{"id":541,"date":"2024-03-19T15:30:25","date_gmt":"2024-03-19T15:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/h7network.blog\/?p=541"},"modified":"2025-02-15T15:59:07","modified_gmt":"2025-02-15T15:59:07","slug":"do-you-have-plans-for-expansion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/h7network.blog\/networking-101\/introduction\/do-you-have-plans-for-expansion\/","title":{"rendered":"Do You Have Plans For Expansion?"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading541_c8dcb7-3e, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading541_c8dcb7-3e[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading541_c8dcb7-3e\"]{font-style:normal;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading541_c8dcb7-3e mark.kt-highlight, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading541_c8dcb7-3e[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading541_c8dcb7-3e\"] mark.kt-highlight{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}<\/style>\n<h2 class=\"kt-adv-heading541_c8dcb7-3e wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\" data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading541_c8dcb7-3e\">What Should I Do to Expand My Business? <\/h2>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image541_449e96-a9 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image541_449e96-a9\"><figure class=\"alignright size-post-600\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/h7network.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/JIM_Shulman-headshot-400x600.jpg\" alt=\"plans for expansion\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-525\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/h7network.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/JIM_Shulman-headshot-400x600.jpg 400w, https:\/\/h7network.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/JIM_Shulman-headshot-267x400.jpg 267w, https:\/\/h7network.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/JIM_Shulman-headshot-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/h7network.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/JIM_Shulman-headshot-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/h7network.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/JIM_Shulman-headshot-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/h7network.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/JIM_Shulman-headshot-scaled.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/h7network.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/JIM_Shulman-headshot-533x800.jpg 533w, https:\/\/h7network.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/JIM_Shulman-headshot-150x225.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I have great expansion plans, based on very impressive success to date. My company\u2019s been profitable since almost the beginning, but I also see that I need to add to the management team if we\u2019re going to grow. That brings up a problem: I\u2019ll need money, beyond my retained earnings and personal savings, but I\u2019m loathe to take on debt. What should I do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You\u2019ve been taking risks since you started your business\u2014risks on marketing, risks on hires, risks on the quality of your product or service\u2014but they\u2019ve been calculated risks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You\u2019ve weighed the benefits (and opportunity costs) of taking action. In other words, you have the experience to take another calculated risk.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Just as you may have purchased equipment or expertise to do the job, purchasing money (and consider it as a purchase!) should be focused on how it will make you money, perhaps in the longer term, but definitely as part of a well-considered plan. The cost of the money, of course, is the interest, plus any collateral held during the course of the loan.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How long will it take for you to pay back the loan?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I spoke with a business owner this week who calculated that it would take three fairly small sales to cover the loan\u2014and now he\u2019s kicking himself for not doing it sooner! (frankly, I think he was wise to wait until he had experience building smart growth.) That should be part of the equation.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading541_f498ea-b7, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading541_f498ea-b7[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading541_f498ea-b7\"]{font-style:normal;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading541_f498ea-b7 mark.kt-highlight, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading541_f498ea-b7[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading541_f498ea-b7\"] mark.kt-highlight{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}<\/style>\n<h3 class=\"kt-adv-heading541_f498ea-b7 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\" data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading541_f498ea-b7\">Where would you source the loan? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The SBA? A bank? Some other source of capital? Each has its own benefits (and potential pitfalls), and there\u2019s no uniform recommendation for all business owners. I would strongly suggest that you look for two things: where you would not cede control of your business, and where you feel most comfortable doing business (especially vetting the source.) With banks, that means a banking relationship with a business developer you trust. I\u2019ve seen banks change policies, and companies follow the business developer to their next gig, moving the line of credit to the new institution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most important, ask yourself if you\u2019re borrowing the money intelligently, or out of desperation. There\u2019s a famous example of a huge industrial company that was extremely profitable until their market moved to a new (and improved) technology. They were so hidebound in their thinking that they thought they could advertise their way out of the problem\u2013they ran an IPO and used the money to buy more advertising. It didn\u2019t work, and they nearly went bust (until adopting a competing new technology, which saved the day.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve rented a small office suite for years, which is the perfect size for me and my staff of two. It\u2019s in a nice part of town, and has a conference room that\u2019s professional-looking, and is close to restaurants if I want to entertain clients. The lease is coming up soon, and I\u2019m not sure if I want to renew. I worked well remotely (as did my staff) during the pandemic, but it just wasn\u2019t the same as being in the office. My staff liked the flexibility as well, and have come back to working in the office a few days a week. Should I renew the lease, or move the business to my home office, meeting with clients in a conference room at a business center?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Jim Shulman<br><\/strong>Elsinore Business Associates<br>www.elsinoreba.com<br>jims@jimText\/Cell 610 908 9087<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cEntrepreneurship is a chronic condition. It cannot be cured, but it can be treated successfully.\u201d Jim Shulman<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What Should I Do to Expand My Business? I have great expansion plans, based on very impressive success to date. My company\u2019s been profitable since almost the beginning, but I&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-introduction"],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":78,"label":"Introduction"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/h7network.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/businessmen-meeting-to-plan-analyze-graph-and-chart-business-growth-to-plan-for-new-business-expa-1024x682.jpg",1024,682,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"H7 Network","author_link":"https:\/\/h7network.blog\/author\/admin\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":78,"name":"Introduction","slug":"introduction","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":78,"taxonomy":"category","description":"<h2>Introduction Best Practices:<\/h2>\r\nIn networking, the way you introduce others can be just as impactful as how you present yourself. Mastering the art of introducing people effectively is key to fostering meaningful connections and creating opportunities for collaboration.\r\n","parent":74,"count":8,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":78,"category_count":8,"category_description":"<h2>Introduction Best Practices:<\/h2>\r\nIn networking, the way you introduce others can be just as impactful as how you present yourself. Mastering the art of introducing people effectively is key to fostering meaningful connections and creating opportunities for collaboration.\r\n","cat_name":"Introduction","category_nicename":"introduction","category_parent":74}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/h7network.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/h7network.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/h7network.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/h7network.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/h7network.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/h7network.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/h7network.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/h7network.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/h7network.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/h7network.blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}