When business owners are at the stage of looking to increase their business footprint, there is a lot of different things they need to take into account. This includes the financial viability of the project but also where, how and when. If a business rushes into this decision too quickly, it could have catastrophic consequences to the company finances and employees. It is generally a good sign when companies are increasing their footprint as it shows a level of growth but there must be an element of caution when executing this.
Where to Expand
Logically, a business will look to expand as close to the main areas that they do trade. This could be an actual extension of the current buildings that they already own. This shouldn’t be the default position though as your company may benefit from actually expanding to another area or location. The company employees will form a big part of this decision with the need to either recruit, relocate some to the new expansion or a mixture of both.
What Type of Expansion?
If you are building the expansion from scratch, there are many different types of material types you could consider. One of the more common methods nowadays is a metal building which providers such as Armstrong Steel supply. Some of the reasons that this may be a good choice is the fact that it is easy and quick to install, the quality of steel buildings are well known to survive through the worst of weathers and there is a good opportunity for insulation, therefore reducing your carbon footprint and keeping energy costs to a minimum. Other material options could be wood, concrete or brick. Each all come with their positives and negatives, specifically the actual costs of the materials.
Financial Asset
If you own the buildings then this becomes a good, credible financial asset in the company. Generally, property is a good asset and you will find that it will increase in value year on year (not always, however, that has been the trend in the past decade). If after a few years, you need to decrease in size again, then selling off this expansion could earn you a few extra bucks. Alternatively, if you have gone for materials such as steel then demolishing the building is pretty easy to do.
Funding
How you fund your expansion is clearly something that needs to be taken into account. If you do not have the correct level of cash in your company to do this activity, then you may consider going to a lender for this extra boost in funds. Project plans will normally be expected to be generated and presented to the lender so that they can see there is a low level of risk and that they will get the regular payments back in line with the agreement you make. Depending on the amount actually needed, you could speak to your own bank to see how they can support or look at alternative online.
Make sure to consider these things when expanding your business.
