This book, A Modern Day Blueprint for Business Growth and Expansion, is written as a comprehensive planning and development tool for a business contemplating a major growth and expansion effort. It attempts to demonstrate a properly defined approach for any sized company, to ensure a successful effort for growth and expansion. While owners and management of businesses see uniqueness in how they operate and make decisions on key factors such as the need to add equipment, increase sales volume coverage, and go to the bank for funding, more important topics are, sometimes, not considered in enough detail to formulate, develop, and implement a successful plan. Of course, there are other alternatives to initiating a plan and control its implementation, but if goals are not properly defined, certain business functions are not addressed, and research of the unknown is not accomplished, be prepared to address unforeseen results, like showing waste of resources, loss of key employees, over-spending, and possible loss of customers.
In the book, important subjects covering national and international expansions are discussed and differentiated. We dwell on the difference between the terms growth and expansion. The impact of the effect as to how business is accomplished, use of systems and procedures, organizational emotions, and benefit expectations, are presented in a successful, real case study situation. The decision-making is illustrated throughout the business planning process, and is supported by expected results using these concepts. Once a decision to develop a growth and expansion plan is made, the most important task lies ahead, emphasizing the preparation that is required. This covers detailed review, due diligence, revisions to current operations, and expectations that determines issues and extenuating circumstances which require attention. Finally, development and implementation of the plan can be appropriately handled using the timing and financial capabilities to support the effort with little or no disruption to the current business cycles, as well as properly funding the effort.
As a rule, most companies expect to grow, and have different ideas and expectations in developing an approach. Results are measured in different ways, but there are key elements like meeting income and cash flow requirements, properly investing in capital assets, upgrading the organization to meet the challenges of growth and expansion, and enhancing the technological effort to integrate the new and old systems. This blueprint, as described emphasizes:
- patience when considering growth and expansion expectations
- strategy in the decision-making process
- realistic assessment and understanding in preparing to meet the requirements of growth and expansion planning
- practical development of the plan around the way the company operates and uses organizational capabilities
- timely use of resources and funds during the implementation process
The attempt to recognize the approach as outlined in the book does not feature an academic or theoretical example. The actions taken in this book are real and factual. As stated in the Introduction, there are other real and factual approaches that may, or have been used in other successful growth and expansion projects.
