Growth opportunities

Plan your business growth carefully. Start small and work your way up. Maybe launch with an MVP (minimum viable product) and either add features or expand the range as you get more confident and sure about what you’re doing.

“We kept this progressive rollout approach going until we had all of the brands on that site that we were aiming for”
- James Hind, founder of carwow.co.uk 

Could a franchise model work for you? As a franchisor, you’d grant a licence to your franchisees to operate a business under your name (like Domino's or Toni & Guy). You’d give your franchisees a system to market your products or services for a specific time and a particular place, trading on an established brand name. Plus, commercial failure rates for franchises are incredibly small relative to small businesses generally.

“Hundreds of UK businesses currently use franchising as a route for expansion; from sole traders to international corporates”
- Carl Reader, author of The Startup Coach

Learn more about franchising

It’s the obvious way to find new customers and boost your business. Overseas markets can offer huge opportunities and aren’t as complicated or expensive to break into as you might think. Our tips and advice could help you to get started trading abroad, and we’ve also got useful insights if you’re thinking about exporting.

More about exporting

We could help with trade loans, bonds, letters of credit and lots more to get you going.

Learn about trade finance

Security may be required. Product fees may apply. Over 18s only. Subject to status, business use only. Any property or asset used as security may be repossessed or forfeited if you do not keep up repayments on any debt secured on it.

The more experience you have in your workforce, the better. One way to do this could be to upskill your existing team using our tips and ideas. Another important factor in getting investment is the quality and strength of your leadership team. And not having the right people could be one way to hamper your growth.

“[Is] The existing leadership team capable of meeting not only current objectives, but the longer term ambitions of the business?”
- Dermot Hill, CEO of Intramezzo

Simply put, collaboration and networking opens doors. Become a member of a local networking group and you can build relationships, get referrals and find out about opportunities that you could jump in on. We run events around the UK to help business owners network.

Check out our Entrepreneur hub

If you don’t have a website, are you sure you don’t need one? And if you do have one, then is it as good as it can be? Don’t overlook the humble website as a great way to connect with your customers, or as a way for your business to try new things – for example, could you start to sell via an online shop, or hold virtual events like tastings or product demonstrations? From the basics to where to go next, our guide could help you grow.

What could your business do online?