term commitment:  

Successful business expansion relies on the sufficient allocation of time and budget to travel to the market, allowing you to get involved with the local business community. This brings confidence to local investors and consumers, helping you to gain their trust as they become accustomed to your business and professionalism.

Invest your time and resources to fully understand everything from geography to the climate that will help you be robust and secure your position for future growth.

ONPASSIVE helps business expansion:

All of the above approaches combined with the ONPASSIVE platform allow you to achieve that business expansion in the new business locations that you have always dreamt of. The AI-driven tools offered by ONPASSIVE will help you in numerous ways, from automating your day to day business tasks to market research, attracting new customers, and maintaining them at your new location.

You are now equipped with these above mentioned actionable tips for how to expand a business. Regardless of these tips, be prepared to put in the time and effort required to drive your business from where it is right now to where you intend it to go.