Oh the temptation to grow! Ah the glory of expansion! It usually begins likes this. You start getting very busy. Cash flow is up and so are your profits. Soon you’re hearing how great you are and start believing that when it comes to the business, you’ve got the “magic touch”. Since it seems like everything is going your way, you begin to think you’re a business super hero.

For many entrepreneurs/small business owners and practitioners, this is a pretty common scenario. The fact is, you may be great at what you’re doing and in reality, are doing quite well, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that if you begin an aggressive expansion program your success will continue at an unprecedented pace.

The decision to expand represents a critical milestone in the development of any business. Once made, it can determine the ultimate success or failure of the business. So in order to make sure that your success continues during expansion, here are some things to consider.

• Can you replicate your success in the new area that you will be moving into? Being successful in one area doesn’t automatically guarantee success everywhere.
• If the growth is geographical, have you carefully analyzed the demographics of the region, city and the specific locations? Are there differences in consumer attitudes and buying behaviors that will affect your success?
• Is it necessary to carry different inventory, change brands, add, eliminate, or change certain services?
• Is there an over abundance of your product or service in the area you are considering? Can you position your business for profitable growth in a new locale in spite of the competition? Remember, it’s your hard-earned money that will be at risk - invest it wisely.
• If your growth is predicated on developing or adding new products or services, test them thoroughly within your existing operation before taking them “on the road”. Do as much outside research as you can.

Another major consideration is people. How are you going to handle growth from a staffing and training perspective? No matter how good your product or service may be, hiring the wrong people will prevent growth. All of your employees need to understand your business philosophy and what your expectations are with regard to their performance. Have you assessed their behaviors and attitudes? Do they have complete understanding of the knowledge and skills needed to competently and professionally perform their jobs?

Can you really afford to expand, or will you have to drain an existing profit center to fund the expansion? In spite of the fact that draining profit centers to fund expansion is extremely risky, it’s done all the time and can quickly get out of control.

Occasionally, you can recover from the drain by redirecting your marketing and advertising, changing your inventory, implementing better inventory controls, and other operational systems. You may need to restructure, change the management team and staff or deploy any number of strategies that will reveal themselves once you evaluate and analyze the situation.

Certainly, you want to avoid these kinds of problems whenever possible, however, it’s easy to talk yourself into believing that your business is the pinnacle of perfection. It’s also not uncommon for business owners to fool themselves into laying out money for an expansion that satisfies the needs of their egos instead of the business.

Careful planning and research can help you control growth before growth starts controlling you.