5 Questions to ask yourself before you open a Branch!

Open a Branch

As you grow your Small Business, you might be confronted with a lot of decisions to make. One option of expansion will be to grow your Business Geographically by opening Branch Offices and capturing new markets. If you run one such Business, Ask yourself these questions before you open a branch:

1. Does my type of Business need a Branch?

Analyse carefully and see if a Geographic Expansion is essential for your Business. If you run a consultancy or Online Business, you might actually not have to branch out. On the other hand, If you have a retail business, or a business where you have to meet your customers personally, then It makes sense to branch out.

2. What kind of property do I need to open a branch?

Before you set up shop in a particular area, you should analyse and find out what kind of property you will need. If you will have Client meetings and Discussions in Office, You might need an Office, If you have a product to showcase, You will need a showroom, If you want to suppy directly to distributors in your Area, You might just need a warehouse. If you intend to do only direct sales, even a home office would do. Consider your need and speak to a good property consultant before you choose a place.

3. What Taxes should I consider?

Before deciding to set up your company in a particular area, consider comparing the tax laws in your state with other states. Look into VAT,CST, Service Tax, Corporate income tax, Entertainment Tax, PF, ESI and Shop & Establishment Act.  We have to wait till the launch of GST next year to find out how complicated the tax system is going to get ( In my opinion, It looks like, we will have to interact with Tax Authorities of each state.

4. Which part of the City should I get located?

Think about how customers will travel to your firm. Do you need to be close to public transportation? Will you need a parking lot? Would you benefit from being located in a shopping mall or commercial business park? ( Ive seen that for me, it works to be located near the Income Tax Office. I get more customer walkins there ). If you plan to hire employees, you should also think about whether your business is within easy commuting distance, if it is close to public transportation etc.

 

5. What type of Neighborhood should I set shop in?

This depends on the type of customers you are trying to lure. Where do they live? Where do they shop? Where are they unlikely to visit? If you have a large competitor devoting a lot of money in attracting customers to his shop, Get your shop just next to him. Being located close to similar businesses also opens up possibilities for beating their prices. For example, if you plan to open a mobile shop, Find a place near biggies like Univercell and attract customers by cheaper pricing.

6. Which is the Best ERP Software for managing multiple branches

Choosing the right software to manage your branches will mean a lot on the control you can exercise on the business and how quickly you can scale it. A Cloud erp saves money on investments in servers and other hardware and gives you an ability to extract required reports from anywhere. Reach ERP is one of the most preferred erp for small business.

ALL THE BEST TO YOUR EXPANSION PLANS!

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