Growing
As a business owner, you look for measures of success and signs of a vibrant and growing business – more sales, increased services, diversified product range, larger premises, more profit. But growing your business just for the sake of growing can lead to potential traps, such as overtrading, exporting when you are not ready, adding capacity before demand catches up, or increasing overheads that can’t be covered if there is a sudden drop in sales.
Make sure the growth plans you have for your business are compatible with your overall business strategy. Capacity and capability are two crucial elements you need to understand. Ensure you have enough cash to finance your growth so you do not place your core business under stress.
Finally, check out the free Business Assessment Tool managed by Capability New Zealand. It can help you identify where your business needs to improve to make the most of your best growth prospects.
Planning for growth
Planning for growth should be part of your business planning process. Just as a business should not operate without a guiding business plan, a business should not embark on an expansion project without having a growth plan. Find out more about how to plan for a success.
New markets and customers
Identifying new markets and customers is likely to be an important part of your growth strategy. Find out more researching your competitors and the market to find growth opportunities.
Financing growth
Raising capital or financial assistance can be difficult. Read our tips on applying for finance and find out about other options like freeing up money tied up in your business.
Capacity and capability
Building the capacity of your business and capability of your staff might be necessary before you business is able to grow. Find out more about encouraging innovation, increasing productivity and training your employees.
Research and development
Research and development could be one of the cornerstones of your business growth strategy. Find out how innovation and new product development can boost your business' growth.
Researching international markets
Getting ready to export requires a lot of research. Find out how get information on countries and their economic profiles and the best ways to research international markets for your products and services.
The logistics of exporting
Because requirements differ from country to country, exporting can be a complex process. Find out about export and import regulations and the logistics involved in exporting.
Export finance
Export financing can be complex. Find out more letters of credit, who pays for freight charges and how exchange rates affect exporters.
Importing
Getting started as an importer requires a lot of legwork and research. Find out about customs requirements for importing into New Zealand, biosecurity controls, and import duties and levies.
