It is very common for business owners to think of franchising, growing or expanding their present location once their business is finally out of the red and flourishing. If you find yourself in the same boat, you might have to set new goals, but which ones?
Your decision would depend on what you want to do, timing and the amount of time you could devote to your present operations and any new endeavors. But first, you need to know if it is indeed the right time to grow your business. As you know, timing is everything when it comes to business—taking too long to expand and you risk letting opportunities pass you by, but expanding too fast and you could end up running your business to the ground.
Fortunately for you, several key indicators can tell you when it is time to expand or diversify.
You have regular customers, and they are practically begging for it
For example, if you have loyal customers begging you to set up shop somewhere near to them so they will not need to go to your single location constantly, then that’s an excellent sign that your products or services are in demand in other locations and that you indeed have a significant following. This might mean that you need to open a new location or offer your indoor amusement business as a franchise opportunity.
Do note though that you should pay close attention to sudden surges of customers, meaning that experiencing a sudden spike does not necessarily mean that you should expand your business right now. This sudden influx of customers could be because seasonality or some other market fluctuation so you should wait and see if this increase is just fleeting or consistent.
You feel that your business is becoming stagnant
Preferably, you will not ever have to experience this. However, even if your existing rides and games are a huge hit for your customers, you should introduce new games and rides for customers who might be looking for new attractions. But if you do feel that your business is at a standstill, growing your business might be the next best thing to do.
Your business is finally in the black
Now that you can finally say your business is consistently profitable, this may be reason enough to expand since you might find it hard to grow your business if you keep still. In addition, you are most likely dealing with an increase in demand so consistent profit is an excellent indicator that you would do well if you expand.
But do not forget about long-term successes since you will not really know if your profits and current success will last. Pay attention to steadily growing profits and long-term successes as well.
Yes, the idea of growing your business is immensely exciting and overwhelming at the same time. But before diving in headfirst and planning your expansion, keep the advice mentioned above and take some time to figure out if it is time to grow your business.
