8 Questions You Should Ask Your Business Banker When Considering a Business Expansion

I came across an article discussing 8 Questions You Should Ask Your Business Banker When Considering a Business Expansion. Here are a few snippets that you might find interesting.

Small businesses have seen exceptional challenges and opportunities over the last couple of years. Whether you are considering expanding a current business or opening another location, here are eight questions you’ll want to ask your business banker when thinking about a business expansion.

1. Is it the right time to expand?

Even with some concerns about the economy, you still want to be able to take advantage of opportunities while preparing for any challenges. A solid plan of action is always in your best interest. Getting confirmation and feedback from your business banker makes it that much more feasible. So, get prepared to meet with your banker. Nothing must be exact at this time. In fact, now is the time to dream and see what your banker thinks of your ideas.

2. Is my Business Plan feasible?

One step you can take immediately is to update your business plan. If you have a business plan you created when you started your business, now is the time to dust it off and make some updates. Begin with growth projections. Start documenting your dream expansion. Are you looking to expand in your current location or add a new location? Is your desire to expand because of your current growth or future opportunities? What will this do to your current revenue and expenses? Can you handle additional overhead? Document your revenue and expense projections. This is a good time to play devil’s advocate. What will happen if you don’t meet your projections?

3. What are the potential roadblocks?

When thinking about making any changes to your business, you want to be mindful of the things that can go wrong and plan for them. Again, it’s a good time to play devil’s advocate. Think of any pitfalls you might encounter. You can’t know all this, and you don’t want to assume failure, but it’s better to be prepared in case you experience some drawbacks.

4. Do I have the appropriate staff to handle an expansion?

Remember – you are only one person. Having the right staff in place is critical to expanding your business. They must share your vision and values. You’ll want to be sure to have a manager/team prepared to take on the expansion. Make sure you can find staff where you want to expand. Consider the time and location for training. Also, with new work-from-home options created by the pandemic, consider how you will manage your working hours in the business or if you will provide opportunities to work from home.

5. Will my current systems and procedures work?

Envisioning an expansion, you’ll also want to make sure your current systems and procedures will work for you. Now is a good time to start documenting your workflows and brainstorming potential growth changes. Challenge yourself to eliminate steps in your workflow if you can make things more efficient. Remember a few adages – don’t keep things because you’ve always done it that way and don’t fix it if it isn’t broken. With newer technology, new systems and/or procedures might be in order.

Want to know more? Head on over to the full article here for more ideas and perspective. Afterwards, why not drop me an email to share your thoughts at [email protected]; or call me on 0467 749 378.

Thanks,

Robert