by Amber Isles, RockCoast Confections | photo by Janis Jean –
Small businesses are what make up this community of ours and I cannot tell you how lucky I feel to have been a part of it for the last 14 years.
Growing a business is not for the faint of heart. Every time you feel like you have made a step in the right direction, you will be stopped by some hurdle forcing you backward.
I think there are two ways to enter business: conservatively or by throwing caution to the wind and running at it full speed. Although my personality is to do and then think, that isn’t the case when I approach business decisions. I took more of the cautionary approach to growing. I produced what I could sell, I saved the funds, and I purchased the necessary equipment to scale up. I didn’t hire staff until I was bringing in enough business to support the added cost, and I didn’t build a new production space until I was bursting at the seams with my current one.
I find that looking at five-year projections is the best approach, as is asking yourself a few questions before making an expansion decision. Often the decision to grow a business will come with long-term commitments such as a lease, purchasing a building, purchasing new equipment, software, contract commitments etc.
I would always ask myself some questions before making the leap:
• Will the demand for my service or product exist for the years to come?
• Will I be able to obtain staff, supplies, ingredients and equipment for expansion?
• What are my growth expectations for each of the five years?
• Will the move allow me the space to obtain that growth?
• Do I have the drive to continue at the rate needed?
• What is my goal at the end of the fifth year?
My approach to expansion was long and slow, but it was comfortable and carried little risk. There is the other side of the coin: to raise capital quick and start large. I can see the appeal from both sides.
Fourteen years and three commercial kitchen builds later, the main takeaway I have from over the years is: be kind to your customers and be an amazing friend and family member because you will need their support in so many ways.
Our community is wonderfully unique and incredibly supportive of one another. My experience is that many are willing to offer a helping hand when needed, or a piece of advice to help solve a problem.
It has been a great pleasure getting to know a number of you in the community over the years, including some of those mentioned in the feature on the following pages.
