As we look back over the last two years it’s clear that they have been tough for many businesses. Living patterns changed, and buying patterns too, with many more consumers preferring the safe option of buying online. This may have resulted in many a business owner having to relook at the way the business is run and forcing a change in strategy to make up for lost sales. Commercial Storage
Now that things have stabilized, and we all get back to normal, it is a good opportunity to look at the business strategy again, and to gear up for growth.
Getting the business out of it’s daily trading routines and finding ways to expand involve more capital to invest in things like raw material, stock, or machinery. As a business owner how do you safely do this, without creating extra risk for yourself and the business?
As there are no guarantees that a new product or service will be successful, even though they have been well thought through and researched, there are some tried and tested ways to promote and grow a business. In this article we look at some of them and suggest ways that business can reduce the risk involved and safely spend the money to do so.
Throughout the process we examine the benefits of self storage and its role in taking the risk out of business expansion.
Ok, So You Want to Grow Your Business?
Now that you have decided it’s time to invest in the future in order to boost the bottom line of the business, how are you going to go about it? It’s certainly not going to be achieved by doing the things the same way as before. After all, that isn’t working for you now, right?
Being innovative requires that you step out of your comfort zone and a take a walk on the wild side a bit. If you intend doing what they often recommend “stick to the knitting” which is to stay in the area of activity you already operate, then some initial market research amongst your customers is essential.
Here, you may get some hard truths that are not always what you want to hear. Your staff may come up in a not-so-good light, your products maybe be perceived as ordinary. So, when you do the research be prepared for an honest assessment of your business.
It’s good in any event, to be interested in your customers and what they think. They will know that there is some thought been given to the service that you are providing.
Then have a look at your competitors and analyze what they are doing better than you. It’s no crime to copy their best-selling line and see how you can improve upon it. Remembering that there are many ways a customer judges your products and services, take all the factors into account and identify ways to innovate on these, to give your business an edge over the competition.
Get the Picture Before Springing into Action
“Fail to plan is planning to fail” as the saying goes. Get all the ducks in a row before you launch your expansion drive. Doing it thoroughly will improve the chances of success.
Often your complaints and rejections of the previous year help give a better picture of the road forward. Assess if the staff you have are the right ones to make the drive a success. Sometimes dead wood could hinder your efforts and that would be counterproductive. By getting the buy-in of your staff you will soon assess who is going to be influential in your growth plans.
Strategies to support your growth objectives will definitely include adding new product development to your existing offerings. By expanding your basket of offerings, the business will have a better chance of your customer buying more from you.
If you intend expanding the market the business operates in then it requires an investment in more people to sell, more trucks to deliver and new places to hold stock. Confining the risk of this additional risk can be achieved by doing the research and planning we have been talking about.
Businesses also look to buy out their competitors in the areas they wish to expand to as a strategy to minimize risk. This works, and obviously requires capital to do so.
If, as business owner, you decide to broaden your offerings to new products out of your existing sphere, that is an effective way to expand as long as the plan is well thought through.
Extend Your Reach Through Self Storage
The two big risks in business, security, and spending money on innovative ideas in advance of expected growth, always present a threat to a business owner. Keeping stock safely is always a worry. Signing a lease for new premises in advance of expected growth is a risk too.
Self storage helps minimize both of these risks. The benefits of self storage are many. It’s a method that helps the business budget storage very accurately and is not committed to the long term. When renting self storage in a place like Penrith, short term self storage is one of the key ways to provide business storage solutions.
Convenient self storage is what Stop and Store Penrith offers its clients in the Cumbria area. As a safe and affordable self storage method, the secure storage that the Stop and Store storage facility offers is of great assistance in business expansion.
Convenient Location, Safe Storage
When looking for safe storage in North Lakes area, the Stop & Store Penrith storage facility should be your first choice if you need easy access and complete security. We are located just outside Penrith on the A66, which is accessible in all directions. The high-level security system provides optimum protection and is monitored 24/7.
We make booking a unit as easy as possible, simply enquire online and once we have your details, we complete the paperwork for you to sign.
Thereafter once a month’s payment has been made, we give you access, and you can occupy your unit. As rentals are on a monthly basis, simply give us adequate notice when you would like to leave again.
Go to https://www.stopandstore.co.uk/penrith-storage/ or call us at 01768 800291 when you require extra storage in Cumbria.