Playbook / Lessons / Expand: new markets
Cash-flow businessStay in your first location for the first few years
Raz explains why her shop closed its second location in the same city after years of being stretched thin operationally and emotionally. She says picking a space before running the business means you do not yet know your operational needs, that staying put is a conservative decision that pays off in efficiency and cash savings, and that she sees many businesses make this mistake.
“The first few years of business are too early to expand.”— Katherine Raz, The story of closing a location, Jan 2024
Do this
List what your current location cannot do (space, storage, staffing) and fix or work around those limits before you sign any lease for a second site.