HELP! MY BUSINESS IS GROWING
Before you started your business you probably done a good amount of research, created a business plan, learned a lot during the first years of your business. Now you are operating a successful business, which has reached its potential in its current form. You may be wondering ‘What Next’? This is the time when you will require a Strategic Growth Plan. Choosing the best path for your business will depend on the type of business you own, your resources, money and time you are willing to invest again.
Reality Check: First make sure your business is truly ready to grow. Just because a business makes a lot of money during a certain season, it does not mean that the business is ready to expand. For those intense months a project plan is probably more useful.
Research: There are many ways a business can expand but which one is the right one for your business? All options need to be intensively researched. YES – this is a time consuming exercise but if not done, can lead to financial disaster, which in return can negatively affect your current business. Here are some options and questions you may need to ask yourself:
Open another branch. What is the best location for my target market? How much will it cost me to set-up a new branch/shop? How much are the legal & compliance costs for the new premise? What are the promotional costs for the new branch/shop? How much staff will I need? …
Franchise my business. It is vital to understand the Australian Franchise Code of Practice/Conduct. How much does it cost me to set-up as a Franchisor? What are my legal obligations as a Franchisor? How much does it cost me to promote the new Franchise option? …
License my product. What are my legal costs to produce a suitable Product License Agreement (IP lawyer) which include upfront monies and royalties from the continued sales or use of my product? Where do I find a Licensing partner? What is the best way for my business to minimize the risk of losing control of our service or product? …
Forming an Alliance. Which business would be the most suitable to align with? What are the legal costs to establish a contract with the chosen alliance partner? Any ongoing marketing expenses? Any other costs which the alliance will carry? …
Diversify the service of product range. How much would it cost me to set-up a complimentary service to our current business? How much would be the legal costs? How much would I need to invest into this new service or product range? How much are the promotional costs? …
Buy an existing business. How much will it cost me to purchase another business? Why are the owners selling? How much do I have to invest into legal, compliance and operational costs?
Online Shop. How much will it cost me to build an online shop? What are the legal costs for establishing Terms & Conditions plus Website security for the new Online shop? Costs of a wholesale agreement? Storage for the products? Logistics? Payment gateways? …
The above mentioned business growth options and questions are just a very small sample of a large field of opportunities, which carries an equally large amount of questions. Expanding your business is a very good position to be in but it needs a lot of research done before going ahead. Often a growing business will need extra financial support to implement the expansion. A new business plan for the new venture needs to be established or the existing one needs to be expanded to outline the business expansion details. That’s where the Strategic Growth Plan comes in.
Why not save yourself time & money and engage an experienced business consulting firm like Synergy Consulting Australia to take the stress out of the entire business growth process. We provide a large range of business consulting services which includes Legal, Accounting, Marketing, Project Management & Migration services. This also includes a full market research and feasibility report before investing. www.synergyaustralia.com.au
Synergy Consulting Australia is led by Ilona Solinska. Ilona has over 15 years’ national and international business consulting experience. She has coached hundreds of businesses in the area of Marketing, Finance, Legal, Compliance, Operation, Change & Project Management and is a highly sought after presenter on a wide variety of business topics.